I just got back from letting the horses out and saw something funny I want to share. In the year plus we’ve owned a horse, I have never seen a horse do what Moonshine just did. As she walked out into the pasture, she crossed her two front legs and leaned far back for a few seconds. She stretched! I didn’t realize horses did that. Sorry if this is a boring revelation to those of you who have been around horses for a long time but it’s a first for me. Sorry, no picture.
Have you seen horses stretch?
I owned an Arabian mare a few years back, who had learnt, when saddled, to put her front legs well out forward and lean back and dip her body to stretch out the skin under her girth. She’d do that if no-one pulled her legs to make her girth area comfortable.
What’s even funnier – Neo did it just a few months ago at a show. I had never seen it before, either. He was in his stall for a long time – some 6 hours straight.
When I got him out, we walked about 100 feet or so, then he just stopped. And stuck one of his hind legs straight out behind him and stretched. Then he did the same thing with the other one. Just like a cat.
Makes you wonder how often they do it when we’re not around to see it. But yes, it was a funny thing to see.
Sierra Lynch
Horse IQ
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Yes, I have Arabian horses too and they stretch. My stallion, in particular, always stretches out his back legs as I take him out of the trailer to saddle him up to ride. One at a time he points the leg straight back and out while leaning forward. If he gets a really good stretch, it’s accompanied by an audible ummmmmm.
We have a quarter horse, and a mixed breed (standardbred/arabian/quarterhorse mix) and both of them stretch like this.
I have not seen this yet but I sure love to see them yawn!
They make the funniest faces!
I have an arab mare that stretches every morning. I think she’s on to something. Its probably something I should do every morning.
I have seen horses trained to bow two different ways. One way is with one leg out in front,the other leg underneath them,and the front end lowered so that the head is next to the out stretched front leg (very pretty). The other way is with both legs stretched out in front, like my mare does when she is stretching. Now if I was any kind of a trainer I would teach her to do this on que (command), seeing as this obviously is not a difficult manuever for her. Who knows, maybe I will figure out how to one day.
One of my horses used to regularly stretch when he came out of his stable in the morning. Sometimes he would flex his neck in and stretch his back legs out. More often he used to stretch his front legs by leaning back and almost sitting down. I think this must be quite rare as none of my other horses have done this.
My Barrel Horse Jaycee.
Was tied up to the fence at the Arena.
Then out of nowhere
she stuck her front legs out in front of her
and sorta bowed.
It was really cool.
i wish i had my camera.
-Kimmie