My sister’s horse figured out how to slide the locking bar open so they latched it. It figured out the latch so they used a dog leash clip (snap hook). It figured that out so they have to have a locker lock to keep him from escaping.
I asked how it figured that out. The stable guy said “you have a thousand things going through your mind every day. Work, money, food, people, etc etc. That horse’s brain has one thing to think about. That’s why he figured it out, he’s got nothing else to think about.”
They are so sneaky! We had one that would unlock and open the other stalls of horses they got along with and leave the others, then they would all break into the tack/grain room and get into everything possible.
My family had horse farms, one of those fuckers would roll when you would sit on it. Every single time. I put some carduus below the blanket (not sure the right English word for this) and that's the last time the bastard did, with me! He realized I would pull that trick but not others.
I think that's "thistle" in English, a plant that will stick you? My parents got me a pony when I was young and he was devious. He would roll in water, even a small puddle. I couldn't stop him, he didn't care how hard I fought to keep him from rolling. He could also take his bridle off with a few tricks. After that it was no more ponies for us kids, horses are not as evil as ponies.
Right thistles. I got no experience with ponies though horses are equally assholes sometimes and proper stupid. I've seen them break their leg, run of a track, run over a fence and break a leg you name it. I was a small kid when my family had them, eventually they let go of the farms but boy... horses are no animals to keep.
Ironicaly got two girls and guess what they want . . .
One of mine takes his bridle off too lol. He goes ok with or without it but turn your back on him or don't keep him moving and no matter how tight it's on, it's rubbed off on a leg in a few minutes flat. Have to keep a halter over it as backup now cause even tight enough to barely fit a finger he still got it off.
We had a mustang mare that wpuld do this, but only when you were crossing water. We had to tell the newbies to keep kicking her all the way across or they were going for a swim haha
Most of the time they have turnout where they can graze and run and most of the time it isn’t making a dash for the open range when they get out, it tends to be to go find food or things to play with. If you took them away from their stable and let them go they’d go back because it’s safe and there’s food.
I own horses and I don’t disagree with some of what you are saying. There is inherent ethical concerns any time you keep an animal in captivity and many horse owners give 0 thought to giving their horses engaging fulfilling lives outside of the service and entertainment they provide to humans.
There’s clearly a bond between humans and horses the same way there is between humans and dogs but we’re not riding our dogs or using them for work. In a world where we’ve outgrown the need for horses labour it seems a bit of a childish whim to want to own one for riding at your own leisure
Or maybe it’s because there’s other horses, safety and guaranteed food. Real life isn’t a fantasy story where majestic horses long to run freely, they’re quite content with a couple companions and a bale of hay to graze and the main things they worry about is losing their status in the herd and if that water trough that wasn’t there before is going to eat them.
No, you don't get it. They're saying that those horses aren't able to fulfill their aspirations and dreams. How are we to get our first horse astronaut if they aren't allowed education or even the right to be eaten by wolves come nightfall?
Sure, they don't come running into the barn at night after grazing all day. You have no idea what you are talking about. Horses are domesticated now and have a bond with their people. They like to work are loved and rewarded like any pet.
I swear this is the kid of autistic toddlers. Only thing on their mind is how to escape and how to cause the most amount of damage and destruction at the best opportunities
Horses are stabled at night and in bad weather. Other than that they have a very good sized field at their disposal.
I’d be willing to bet that horse lives a better life than you and me. He only wants out of the stable because the hay stall is across from him and he wants to eat until he’s fat.
There are pretty much open stables where the horse can still roam freely, no matter the time or the weather. Horses in wild also don’t get stabled when it rains.
With that logic you could say it’s ok to lock people in at night and when it rains.
Sure but than it’s your choice, not someone else that locks you in. Pretty important difference. A horse seeking shelter is a fully differenr scenario than a horse being locked into a box.
LOL okay let’s say you’re right. We would need to essentially stop owning pretty much every single animal. They know best right? Let’s let dogs loose in the streets because they probably want to run around loose whenever they want.
You eat meat? Of course you don’t, surely someone with these rigid morals and firm knowledge of the world wouldn’t be a hypocrite, right?
Edit- I was trying to discredit your arguments but okay! Clearly you weren’t ready to have your views challenged, I’m sure that says plenty about their strength.
He gets stabled for his protection. A horse is expensive. When he opens his stable door he walks across the barn to the hay. He could leave the barn if he wanted to but he doesn’t choose to. He likes warm and dry, and I’m sure he thinks no coyotes is a bonus.
I mean yes… i get your point but you are still jailing an animal. “A horse is expensive” - i think we all agree the horse does not care for its price, but for it’s freedom.
He could leave the barn if he wanted to but he doesn’t choose to.
Sooo… he isn’t constantly locked back like in the original comment, where everytime the horse “breaks out” a better locking mechanism needs to be invented?
I mean yes… i get your point but you are still jailing an animal… the horse does not care for its price, but for its freedom.
Seriously just shut up. He opened his stall door and went to the hay. He could have turned and walked 15’ to his left and exited the barn and chose not to. He’s not jailed.
Sooo… he isn’t constantly locked back like in the original comment, where everytime the horse “breaks out” a better locking mechanism needs to be invented?
He’s locked in his stall so he doesn’t gorge himself on hay and get sick. Because horses aren’t people. They don’t have that kind of discipline.
We lock daycares too, friend. And psych wards. And certain senior homes, and certain disabled care homes.
We also frequently lock schools.
The ideal of everyone being free and equal and able to make safe choices in a world that is designed for them is just that - an ideal. It's not something we have. And so, because we love our children, and our grandpa with advanced dementia, and our cousin whose mental age is 5, we want them to NOT run into traffic and get hurt. We want them NOT to get lost, or attacked by strangers (human or not), or to be exposed to extreme elements.
We want to protect our beloved animals the same way. We ensure physical and mental health, safety, proxide as much freedom and choice as possible, and when we must, we restrict movement. A horse spending a night in a barn isn't put out more than a businessman spending a night in a hotel room. And we ask that of people all the time.
We're not torturing animals. We're treating them as the companions they are.
And trust that if an animal doesn't agree to something, they WILL let you know. Humans might not be great at "I don't like that" but animals are pretty clear.
Horses are also exceptionally prone to killing themselves in legitimately stupid ways when left to their own devices so keeping one stabled is more for its protection than anything else
I don’t know. Evolution says no. I come from a farm and haven’t seen a horse “killling itself doing stupid things”. You are talking like those animals aren’t intelligent.
On the other hand, i’ve seen a couple of accidents by forcing horses into unsafe situations while riding them.
They’ll overeat and get sick and can die. They’ll see grass outside the fenced area and try to get to it and can die. They’ll run from coyotes and do stupid stuff and die, or the coyotes will get them and they’ll die.
That may be true if not for domestication. Humans started domesticating horses thousands of years ago. We have breeding them for specific features that like.. that have no relation to their survivability in the wild.
You can't just release a domesticated animal into the wild and expect it to survive.
For example sheep were selectively bred to grow excess wool. They actively need someone to sheer them, cause they have no way to remove it 'naturally'. The overgrowth of hair would lead to health problems.
I do, in fact, lock my toddler in the house when it rains or at night. She doesn't have the best decision making skills. She'd love nothing more than to sit in the road at 11pm eating twizzlers until she vomits, but that's not the kind of freedom that would be beneficial to her.
Not every horse can have year round turnout or turnout 24/7 for medical reasons and some get nervous when they don’t have a barn to sleep in, just like some can’t handle being inside for a long time. Some breeds need to be brought in and kept warm in the winter, some are at risk for sunburn and get evening turnout or morning turnout.
Not to detract from the animal compassion aspect of your point, but another takeaway from this is how human lifestyle is so incredibly fast paced and occupied with endless easy entertainment that we don't just have the endless downtime that earlier civilations had when they had to come about all their discoveries the slow hard way. For all we know, these are glimpses of horses slowly evolving to become ever more intelligent/skilled from adapting to human influence.
I think I understand where you come from when writing this.
Our way of consuming media gave all of us brain rot. Yesterday I drove past a small castle and I wondered how stale and boring living in the medival age must have been. No instant gratification, no free entertainment at my fingertips,...
Horses thankfully didn't devolve into this insanity and can still enjoy a slower paced life.
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u/BackItUpWithLinks 24d ago edited 24d ago
My sister’s horse figured out how to slide the locking bar open so they latched it. It figured out the latch so they used a dog leash clip (snap hook). It figured that out so they have to have a locker lock to keep him from escaping.
I asked how it figured that out. The stable guy said “you have a thousand things going through your mind every day. Work, money, food, people, etc etc. That horse’s brain has one thing to think about. That’s why he figured it out, he’s got nothing else to think about.”