Harv's natural dignity prevents him from being so crass as to "paw" as a common horse would. Besides, I yell at him when he paws. Here is his adaptation. My favorite move, which he only briefly shows here (in the first few seconds), is the "hoof hover." Pretty sure this move is supposed to be mildly threatening ("don't make me bring my foot down--you don't want that"). He does this a lot when cross tied-- he looks at me expectantly, rasies the hoof, and wafts it around.
When he does paw, it's a modified version of what, say, Riley does. Riley's hoof sends sparks when he paws. Harv's is the merest suggestion that he is being made to wait. What a charming boy :-). Does anyone else's horse do this, or something like it?
Oh, speaking of charming, Kelly of Princess Diva Diaries posted her daughter wearing the shirt she won from BTB. It's adorable!
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My mare, Espy, does the "hoof hover" but she lifts her leg up high enough to look like a pointer dog! She'll bring her right leg up as high as she can and stare at me intently. She knows I yell at her for pawing, so she acts like a little kid "I'm not pawing! I'm not pawing!!"
ReplyDeleteMy friend's horse, Dave, taps his foot on the ground daintily instead of pawing. Very, very cute to see.
I need to get videos!!
Let me know if you post them! I wanna see!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely will! I'll get a video of my mare "begging" for treats, too. She stands in the cross ties and slooooowly parks out, then stretches her neck and raises her tail. Has her ears pricked and her special "puppy dog eyes" the whole time. I love Morgans. Amazing personalities.
ReplyDeleteLOL! My gelding does the hoof hover! I'll try to get some video. It's almost always after we ride when he is standing to cool off or wait for me to put stuff away. he usually gets fed right after, so for him it's also an impatience thing I think. Too funny!
ReplyDelete"your tip is dwindling" LOL!
ReplyDeleteI had the most fantastic Trakehner schoolmaster when I was a teenager, and he was both a genius and deeply impatient. He could get himself out of any stall, and pawed in the cross-ties like crazy. For him, the hover action was the next level. He'd start with the full on paw, and then elevate to the hover. He also tossed his head continuously. HE HAD THINGS TO DO, PEOPLE.
Once, at a Pony Club day show, where he was tied to the trailer for a good bit of a day, he wound up digging a trench a good three feet long and one foot deep. Behind him was a spray of dirt and rocks, making him look for all the world like a 16.3 hand labrador retriever.
Ah man, there'll never be another like him.
He also used to explode upon entering a warm-up ring. Every time. He was big into drama, and liked to make "an entrance!" And then he'd settle down and work like a good boy for the rest of the day, and never did it upon entering the dressage ring. People always gave us plenty of room in warm-up, so I didn't mind so much. :D
Harv is such a gentleman. I have never seen something so dainty and delicate.
ReplyDeleteI used to ride a mare who would raise her front leg and hold it up, bending her knee and fetlock. She was begging for treats before our ride, which I politely ignored. ;)
My guys are pretty good when tied, but Tucker does move around. Instead of standing straight in the center of the aisle, he angles his butt to the wall and then, will kind of pick up his hind feet and rub them against whatever is behind him. My PJ used to do the same thing. It's almost like pawing with the hind feet, I guess???
ReplyDeleteThat was funny! Both of my girls keep all four firmly planted to the ground as pawing of any type is forbidden.
ReplyDeleteI am definitely going to catch Merlyn next time I ride him...he's not mine and I am sure his owner yells when he does...still gets me a bit nervous, which I am sure is his gameplan!
ReplyDeleteI have one that folds his hoof up by his elbow and holds that position for an incredibly long time. His dam did the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI've broken him of this habit for the most part, but when I got him, my guy would (rapidly) flip his head - loudly spinning the cross ties. Then he would suddenly stop short, which allowed his bottom lip continue flipping without him. Impatient clown :)
ReplyDeleteVery funny :) I knew a horse named Spyder who would do the same thing behind his owner's back, as if to say, "I'm not pawing. You can't hear it, therefore it's not happening."
ReplyDeleteMy friend's TWH mare will start to paw within moments of being 'ignored.' She also tries to catch the cross tie or trailer tie in her mouth. She's managed to get a panic snap to let her loose after playing with it long enough. I took a video of her chewing on it but couldn't catch the moment of freedom on video.
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