# My horse HATES the rain.



## riccil0ve (Mar 28, 2009)

Kind of a vent, but mostly trying to see if anyone else out there has the same "problem."

Ricci is a 17 year old Paint mare, and she hates the rain. Seriously hates it. She will not go out in the rain, period. She will stand in her walk-in stall and look out depressingly at all the grass she "can't" eat because she'll get wet. People think I coddle her too much, and maybe I do, because she won't starve just to stay out of the rain. But as soon as it starts raining in the fall, she gets her blanket during the day and she comes in at night. I find when she's blanketed, she's much more willing to go outside and graze. Once, I let her outside without a blanket on because I thought it would be fine. Then all of a sudden, it starts pouring down rain, so I rush back to barn to find her "stranded" in the lean-to in the back pasture, and she screamed and screamed at me. I walked all the way out there with her blanket and put it her on her. She looked at me as I was buckling it up like, "I can't believe you didn't put my blanket on, how dare you do this to me!" and it was hilarious. And of course, once she was blanketed, she walked out of the lean to and grazed.

It's just so silly, lol.


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## kiwigirl (Sep 30, 2009)

I am sorry but I find that really funny! I don't know how serious a matter this is for you but it is funny. Your horse certainly has a big personality - what a NANA!:lol:

Actually my horse is not that different. Phoenix doesn't like the rain either. Unlike your horse mine doesn't have the luxury of any shelter other than her cover. But she can be a real pain in the ***, we have these ongoing dramas when it comes to her cover. She does'nt like wearing her rug if it is nice weather but she won't believe me when I tell her that it is only fine AT THE MOMENT! She will let me put her cover on but it is under sufferance! Honestly, how can I explain the level of dissatisfaction my horse shows when I put her cover on when she does'nt think I should. She pulls faces, and patronizes me.

On the other hand if it starts to rain and she isn't wearing her cover - end of the world! One particular day about 3 months ago I was working in my workshop, it was a nice morning and I had taken Phoenix cover off and turned her out in the big paddock beside our house. This paddock is about 2.5 acres in size and when I last noticed Phoenix she was up in the very furtherest corner. So anyway, I am working away in the shed, the radio is blaring, my grinder is going, next thing you know I hear this SCREAMING! I look outside and there is the lightest misty drizzle but there is Phoenix Leaning over the fence, eyeballing and yelling at me to get my attention. As soon as it started to rain she must have bolted down the paddock and the looks I got when I raced out there to cover her, honestly she looked so hurt that I had let her get faintly damp! The funniest thing though was how she helped get into her cover, she practically walked under it and then turned so I could clip it up.

I have not ridden Phoenix in the rain yet but it will be fun when it finally happens, she will no doubt act as though she is being beaten LOL! But what am I going to do? I just love her.


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## ridergirl23 (Sep 17, 2009)

ive never heard of that!! haha once when it started POURING rain i decided i would go out and bring my horse in and put his rain sheet on, well, he would NOT let me catch him!! he usually comes runnning when i go to see him, but he came to me and when i started to put th halter on he ran away and galloped around in the rain. It was a pretty funny picture, i was standing in the middle of the paddock in the pouring rain while my horse galloped around me happily. i guess i had the opposite problem as you guys!


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## SmoothTrails (Oct 1, 2009)

I have to agree with some of the above, I have never heard of a horse doing that  and it's pretty funny. 

I've always had horses that love the rain unless it pours for a few days. They had a run in and would play outside running and rolling in the mud instead. I had odd horses tho. Two of them play fought on their knees in the rain one day. They didn't slip, they just went down on their knees like they were going to roll and went from there. 

I really have no idea what to say about your situation....I guess it wouldn't be that different from dogs with phobias of storms..


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## ilovestitch (Dec 22, 2006)

My horse isnt that bad about it i guess, he will stand out and graze with the herd but goodness forbid if i am at a show and it starts to rain, thats it - days over he is not going to show and if he is in the ring he is going to roll! Now i have learned to get on him if i can tell he is going to roll but the first time he did it was at my very first horse show and i was ground driving him as a part of my class and when he laid down and rolled the 20' lines got all tangled in his legs, it was awful. So im sorry its that bad for you. I don know of a horse that is spaztic about bugs, if it is too buggy she will refuse to move, nothing will get her to move. Bugs are a hard thing to prevent lol


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## kiwigirl (Sep 30, 2009)

I guess Phoenix has an excuse for not liking the rain, we live in a region of NZ that is coastal and has a sodding great mountain in the centre of it. We get A LOT of rain. At the moment we are experiencing our 'spring' weather and it has been raining now for nearly three straight weeks (I can count on one hand the number of fine days). So I can't blame poor Phoenny for wanting to be dry when ever possible.


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## Gillian (Aug 2, 2008)

Zeus loves the rain and loves being ridden in the rain. 
Unless it's like a torrential down pour he thinks it's a blast!


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

riccil0ve said:


> Then all of a sudden, it starts pouring down rain, so I rush back to barn to find her "stranded" in the lean-to in the back pasture, and she screamed and screamed at me. I walked all the way out there with her blanket and put it her on her. She looked at me as I was buckling it up like, "I can't believe you didn't put my blanket on, how dare you do this to me!" and it was hilarious. And of course, once she was blanketed, she walked out of the lean to and grazed.


I believe she's got you figured out ;-)


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## equine fanatic99 (Oct 1, 2009)

My horses don't seem to notice the rain, they either just stand there or continue grazing and socializing. But, ofcourse, theres always one time that they actually enjoy the rain and mud; a day or so after i wash them. I think Smarty get sadisfaction out of the look on me face when i see him the day after being washed and then a roll in the mud. His palomino coat brownish, neck and face sploched with mud and his mane completly mattered; oh yeah, he totally smiks in a horsey way at my reaction (standing there moaning at how dirty he could get).


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## SoMuchManureSoLittleTime (Jul 6, 2009)

*Weather Horses*

Our horses seem to be abe to predict how hard a rain we will get.

Sometimes it will start to rain and they'll continue grazing and minding their own business. That means it will be a gentle rain.

Other times, they will all run into the various run-in shed. They seem to know when it is going to pour and a big storm is coming.

My horses seem to be better predictors than the TV weatherman.


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## Wallaby (Jul 13, 2008)

Hahaha Lacey acts just like that in the summer if it rains. She'll gallop over to her shelter when it starts raining and if there is no shelter she'll go over to the gate and stand there, shivering pathetically, until someone puts her blanket on.
I'm not sure why but she totally doesn't act like it's a big deal when she has her winter coat and it rains. In the winter she could care less. Silly horse!


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## riccil0ve (Mar 28, 2009)

Haha, I'm really not too terribly upset about it, it's just so hilarious and unbelievable how adamant she is about wearing a blanket in the rain. I can ride her in the rain, she doesn't like it, but she doesn't misbehave too badly. 

Once, I chased her out of her run-in into the barely drizzling rain and she was so mad, stood about ten feet in front of me as I blocked the entrance to the run-in and stomped her feet and reared up and threw herself around. It was very much a two year old child throwing a temper tantrum. I just laughed at her, which only made her more mad, and she didn't "talk" to me for the rest of the day.

And yesterday, I fed the girls their hay outside, because it wasn't raining, and when they were about half way down, it started to sprinkle, and Ricci walks herself into the run-in, turns around and faces the other two horses eating their hay in the rain and just sulked. She let her head droop, she kept sighing, and she gave me the most pathetically miserable looks I've ever seen on a horse. All because it was hardly raining.

People think she's super spoiled, and maybe she is, because once it starts raining, she gets a blanket and she comes in at night. She just hates it so much, and I do what I can to make my rain-aphobe happy. =]


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## gypsygirl (Oct 15, 2009)

i used to ride a mare just like that !
she was such a baby ! she would stand in the rain with her head down & eyes closed ! im not a big blanketer but she NEEDED a rain sheet. if she got rained on with out one she would go crazy & then she would boss all the other horses around b/c she was so upset !

it is pretty funny though =]


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## roro (Aug 14, 2009)

I am with your horse on this one! I cannot stand rain. I just cleaned an outdoor paddock during a rain-drenching thunderstorm and I am soaked to the bone. I just can't stand the sound and feeling rain, and what it does to the ground. Luckily for me it will be raining here at least until the end of the month *sigh*

Anyways, a dislike of rain can't really be trained out of a horse. You can train them to behave in the rain, but you can't make them like the rain. It may be a slight nuisance, but these odd little likes and dislikes are what make our horses unique!


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## Walkamile (Dec 29, 2008)

riccilOve, this thread has me smiling! Got to agree with another poster that your horse definitely has a BIG personality. She fortunately has the right owner. Spoil away and don't feel guilty. She's happy and deep down you know you enjoy doing it. :wink:


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## wild_spot (Jan 30, 2008)

My little arab is the biggest girl - He won't step in mud or puddles, and he HATES rain. It's an almighty battle trying to get him to ride into the rain, even if it's light. If you make him, he puts his head to the ground and goes as fast as he can!

He had his feet done the other day, and it was raining as I led him back to his paddock, which happened to be into the rain. He turned around and followed me BACKWARDS to the gate so he didn't have to walk into it head on!


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## riccil0ve (Mar 28, 2009)

You guys have no idea how big her personality really is, haha. There's no way I could even put it into words, you'd just have to know her. =P


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## jumpingxstandardbred (Jun 28, 2012)

to be honest, my horse HATES it. She goes nuts. She will never get wet, and if you're in the way when its raining she will run you over! I can't ride her in the rain because she'll buck, rear backup, bring you into the trees to hide for cover! its brutal! anyone know how i can stop that from happening? 
I cant even lead her in the rain because she will run me over. Last time she rammed me against the fence. It's becoming very dangerous. Even if i put her rain sheet, she wont go in the rain. She will stay in the shelter, she wont even come in to eat! its pathetic.


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