>>>>i have been thinking and thinking on this. Tivar seemed suddenly extremely >>>>afraid. He wanted to have immediate flight from a scarey situation. He >>>>would not freak like that over a human suddenly couching a little and >>>>dropping his foot, gosh I've done that a lot.
Yes, to emphasize this point, Tivar is NOT a spooky horse, not one bit. He stood quietly, almost dozing, every time the farrier was here during the six months we had him. In fact, he was one of my farrier's favorite horses, never giving him a moment's trouble, and he loved Tivar's "tank" conformation. Tivar couldn't have been easier for the farrier. I suspect part of his reaction was the surprise element of the sudden change in the farrier's demeanor. That farrier has trimmed his feet many, many times, right? And this has never happened before? With him being behind Tivar, and this being something involving extreme and sudden pain from outside Tivar's main field of vision, couldn't this seem like the surprise mountain lion attack - or whatever the heck is imprinted on all horse's DNA, that thing that triggers the flight instinct? Not that Tivar was hurt, but that someone in his "herd" was suddenly in pain. With therapeutic riders, horses probably get a sense of the riders being different from the time they meet them, and are thus on guard, not necessarily wary, but at least watchful. Tivar had no reason to be on guard during this routine event, so this was a big surprise. Karen Thomas, NC
