Click HERE to go back to the Archives Listing

Click here for the printer friendly version

DON’T LEAD HORSES OUT OF CAR WINDOWS 

I just made a dear lady mad this week, trying to educate her about horses. Stallions in particular. She is a small breeder who for the first time in her long and busy life, has the time to play with a new stallion prospect. A yearling, who has a terrific disposition and excellent breeding. A stallion, who at only a year and a half old, is being treated like a pet.  

She happily informed me that he is such a sweetie (although already acting very studdy) and learned in only one try to lead out the car window. When I tried to bring home to her, that this is a dangerous practice, leading a stallion out a car window, I upset her to no end. 

This people is a dangerous practice with any horse. There is not a chance in hell, if any horse panics, rears or pulls on the lead shank, that anyone can hold on to that horse with their arm stuck out the window. So lets do the stallion scenario here for you.  

The horse pulls back, gets away and now is loose. He is a stallion, he is a healthy, happy stallion. He is loose, and I don't care how much you think he loves you and will always listen to you, he has hormones raging in his body saying, "I am a stallion, I am loose out here on the road, and I think I will go visit the nearest horses, that I can see, sense or smell."

Hopefully he does not panic from the dragging lead rope, and crash through barbed wire fences or get hit by on coming traffic. But lets take a look at the scenario now.......................  

He gallops gleefully over to the nearest horses, on the other side of a wire fence. Hey, they are mares. We will sniff noses, squeal at each other, and some mare will turn her rear to me.

Wait, this mare is now, kicking through the fence at me. Wait, her hinds legs are now tangled in the fence. Bit of blood here folks, but this certainly doesn’t stop my raging hormones.

The mare frees her tangled hind legs and limps away. Me, being a stallion, I will now rear up and partially over the wire fence. Hey, now my legs are caught. Hey now I'm getting seriously hurt, not the mare. Note:  I have documented cases of this happening with a stallion on the loose.

Worse, he may roar up to another stallions fence line, or even a geldings fence line and try to get in a fight over that fence. But hey, he didn't get hit by on coming traffic, loose on that road. To make a long story short, do not, I repeat, do not lead any horse, especially a stallion with your arm out a car window. I don't care how big and strong you are, and I don't care how intelligent, sweet and wonderful you think your horse is.  

By the way, I love my stallions and think they are great, but I, from experience know they are not pets.