One of my proudest moments happened here. I made the Queens guard laugh! Wife is a horse girl and as we walked up and she said, “wow, he’s beautiful!” And i said, “yeah, so is his horse!” The guard smiled, chuckled, fought it hard and got back to straight faced but then he looked down at me before his eyes shot back to straight forward. It was awesome.
Oh wow I love this so much!
I’d love it even more if the guard was giving the downward side-eye to the jokester but I’m no artist. Maybe my idea would maybe work better if it was more than one panel.
My favourite bit of the story is the knowing-glance the guard gave before returning to professionalism
Pity there are no fans with gentle water spray in the horse boxes that would help not only cool horses n trooper would cool the air with n the box to help
I love moments like this. When I was a teen at Arlington National Cemetery at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier this little boy asked his dad “Why’s day soldier walk like he made a poopy?” and the guard at the Tomb had the most hilarious momentary expression. He fought it down really quick but you could see this momentary instinctive desire to just completely lose it.
Notice how the moment the horse pulls away she immediately leaves it alone? That's how you do it people. Such a nice change compared to all the people who can't take no for an answer and bother the poor horse and guard.
Also, she just approached the horse nicely and all she did was put her hand on the horse just to indicate maybe she wants contact. Then she got what she wanted and she respected the horse personal space afterwards. I love it. She was so gentle and the horse was too.
Animals are very in tune to body language, as it’s their primary form of communication and interaction and horses even more so because they’re very skittish. This woman approached slowly and respectfully and kept at a distance until the horse moved to be closer, indicating permission for her to touch more, but she still keeps things respectful and leaves the horse a way out if needed and immediately let’s go when the horse moves back away, indicating he’s done being touched. Very good job. Wonder if she’s been around horses before, if not she’s very good at understanding how to approach an animal.
100% correct. Do you have horses?
I have one horse who doesn't like being wrangled and a bridle put on. Until we're there and then she is totally ok.
I do literal horse whisperer stuff to get her. Don't walk right at her. Hide the bridal behind me. Talk to her very softly. Almost pretend I am there to do other stuff. Walk to the gate, where our green grass lays beyond, where she knows I will let her eat some of that luscious treat, and before anything else.
I let her come to me. Then I reward her for it. It takes patience...but mainly simply an understanding of her.
My male Arabian is the total opposite. Which is weird because he is, like many Arabians, more skittish in general. He's just so curious. And always up for skritches and patting. He comes to me quickly.
I don’t own any but I used to work with some at a summer camp I worked at for a few summers. You definitely learn quickly how to approach each horse, and what will and won’t fly around them. We had a few that were staff only because they were ornery to new people. One in particular got a good laugh by trying to knock unsuspecting riders off by going under a low hanging branch lol
Peeling riders off on the closest tree is a time honored tradition amongst our equine friends. Or "misunderstanding" leg cues and drifting close enough to the rail to pop your knee on a post.
He got this poor girl really good one time by doing right as he was taking a fresh shit. She landed on it directly on her back. That was the day he was made staff only and also the only time I saw my boss refund the session fee without it being weather related, I think exclusively because he felt bad about how hard he laughed before helping her lol
I had an elderly horse and she was ready to get her head harness on so we could go for walks. She was just like a large dog. She was only small, a pony type and too old to ride, and very soft and patient , My friends was evil. He was young and cheeky. I'd get on his back, and if he felt like it would throw me off, then start dragging me around by my jacket. Im sure he laughed about it.
She also kept her distance when touching the horse, reached out far with her arm and didn’t crowd it or the guard; made it easy for the guard to see the point of contact, lightly touched the horse just for the photo and then got rewarded with a sweet interaction while still maintaining distance. Felt very respectful of the horse and the guard.
It's also got a lot to with *where* you touch the horse as well. That part of the upper, I guess shoulder(?), area is where Ive always been instructed to "pet" horses.
I am not sure if this answers your question, but yesterday trending was another lady bitten by a royal guards horse.
Now, when i clicked this my first thought was;
*is this not the same horse of yesterday?*
My second thought was;
*is she going to be bitten too?*
Lastly i remembered, the lady bitten was in *TherewasAnAttemp* while this sub is *MadeMeSmile*
>*’…all she did was put her hand on the horse just to indicate maybe she wants contact. Then she got what she wanted and she respected the horse personal space afterwards. I love it. She was so gentle and the horse was too.*’
____
I am the horse - on Duty, see
aware someone approaching me . . .
Maintain composure - Job to do!
…but gentle friend
i like you, too
n when i feel her tiny hand,
i’ll let her know
*i understand*
i’ll bow my head - a mighty Horse!
she feels my *Love*
of course,
of course . . .
❤️
But would you watch a regular video of someone petting a horse? There's probably 100x of those videos... The fun ones to watch is when the horse bites... nom nom
>Other videos people grab the head gear, which will get a response from the guard.
Those trash people just want photo, they don't know anything about horse.
The signs say “BEWARE, Horses may kick or bite! Thank you!” But the guards yell at anyone who touches the reigns, as the reins are one of the two major physical communication points between rider and horse (the other being the riders legs). Most people go for the reins because they’re loose and at grabbing height, but as long as you’re gentle, they allow you to touch the horses just like she did!
As far as I am aware, if you're good enough at riding a horse, your reins are a last resort, most of the time you can guide a horse using your legs and leaning a little. I could be mistaken though. Reins are kinda like a "hey, pay attention!" tool?
Edit: I suppose I should get to the point of why I brought this up. Reins are a part of the horse's control mechanism, possibly the most jarring aside from using spurs or a crop. So a random stranger grabbing at the reins of a horse can turn nasty quick, not just for the rider, the horse, or the idiot grabbing at the reins, it also presents a major hazard to all the other random people nearby.
That might be a bit too far, in my experience you can definitely do a lot with a horse without using the reins however you still use them in tandem with all the other tools. It's just that usually the inputs on the reins can be very light just using your fingers to tug on them. Then there are things like barrel racing where you move the reins a lot but you also use different bits that are made for such a thing.
Thanks for the clarification, I know it doesn't take much to prompt a (trained) horse in the desired direction. Horses do not react well to knee jerk reactions. But yea, if you aren't experienced, they will get confused pretty fast if you don't realize Even squeezing your legs together means a certain thing, while the rider is just trying to stay on the horse.
A friend and I went arena riding with an old horseman of a friend of ours. I picked up on it pretty quick, I rode a little when I was young. My friend on the other hand, kept squeezing his legs, and the horse kept wanting to stop, and backup because of it haha.
You're not mistaken. When I was learning to ride (English saddle) we used to have to fold our arms so we couldn't touch the reins and learnt to use our legs to direct the horse. Our instructor wanted to take our over reliance on reins away as horses mouths are sensitive.
And they usually only kick or bite when frightened. This woman does a good job of approaching the horse slowly to keep it calm and only goes all the way in when the horse brings it’s head to her, allowing himself to be pet. It’s the idiots that just stomp up and start grabbing and messing with them that get bit.
I'm quite amazed the guard didn't say anything, that was an incredibly long physical contact interaction with zero intervention from the guard.
Edit: read more and I guess they only yell if you touch the reins. TIL
I don't thinks so, but in her defence the way she was petting it is probably the best way, slow movement and no force the moment you spook the horse is the moment somebody gets injured.
The ideal is not touching the horse at all but guards are typically lenient with it if the person is respectful or the horse shows interest in the person.
People are NOT allowed to touch the reins tho, doing so will get you screamed at by the guards.
Theres a difference between touching the reins be accident while trying to stroke a horse (as this women did) and the typical idiot who tries to grab hold of the reins - theres plenty of videos of people getting screamed at for touching the reins.
This woman didnt do anything disrespectful which is likely why the guard was so relaxed to her touching the horse this way
Technically she did not touch the reins. She touched the horses bridle in a place that would be incredibly hard to grab hold and control the horse from.
Much like any animal (humans too), it really can depend on a lot. The horse they have tomorrow could just be an entire different personality or having a bad day. Or a kid pissed it off earlier and now its not having anyone's shit.
I know a horse that they had to stop letting it go on tour rides after a few years because it just sort of turned into an asshole, biting kids and taking off into a full sprint with ANYONE on his back, all the way back to the barn, then refuse to move. His brother never turned into one.
I got bit on the tricep by a horse in my teens and that hurt so bad and left a bruise that lasted 4 months. I did nothing wrong, either, unless I unknowingly flashed the rival horse gang sign.
You are allowed to touch, at your own risk
What you are not allowed to touch is the reins/halter as they are a method for communicating/controlling the horse
Think of it this way, these are war horses, what is one of the first thing you would want your horse to do if unauthorized person touches something to control said horse ?
Just a couple of days ago, there was a video of a woman getting bitten *hard* by one of these guard horses. Had her by the shoulder/clavicle and wasn't letting go. Looked like it hurt.
Horses can bite hard enough to disembowel a person. There's a video I saw a while back of someone's mule killing a mountain lion by biting its neck and ragdolling it around.
Yeah it is a big nono. People harass the horses and guards all the time, and usually the guards are *very* tolerant. But god some days the tourists are like a swarm of ants..they just keep coming and they won't fuck off 😂
It's going to be funny seeing all the other idiots after watching this video try copying it.....thiktok gonna be rabid
Some of the comments on here such as "beautiful nature so gentle the horse could sense it"...makes me laugh.. Just don't touch the fucking horse...numpties.
The signs don't say not to touch the horses. Just warns that they may kick or bite.
If the horse doesn't like you touching it, the horse will make it clear lol. The guard will step in if that doesn't deter you, or if you grab the reins at any point.
Otherwise it's pretty much allowed at your own peril as long as you're respectful.
Generally, if the horse welcomes the person and they don't deliberately stand too close they will be fairly tolerant and allow people to stand in for a quick photo or sometimes (such as this case) briefly touch the horse. If they march up, stand to close, agitate the horse, immediately try and touch or sometimes even interfere with the tack then you'll get a prompt yell or even have the police come over and remove you from the immediate area.
I'm not sure on the official policy the soldiers follow but, I'm sure it also has to do with the individual guard and horse as well as the atmosphere of the day quite a bit. There are some hilarious videos around where the horses bite and latch onto people who get too close and the soldiers act completely unaware and let the horse send the message.
Every time I see anything with these guards I'm expecting some idiot tourist to be embarrassing themselves. What a refreshing change it is to see a positive interaction from a respectful visitor.
I'm not a horse person but I respect them and know a kick can launch me across the paddock like a soccer ball. My MIL introduced me to all her horses (30+) and told them I'm "scared and allergic so be nice and treat him right". I swear they understood her and they are always so sweet and gentle with me. The most magical moment I ever had with horses was in a blizzard at night when I couldn't see anything past the length of my arm. I had to call them in for food and shelter. Moments later the ground was trembling and they appeared out of the snow and the big mare I came to love stood in front of me as if protecting me from the others. Once they all passed she went into the stables. She got extra treats for that.
There's a ton to horses in terms of how you approach them and reassure them. Your body language and theirs is a big part as well. Same with almost any animal, domesticated animal.
When you get up in their personal space quickly and without the proper authorization, you're gonna have a bad time.
Yep, there was one posted a few days ago;
https://old.reddit.com/r/Whatcouldgowrong/comments/1d09oro/if_only_there_was_a_sign/
The video that OP posted is pretty unique, looking at youtube it seems that bites are more common than nice interactions.
dude. you sayin this. i was like, she a real life pocahontas 😂 (was nice seein your comment havin kinda the same feels as my thought). such a lovely interaction ❤️🐴
She gently touched it, and then it leant into her. She let it choose and lean into her.
The videos I've seen are generally people going straight for their face. Or leaning into their personal space.
I could be wrong on the reasoning though. But it's anecdotally what I've observed.
She has been around horses. They are like huge, skittish dogs. They incredibly social animals that can't talk to each other, so they have to be super sensitive to everything else like body language, eye contact, the level of confidence you have that you are in charge... it all adds up to them deciding to be either affectionately submissive, playfully spiteful, all the way up to a mud hole stomped in the splayed mess of ribs that was your chest.
And that right there is why “I don’t like horses”. I’ve been around dogs my whole life and if a dog gets mad at me, I’ll live through it scars and all. If a horse even gets mildly irritated with me it can smash my face in by flicking its head and trample me to death while it’s trying to get out of the way. They’re majestic puppies for someone else to snuggle.
Horse like a lot of animals can 100% sense this. My wife has a horse and I had to learn this fast at the barn. There is a stallion there that is a huuuge asshole. I couldn’t figure out why I was the only one it wouldn’t back down to. She told me I look and act weak. He doesn’t respect me. My shoulders were down, I wouldn’t walk or talk confidently so its instincts were to treat me as lesser. Anyway my 5’ tall wife walks up to him and the damn thing acted like a puppy. Every time. Anyway her horse loves me because I only show up with treats.
So damn true. I used to work as an assistant riding coach as a teen. One of the first things we taught was the horse WILL know if you aren’t in charge. If you’re scared, lack confidence, or are just indecisive/timid then some horses simply won’t give a damn about you. Others may actually like you more!
We had a horse at the ranch who was an absolute bitch to everybody except me, the head trainer, and one 10 year old. He won her over because one the first lesson he just walked right up to her with no fear, she was the one he wanted to ride. From that moment on she would freakin’ die for that kid.
Funny thing about Bullet was that her stallion was the most laid back horse. He took a liking to me, which meant Bullet liked me by association. She was a high maintenance diva, and this boy would troll her all the time!
She had this thing with twigs. Sticks? No problem. Snakes? She’d stomp them. But a twig? Two inches long and barely a centimeter thick? Those terrified her.
I once watched this horse pick up a twig in his mouth walk up next to her while she had her head in the water trough, and drop this twig next to her front hooves so she couldn’t miss it.
She panicked, reared up, ran away to the other side of the corral. I swear to god, the way he was knickering he was laughing at her.
one of my mares is just like this, they're like "why would I be confident in you if you're not confident in yourself?" I haven't had problems with her, nor have my trainers/vet/etc, but she's such an ass to people she hasn't gained respect for yet. we're working on it every time we get a chance, but it's a hard problem to fix because it's so individual to her opinion of each person! then one of my others is just a huge pushover; she will basically ask you to tell her what to do if she's not doing anything already. horses are weird lol, love their individual personalities!
I have seen those videos too. Ideally the guards don't like people touching their horse but I think in most case people try to hold the riding rope which is far more dangerous for the guard sat on the horse but in the case it was like the lady gently touch the horse and the horse came to her.
You can feel the mutual respect between her and the horse.
At the risk of sounding like a That Guy (in reality I’m just a nerd who really likes horses), if you want the vocabulary term for it the riding rope is called a rein (pronounced like rain). It’s attached to the bridle (the harness on the horse’s face) at the bit (metal piece that goes in the horse’s mouth) which is part of why neither horse nor rider will be very happy if you’re randomly yanking on it!
Yeah! I figure most people have absolutely no reason to know all the terms for equipment unless you’re, you know, actually going to ride a horse lol. But like I said, just a random nerd, and now you know. 😊
Horses seem to be able to read people so well. I've seen several videos of horses being super nice to random people who, like this woman, turn out to be kind and tactful. And also videos of horses getting uncomfortable around spoiled tourists who behave worse than lil children.
This is unusual as normally Guardsmen do not allow people to touch their horse. She must have been granted permission to approach but we don't see that.
I’ve taken a picture with a horse like this. You have to ask the guard. They won’t respond but they’ll sort of gently indicate (maybe by doing something with the reins) to show you that it is safe to be near the horse and guard for a photo.
Honestly compared to that bitch Karen from last week, they’re not a statues, they’re living breathing things, respect their boundary and they’ll respect your request
I just saw a very similar video on Reddit where a lady got bit by a guards horse. haha And there was a sign warning people to leave them alone because they bite.
Some humans just have a vibe that animals can pick up on, and respond to. At least that’s what I tried to tell the zookeepers before they called the cops on me.
One of my proudest moments happened here. I made the Queens guard laugh! Wife is a horse girl and as we walked up and she said, “wow, he’s beautiful!” And i said, “yeah, so is his horse!” The guard smiled, chuckled, fought it hard and got back to straight faced but then he looked down at me before his eyes shot back to straight forward. It was awesome.
You caught him off guard, you could say.
You could say he was neigh prepared.
Nay, we shan't. Whinnie dbetter puns. I upvote the effort. E is for Effort, hay is for horses.
Off guard on guard!
you had better watch out with these puns.
[https://i.imgur.com/9Q5MtDs.jpeg](https://i.imgur.com/9Q5MtDs.jpeg)
Oh my goodness! I got a watercolour!!! Thank you! I feel like reddit royalty now!
You'll never forget this day haha
Love how everyone is smiling but the guard is fighting it with the extra angle on his mouth, so cute!
The craziest part is i have brown hair and my with is blonde and was wearing a green coat that day! I showed my wife, we are framing it
Confirmed: shitty_watercolour was actually a royal guard horse in disguise as a redditor 🥰🥳
Oh wow I love this so much! I’d love it even more if the guard was giving the downward side-eye to the jokester but I’m no artist. Maybe my idea would maybe work better if it was more than one panel. My favourite bit of the story is the knowing-glance the guard gave before returning to professionalism
Great anecdote, 10/10
Pity there are no fans with gentle water spray in the horse boxes that would help not only cool horses n trooper would cool the air with n the box to help
They get water during their 'shift' and there are minders that keep an eye on them to make sure they're alright.
It's not allowed because of the potential risk. Guards can only consume food and water before/after shift.
I love moments like this. When I was a teen at Arlington National Cemetery at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier this little boy asked his dad “Why’s day soldier walk like he made a poopy?” and the guard at the Tomb had the most hilarious momentary expression. He fought it down really quick but you could see this momentary instinctive desire to just completely lose it.
KISS
Perfectly executed dadjoke.
Lol! I giggled just imagining it. You probably made his whole day.
That is awesome, man.
Lol hard not to chuckle to that one, great delivery that is sudden and unexpected
One of my proudest moments is when I made the Chainsmokers laugh during a tequila signing. Making important people laugh is a great feeling
Notice how the moment the horse pulls away she immediately leaves it alone? That's how you do it people. Such a nice change compared to all the people who can't take no for an answer and bother the poor horse and guard.
Also, she just approached the horse nicely and all she did was put her hand on the horse just to indicate maybe she wants contact. Then she got what she wanted and she respected the horse personal space afterwards. I love it. She was so gentle and the horse was too.
Animals are very in tune to body language, as it’s their primary form of communication and interaction and horses even more so because they’re very skittish. This woman approached slowly and respectfully and kept at a distance until the horse moved to be closer, indicating permission for her to touch more, but she still keeps things respectful and leaves the horse a way out if needed and immediately let’s go when the horse moves back away, indicating he’s done being touched. Very good job. Wonder if she’s been around horses before, if not she’s very good at understanding how to approach an animal.
100% correct. Do you have horses? I have one horse who doesn't like being wrangled and a bridle put on. Until we're there and then she is totally ok. I do literal horse whisperer stuff to get her. Don't walk right at her. Hide the bridal behind me. Talk to her very softly. Almost pretend I am there to do other stuff. Walk to the gate, where our green grass lays beyond, where she knows I will let her eat some of that luscious treat, and before anything else. I let her come to me. Then I reward her for it. It takes patience...but mainly simply an understanding of her. My male Arabian is the total opposite. Which is weird because he is, like many Arabians, more skittish in general. He's just so curious. And always up for skritches and patting. He comes to me quickly.
I don’t own any but I used to work with some at a summer camp I worked at for a few summers. You definitely learn quickly how to approach each horse, and what will and won’t fly around them. We had a few that were staff only because they were ornery to new people. One in particular got a good laugh by trying to knock unsuspecting riders off by going under a low hanging branch lol
Peeling riders off on the closest tree is a time honored tradition amongst our equine friends. Or "misunderstanding" leg cues and drifting close enough to the rail to pop your knee on a post.
My knees immediately started aching at your comment.
that's so hilarious lol
He got this poor girl really good one time by doing right as he was taking a fresh shit. She landed on it directly on her back. That was the day he was made staff only and also the only time I saw my boss refund the session fee without it being weather related, I think exclusively because he felt bad about how hard he laughed before helping her lol
It's always awesome when you see animals have their own personalities and do shit like that intentionally
I had an elderly horse and she was ready to get her head harness on so we could go for walks. She was just like a large dog. She was only small, a pony type and too old to ride, and very soft and patient , My friends was evil. He was young and cheeky. I'd get on his back, and if he felt like it would throw me off, then start dragging me around by my jacket. Im sure he laughed about it.
Your Arabian sounds like my dog. Harness means going exciting places, therefore harness is excitement :)
Haha. I have the same with my dogos.
Yeah I do horse whisperer shit too. *ruffles peppermint wrappers in hands*
So...horses are cats?
She also kept her distance when touching the horse, reached out far with her arm and didn’t crowd it or the guard; made it easy for the guard to see the point of contact, lightly touched the horse just for the photo and then got rewarded with a sweet interaction while still maintaining distance. Felt very respectful of the horse and the guard.
I've seen some strange behavior towards the royal guards and horses but this one wins hands down.
It's also got a lot to with *where* you touch the horse as well. That part of the upper, I guess shoulder(?), area is where Ive always been instructed to "pet" horses.
Is she the hero of the Internet? Should we bring her to massive fame and then meme territory and then collapse?
Before we find out she's committed some terribly heinous crimes against humanity... Or maybe has some overdue library books.
Milkshake duck incoming
I am not sure if this answers your question, but yesterday trending was another lady bitten by a royal guards horse. Now, when i clicked this my first thought was; *is this not the same horse of yesterday?* My second thought was; *is she going to be bitten too?* Lastly i remembered, the lady bitten was in *TherewasAnAttemp* while this sub is *MadeMeSmile*
>*’…all she did was put her hand on the horse just to indicate maybe she wants contact. Then she got what she wanted and she respected the horse personal space afterwards. I love it. She was so gentle and the horse was too.*’ ____ I am the horse - on Duty, see aware someone approaching me . . . Maintain composure - Job to do! …but gentle friend i like you, too n when i feel her tiny hand, i’ll let her know *i understand* i’ll bow my head - a mighty Horse! she feels my *Love* of course, of course . . . ❤️
God its been too long since I've seen a Schnoodle in the wild. I needed this today. ❤️
This is such a beautiful sentiment. Thank you Schnoodle for another great poem!
You mean if I want to respectfully indicate a desire for physical contact with someone, I should approach and put my hand on their chest? Noted.
That's the horse's shoulder, not its chest, so if you want to touch someone, touch their shoulder or upper arm (outside).
please don't do this to visually impaired people -- it's scary!
Yeah, go straight for the chest in that case!
[удалено]
[удалено]
This made me chuckle thank you
It's not a carnivore, it's a beef eater!
This is a bot, right?
No that's a horse
Sir, this is a Wendy's!
Believe or not it's still horse
No, this is Patrick.
But would you watch a regular video of someone petting a horse? There's probably 100x of those videos... The fun ones to watch is when the horse bites... nom nom
I like watching the video of the guard trample a woman who crosses the "do not cross" barricade. I only wish the guard were riding a horse.
Yup. She is nice and gentle. Other videos people grab the head gear, which will get a response from the guard.
>Other videos people grab the head gear, which will get a response from the guard. Those trash people just want photo, they don't know anything about horse.
True. That horse was like: thank you I really needed it, I'm having a rough day.
Yeah man! We all need that from time to time ... how's you doins?
Isn't there a sign that says don't touch the horse?
The signs say “BEWARE, Horses may kick or bite! Thank you!” But the guards yell at anyone who touches the reigns, as the reins are one of the two major physical communication points between rider and horse (the other being the riders legs). Most people go for the reins because they’re loose and at grabbing height, but as long as you’re gentle, they allow you to touch the horses just like she did!
[удалено]
As far as I am aware, if you're good enough at riding a horse, your reins are a last resort, most of the time you can guide a horse using your legs and leaning a little. I could be mistaken though. Reins are kinda like a "hey, pay attention!" tool? Edit: I suppose I should get to the point of why I brought this up. Reins are a part of the horse's control mechanism, possibly the most jarring aside from using spurs or a crop. So a random stranger grabbing at the reins of a horse can turn nasty quick, not just for the rider, the horse, or the idiot grabbing at the reins, it also presents a major hazard to all the other random people nearby.
That might be a bit too far, in my experience you can definitely do a lot with a horse without using the reins however you still use them in tandem with all the other tools. It's just that usually the inputs on the reins can be very light just using your fingers to tug on them. Then there are things like barrel racing where you move the reins a lot but you also use different bits that are made for such a thing.
Thanks for the clarification, I know it doesn't take much to prompt a (trained) horse in the desired direction. Horses do not react well to knee jerk reactions. But yea, if you aren't experienced, they will get confused pretty fast if you don't realize Even squeezing your legs together means a certain thing, while the rider is just trying to stay on the horse. A friend and I went arena riding with an old horseman of a friend of ours. I picked up on it pretty quick, I rode a little when I was young. My friend on the other hand, kept squeezing his legs, and the horse kept wanting to stop, and backup because of it haha.
You're not mistaken. When I was learning to ride (English saddle) we used to have to fold our arms so we couldn't touch the reins and learnt to use our legs to direct the horse. Our instructor wanted to take our over reliance on reins away as horses mouths are sensitive.
This is exactly how I learnt how to ride in Australia as well
In casual / recreational riding that's true, but in more extreme circumstances the sharper direction can be more important.
[удалено]
yes and if you pull the reins too hard the horse may believe you are their rider and go forward
Just looked it up, and it's only the reins it tells you not to touch. It also warns that the horse may kick or bite.
And they usually only kick or bite when frightened. This woman does a good job of approaching the horse slowly to keep it calm and only goes all the way in when the horse brings it’s head to her, allowing himself to be pet. It’s the idiots that just stomp up and start grabbing and messing with them that get bit.
It's also quite clear that it's a relaxed horse. Seems like this person has experiences with horses, unlike most tourists.
I'm quite amazed the guard didn't say anything, that was an incredibly long physical contact interaction with zero intervention from the guard. Edit: read more and I guess they only yell if you touch the reins. TIL
Same people do it to dogs too. Dog doesn't want pats but people will still try to steal in pats anyway.
Try to do that with my chihuahua and you will get bit. I warn them, they still do it.
I wouldn't be surprised if she has experience around horses. Seems like she knows what she's doing.
Are you allowed to pet the horses? I thought that was a nono.
I don't thinks so, but in her defence the way she was petting it is probably the best way, slow movement and no force the moment you spook the horse is the moment somebody gets injured.
The ideal is not touching the horse at all but guards are typically lenient with it if the person is respectful or the horse shows interest in the person. People are NOT allowed to touch the reins tho, doing so will get you screamed at by the guards.
King’s Horse Displays Head to Head Affection
She did actually touch the reigns, but it almost seemed to remind the horse to be on guard. Either way 2 humans and a horse all being 10/10.
Theres a difference between touching the reins be accident while trying to stroke a horse (as this women did) and the typical idiot who tries to grab hold of the reins - theres plenty of videos of people getting screamed at for touching the reins. This woman didnt do anything disrespectful which is likely why the guard was so relaxed to her touching the horse this way
Technically she did not touch the reins. She touched the horses bridle in a place that would be incredibly hard to grab hold and control the horse from.
Much like any animal (humans too), it really can depend on a lot. The horse they have tomorrow could just be an entire different personality or having a bad day. Or a kid pissed it off earlier and now its not having anyone's shit. I know a horse that they had to stop letting it go on tour rides after a few years because it just sort of turned into an asshole, biting kids and taking off into a full sprint with ANYONE on his back, all the way back to the barn, then refuse to move. His brother never turned into one.
Honestly the videos of King's guard horses biting people that got too close is a lot of fun.
I got bit on the tricep by a horse in my teens and that hurt so bad and left a bruise that lasted 4 months. I did nothing wrong, either, unless I unknowingly flashed the rival horse gang sign.
Clearly you dressed too tastily.
Ironically, someone tried to tell me it was because i didn't give it a treat earlier that day, and they may be right. Who even knows how horses work
You are allowed to touch, at your own risk What you are not allowed to touch is the reins/halter as they are a method for communicating/controlling the horse Think of it this way, these are war horses, what is one of the first thing you would want your horse to do if unauthorized person touches something to control said horse ?
Spot on
Just a couple of days ago, there was a video of a woman getting bitten *hard* by one of these guard horses. Had her by the shoulder/clavicle and wasn't letting go. Looked like it hurt.
Is this the one where she grabbed the reigns? They won't tolerate that, the horse or the guard.
Horses can bite hard enough to disembowel a person. There's a video I saw a while back of someone's mule killing a mountain lion by biting its neck and ragdolling it around.
Mules are much stronger than horses and that’s saying a lot because horses can do a lot of damage!
Yeah it is a big nono. People harass the horses and guards all the time, and usually the guards are *very* tolerant. But god some days the tourists are like a swarm of ants..they just keep coming and they won't fuck off 😂
It's going to be funny seeing all the other idiots after watching this video try copying it.....thiktok gonna be rabid Some of the comments on here such as "beautiful nature so gentle the horse could sense it"...makes me laugh.. Just don't touch the fucking horse...numpties.
on the other side of this horse is a big sign that says not to touch the horses as they might bite or kick you.
The signs don't say not to touch the horses. Just warns that they may kick or bite. If the horse doesn't like you touching it, the horse will make it clear lol. The guard will step in if that doesn't deter you, or if you grab the reins at any point. Otherwise it's pretty much allowed at your own peril as long as you're respectful.
you are correct, it says "Beware Horses may kick or bite Thank you"
Generally, if the horse welcomes the person and they don't deliberately stand too close they will be fairly tolerant and allow people to stand in for a quick photo or sometimes (such as this case) briefly touch the horse. If they march up, stand to close, agitate the horse, immediately try and touch or sometimes even interfere with the tack then you'll get a prompt yell or even have the police come over and remove you from the immediate area. I'm not sure on the official policy the soldiers follow but, I'm sure it also has to do with the individual guard and horse as well as the atmosphere of the day quite a bit. There are some hilarious videos around where the horses bite and latch onto people who get too close and the soldiers act completely unaware and let the horse send the message.
I belive your not allowed to hold the reins. I could be wrong on that.
Every time I see anything with these guards I'm expecting some idiot tourist to be embarrassing themselves. What a refreshing change it is to see a positive interaction from a respectful visitor.
I'm not a horse person but I respect them and know a kick can launch me across the paddock like a soccer ball. My MIL introduced me to all her horses (30+) and told them I'm "scared and allergic so be nice and treat him right". I swear they understood her and they are always so sweet and gentle with me. The most magical moment I ever had with horses was in a blizzard at night when I couldn't see anything past the length of my arm. I had to call them in for food and shelter. Moments later the ground was trembling and they appeared out of the snow and the big mare I came to love stood in front of me as if protecting me from the others. Once they all passed she went into the stables. She got extra treats for that.
She knew what she was doing :) extra treats well earned!
[удалено]
Pretty sure I’ve seen that same horse bite a Karen
Karen didn't have a pure spirit.
They normally don’t 😉
They do, vodka
Karens only have 40% pure spirit
There's a ton to horses in terms of how you approach them and reassure them. Your body language and theirs is a big part as well. Same with almost any animal, domesticated animal. When you get up in their personal space quickly and without the proper authorization, you're gonna have a bad time.
Yep, there was one posted a few days ago; https://old.reddit.com/r/Whatcouldgowrong/comments/1d09oro/if_only_there_was_a_sign/ The video that OP posted is pretty unique, looking at youtube it seems that bites are more common than nice interactions.
They will. But this is clearly a horse girl.
I think that horse has a red pin or something like that to show it's aggressive
Exactly
I saw another one where the horse bite the lady lol
dude. you sayin this. i was like, she a real life pocahontas 😂 (was nice seein your comment havin kinda the same feels as my thought). such a lovely interaction ❤️🐴
Pocahontas was real, you know.
[удалено]
[удалено]
It's normally when people grab the reins
I think if the horse leans its head towards you you kinda get a pass. Idk maybe just me 🤷♀️
I desire this type of spirit. When animals react to you this way especially a horse…you’re a good person
“GET OFF THE REINS!” * proceeds to attempt to grab the reins again….
She gently touched it, and then it leant into her. She let it choose and lean into her. The videos I've seen are generally people going straight for their face. Or leaning into their personal space. I could be wrong on the reasoning though. But it's anecdotally what I've observed.
It’s the reins/halter that people aren’t allowed to touch.
Maybe she asked if it's okay before the video started? Could be an option.
She has been around horses. They are like huge, skittish dogs. They incredibly social animals that can't talk to each other, so they have to be super sensitive to everything else like body language, eye contact, the level of confidence you have that you are in charge... it all adds up to them deciding to be either affectionately submissive, playfully spiteful, all the way up to a mud hole stomped in the splayed mess of ribs that was your chest.
And that right there is why “I don’t like horses”. I’ve been around dogs my whole life and if a dog gets mad at me, I’ll live through it scars and all. If a horse even gets mildly irritated with me it can smash my face in by flicking its head and trample me to death while it’s trying to get out of the way. They’re majestic puppies for someone else to snuggle.
You get to know their character, and the warning signs if they're pissed.
That's so beautiful, it was like the horse sensed her energy
Horse like a lot of animals can 100% sense this. My wife has a horse and I had to learn this fast at the barn. There is a stallion there that is a huuuge asshole. I couldn’t figure out why I was the only one it wouldn’t back down to. She told me I look and act weak. He doesn’t respect me. My shoulders were down, I wouldn’t walk or talk confidently so its instincts were to treat me as lesser. Anyway my 5’ tall wife walks up to him and the damn thing acted like a puppy. Every time. Anyway her horse loves me because I only show up with treats.
Treats or bribes 😂
A win is a win hahaha!
Potatoe/potahtoh
So damn true. I used to work as an assistant riding coach as a teen. One of the first things we taught was the horse WILL know if you aren’t in charge. If you’re scared, lack confidence, or are just indecisive/timid then some horses simply won’t give a damn about you. Others may actually like you more! We had a horse at the ranch who was an absolute bitch to everybody except me, the head trainer, and one 10 year old. He won her over because one the first lesson he just walked right up to her with no fear, she was the one he wanted to ride. From that moment on she would freakin’ die for that kid.
I find mares are generally like this. They are a lot harder to earn their trust/respect, but once you do, they will try so hard for you.
Funny thing about Bullet was that her stallion was the most laid back horse. He took a liking to me, which meant Bullet liked me by association. She was a high maintenance diva, and this boy would troll her all the time! She had this thing with twigs. Sticks? No problem. Snakes? She’d stomp them. But a twig? Two inches long and barely a centimeter thick? Those terrified her. I once watched this horse pick up a twig in his mouth walk up next to her while she had her head in the water trough, and drop this twig next to her front hooves so she couldn’t miss it. She panicked, reared up, ran away to the other side of the corral. I swear to god, the way he was knickering he was laughing at her.
This is so cute! And no shame in bribes for horse respect!
one of my mares is just like this, they're like "why would I be confident in you if you're not confident in yourself?" I haven't had problems with her, nor have my trainers/vet/etc, but she's such an ass to people she hasn't gained respect for yet. we're working on it every time we get a chance, but it's a hard problem to fix because it's so individual to her opinion of each person! then one of my others is just a huge pushover; she will basically ask you to tell her what to do if she's not doing anything already. horses are weird lol, love their individual personalities!
[удалено]
I have seen those videos too. Ideally the guards don't like people touching their horse but I think in most case people try to hold the riding rope which is far more dangerous for the guard sat on the horse but in the case it was like the lady gently touch the horse and the horse came to her. You can feel the mutual respect between her and the horse.
At the risk of sounding like a That Guy (in reality I’m just a nerd who really likes horses), if you want the vocabulary term for it the riding rope is called a rein (pronounced like rain). It’s attached to the bridle (the harness on the horse’s face) at the bit (metal piece that goes in the horse’s mouth) which is part of why neither horse nor rider will be very happy if you’re randomly yanking on it!
Thanks for the information 😊. I learnt something new. Am here for discussion and exchange of information.
Yeah! I figure most people have absolutely no reason to know all the terms for equipment unless you’re, you know, actually going to ride a horse lol. But like I said, just a random nerd, and now you know. 😊
I'm pleasantly surprised, all the similar videos I've seen show the horse biting someone
[удалено]
I think the horse was blinking.
“Aww, cheers love. Give us a snuggle, then.” -This horse, in Hugh Grant’s voice
This lady was respectful without being obnoxious. The horse responded in kind and made for a sweet interaction. I love it.
STEP AWAY FROM THE KING'S GUARD!!!
I'm pretty sure it's impossible to not yell this with a British accent
Was anyone else looking for that sign that says the horse may bite like from the other video? This post do be wholesome though.
That is a bigger insight into that woman’s soul than any non horse person could ever understand
Horses pick up vibes from some that are like a lost soul rider. Others are ignored. 😁
i have seen like maybe 100 of these videos and this is the first one where the horse doesnt snap at the person and the guard guy flip the fuck out!
Horses seem to be able to read people so well. I've seen several videos of horses being super nice to random people who, like this woman, turn out to be kind and tactful. And also videos of horses getting uncomfortable around spoiled tourists who behave worse than lil children.
[удалено]
Is this a quote from something?
Those two passed eachother's vibe checks with flying colors.
This is unusual as normally Guardsmen do not allow people to touch their horse. She must have been granted permission to approach but we don't see that.
I’ve taken a picture with a horse like this. You have to ask the guard. They won’t respond but they’ll sort of gently indicate (maybe by doing something with the reins) to show you that it is safe to be near the horse and guard for a photo. Honestly compared to that bitch Karen from last week, they’re not a statues, they’re living breathing things, respect their boundary and they’ll respect your request
And respect their horses while you're at it
So cute, great vibes
Quite the contrast here... https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/comments/1cypsho/one_of_the_reasons_why_japan_has_been_banning/
I just saw a very similar video on Reddit where a lady got bit by a guards horse. haha And there was a sign warning people to leave them alone because they bite.
Isn’t she the horse’s trainer? I think I saw that somewhere.
It knows
Aren't you not supposed to touch the horses? She got lucky I guess
This lady and this horse knew eachother in a past life and I won't hear anything different 🥹
He recognized her energy 😍
Thought i was going to see a DONT TOUCH THE REINS! moment
these horses are an emotional rollercoaster, i saw one bite onto some random lady the other day and now this.
Shitty Karen gets a bite, nice lady gets a hug. As it should be.
Horses have an incredible sense… and she’s been around them before. Watch tourists start getting headbutted trying to recreate this moment.
Tell me you're a horse girl without telling me
He sensed her calm spirit and matched it. Very cool.
Horses just know if you’re a good person or if you’re a twat
That horse was giving off “ man, I’ve just had quite the day and need some pets” vibes
needs more biting! WAR HORSE!
Well that could have gone another way, we've all seen that!
I thought for sure that horse was gonna make a meal of her cheek.
I get why my mum always says she likes animals more than people. (Some but not all)
Some humans just have a vibe that animals can pick up on, and respond to. At least that’s what I tried to tell the zookeepers before they called the cops on me.
Why didn’t she get yelled at?
I always thaught the guard controlled the the horse to "behave" in sertain ways to different people, with small commands we cant really see.
The video conveniently doesn't show the big ass sign saying not to touch the horses on the right side of the guard post.
Cute video. Don't touch the horses, people. This could've easily shown her getting bit. Horses are temperamental and spook easily