When horses figure out how big they are

I make no secret that I love really smart horses. You know, the kind you spend the majority of any training session just trying to outwit. Well, this horse takes the cake.

Meet “Mad Moose,” a 10-year-old Thoroughbred steeplechaser who resides in Great Britain. In an article on horseandcountrytv.com, his owner describes him as “flawed genius.” You see, Mad Moose figured something very important out about himself: the fact he is bigger, stronger and smarter than the little guy on the back of him. And so, when Mad Moose doesn't feel like racing… well, he just doesn't!

Mad Moose simply refusing to even start the race. “Let's go back to the barn and eat!”

Although he started his racing career with a win on the flat and then seven National Hunt races, in his last seven races he has flat-out refused to run in three of them. The last time out, he simply stopped at the last fence and called it a day. Unfortunately, so did the stewards who preside over racing. A panel decided last week that Mad Moose was finished as a racehorse.

Mad Moose says he is done before the first fence. “Hey, how about a nice, easy trail ride?”

As a horse with over 3,000 Twitter followers…

…there is no doubt that he should have every bit interesting a second career as he did a first. Maybe he will one day show up on a stellar bit of refusing-to-enter-the-ring dressage bloopers!

Go Mad Moose.

Heather Benson is a former racetrack executive, professional handicapping analyst and owner of a Triple Crown winner (well, at least a horse that played one in a movie). But far more importantly, she is a is still that girl who gets giddy when the starting gate opens and cries every time she watches a replay of Secretariat’s Belmont Stakes. Join her each month as she takes you on a journey through the world of horse racing, from top to bottom, with a little bit of everything in between! Heather also operates Back Forty Media and Marketing, a full service marketing firm focusing on telling story of equine ventures around the country. Go to her website for more info and to follow her on Facebook at www.backfortymarketing.com.