So angry at the world.

lauren123

Well-Known Member
Feb 3, 2007
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East Yorkshire
I decided tonight rather then tying sox up like I normally do with it been gale force winds I popped in right in his stable but decided to give him a good brush, armed with carrots aswell.

He did well generally. He was fab coming in, very windy day and the other tb was really stressing when bringing the pair of them in.

Its dawned on me though about what one of the liveries said which was ' that he doesn't like you near his breakie does he? His stable is right next to the tap with use to do our buckets etc. He just appears so angry at the world! In a morning he doesn't like you near his feed while he is eating which is fine and tbh we all leave him alone we don't touch him to closest we all get is when we go to the tap. But like brushing him he doesn't like, been in his stable he doesn't appear a massive fan off. He likes work , to a degree, he likes learning, loves food and likes been in a herd with others.

But yeah he does just appear so angry at everything.

Anyone got any suggestions?
 
I think you are reading too much into things: lots of horses aren't a fan of being disturbed when eating or being in a stable. Why does that mean he's 'angry at the world'. Sounds to me like he's just being a horse: likes herd company, freedom of movement a job to do and peace when eating.
 
Just what I was going to write. Most horses will not like their feed being disturbed. You should see my yard at feed time, lots of agitated horses showing their teeth to anyone who gets too close. And lots of TB's don't enjoy being groomed either. Many have think skin and are ticklish. My horse doesn't really enjoy being stabled and many don't. It sounds like he is just acting like a horse to me?
 
Lauren we take the view that stables are the horses sanctuary, we leave then alone while eating, tie then up outside to groom,tack up. We do change rugs in stabes but not while eating. As a racehorse no one would ever have disturbed eating time and most would be tied up to groom/tack up.I have said to you before you need to look at how he had been handled previously. He sounds a sensitive soul and so the closer you can keep to what he is used to the easier things will be.

He is not angry he just has a different life experience which you need to take into account
 
I think we can take things as personal when its not. Mine doesn't like being groomed in the stable. The stable was where she was for pretty much nine weeks and it was her quiet time. She had her water, bed and hay. I left her to it. She came out to be groomed in the fresh air.
I am not a fan of grooming in the stable and creating dust onto banked up bedding or hanging hay if I am honest.

Our ex racers aren't fans of their stable, they have spent most of their working career in one, in a lorry or the starting stalls.
 
I'm very lucky in that none of mine have ever shown nay aggression towards me, I can do what I want whenever I want to. But there are many on our yard who are very grumpy. Owners just try to leave them be, they won't change
 
I try not to disturb peds while he's eating. Although he doesn't object if I need to groom him and sort rugs while he is. He's not a big fan of being in a stable but we have worked on it and he is usually fine in there. If he feels a little anxious and needs to walk round the stable I let him. Stopping him makes him worse! If he's in a stressy mood I keep his stable time to a minimum, but he's actually now better in his stable than he is tied up outside! Lol! (he lives out 24/7, only comes in to be fed/groomed/tacked up)
 
It sounds like he likes the being a horse activities more than the being a domestic horse activities :)
Jess doesn't stable well so I gave up, she used to be tetchy round food (spun and kicked me in the shoulder once because I scratched her neck while she was eating) but now days so long as she isn't 'hungry' she is fine, if she is on a diet she gets very tetchy, I just bulk her out with low cal hay t keep her happy. She tolerates being brushed in the winter, in the summer when the flies are bugging her she loves it. Jess loves exercise, going new places and food, she is pretty much a life support system for a stomach :) she just likes being a horse, she would never cope if she was on a yard where she was preened and stabled all the time.
 
Ziggy is the most easygoing, good natured pony in the world, but even he prefers to be left alone while he is eating. I feed him in a little sectioned-off bit of the paddock and the other day I thought I would save some time and groom him while he ate his bucket. But he walked away from the food rather than be groomed at the same time, so now I know better.
 
Like eml I am another one who likes to let be one in the stable. I've never met an ex racer who isn't a bit precious over their food. I liken being disturbed while they are eating to how I would feel if I'd just sat down to eat and someone stated fussing with me. Belle will let me do anything with her at any time but she still gets left alone to eat in peace.
Oscar didn't like being groomed much either I just put that down to him being thin skinned and ticklish. Don't worry so much, just enjoy him and his little quirks. It wouldn't do for them all to be the same. :)
 
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Chloe is a loveable big polar bear type horse. But does not enjoy being groomed! Joe hated it, he was a thin skinned tb, and we tried many different (sometimes ridiculously expensive) brushes on him, to no avail. Don't read too much into it if he doesn't like being brushed. Some do, some tolerate and some hate it. Storm tolerates it - other days loves it and gets a droopy lip. Woe betide anyone who goes too close to her feed bowl - the ears rotate very quickly into a "stay away" position! But she's not angry. Just misunderstood at times!lol.
 
He will have had a routine in racing and I agree with those who say everything was done outside the stable in regards to their care most of the time. I prefer to tack up and brush outside the stable. I will do it in the stable if the weather requires it or other circumstances require it. However I expect my horses to not give me grief for changing what is routine once in a while.

I don't think he is angry at the world just being a horse. We anthropomorphise too much with horses and other animals.
 
We were always taught as children that you do not disturb any horse while it is enjoying it's well earned feed. If that is in the stable or outside, same rule applies. Every horse deserves to eat its food in a relaxed atmosphere IMO - very little to ask. I would get grumpy if someone was trying to put my coat on me or brush my hair whilst I was eating my meal.

But on the other hand if I do need to do something with them at the same time occasionally, I would expect them to allow me to without any signs of grumpy behaviour.

If he is fine skinned then I would only use very soft brushes on him and my fingers to work away at bits of mud. I really don't think he is angry - he is a normal horse with somethings he does like and some he doesn't! ;)
 
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