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[RC] re: horses having fun - ErinI would have to argue against the statement that horses don't have fun. One example: I read about the old firehorses and how enthusiastically served their roles (to the extent that they almost couldnt be retired: I read one account of a retired firehorse being retired from duty to be a carthorse and every time he heard the firehouse bell, he could be counted on to drag his new driver to the scene of the fire, despite the fact that he had been retired...)Horses don't like to be bored and if they are trained to have a job and are good at it, it builds their confidence and they enjoy it. There have got to be riders who could swear that their horses enjoyed jumping or competing; otherwise, how could those who were greats really excell? (Once when riding in a pasture with some cows, my dressage trained arabian mare started to cut cattle despite not having been trained, without me asking. Would she have done it if she didn't want to or consider it fun?) You can't force an athlete to be that good, he has to have it in him. And in order to be that good at something, you have to enjoy it. The pursuit of pleasure IS fun, whether it's cavorting in the pasture, eating a yummy mash, getting scratched, or perfectly jumping a challenging horse. My own mare, who can easily be labeled as lazy, has surprised me by gleefully kicking up her heels and breaking into a gallop when we have gone on trail rides into an orchard down the road from where I board. She doesn't get out that often to a change of scenery and I dont think I can be accused of anthropomorphism (assigning human characteristics to animals), but I know she was having fun/enjoying herself. I don't think you can really differentiate the two. After all, the main drive of any being is survival, and anything pleasant denotes a survival activity (food, sex, fun). It's a pretty basic drive. Although, to acquiesce to the OP's thought, I would have to definitely agree that probably some or a lot of what we ask our horses to do is NOT fun to them. But I know there's some fun and enjoyment experienced by horses due to the jobs/experiences we give them, some probably more than others. It's our job to make sure that we are looking out for their overall sense of well-being.
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