Thursday Video: Conveniently Lame

We’ve all seen our horses pull this stunt, have we not?

If horses are good at anything (besides destroying blankets, detecting the faintest crinkle of a peppermint wrapper from three counties away, and spooking at spots of sunlight), it’s strategic lameness. You know the drill:

Two days before the big show? Head-bobbing like a metronome.

Pre-purchase exam tomorrow? Suddenly the trot looks like it’s powered by square wheels.

The farrier finally has an opening? Congratulations, you now own a three-legged giraffe.

Call it intuition, call it emotional intelligence, call it a finely tuned understanding of veterinary bill timing—whatever it is, horses always seem to pick exactly the wrong (or right?) moment to go mysteriously, miraculously off.

And today’s Exhibit A in Convenient Equine Lameness: Mr. Ed, the palomino icon himself. When a potential buyer shows up and starts listing off things to look for, Ed is mysteriously lame. And when the buyer seems convinced the horse is fine and insists that a really sick horse would show more symptoms —stiffness, head down, lying down — Ed suddenly develops every symptom in real time like he’s reading from the world’s most dramatic vet textbook.

Thankfully, in this case, Ed avoids an unwanted sale. But in our lives? Good old Spirit is just ensuring we don’t manage to make it to the next event. Sigh… 🙄

Enjoy this masterclass in equine theatrics. If your own horse ever pretends to be lame for convenience, just remember: Mr. Ed walked so they could limp.

Happy Thursday, Horse Nation. May your horses stay sound and your sanity remain intact. Go riding!