12/11/2025
“I need my horse to take a joke.”
People say this all the time about their horses—usually while doing something that would make any self-respecting prey animal file a complaint with HR.
It’s an interesting mindset, mostly because the “joke” is always on the horse.
I can flop around up here like a laundry bag, jab you in the ribs, accidentally water-ski on the reins—haha! Classic me! Lighten up, buddy!
Meanwhile, the rider’s definition of “joking back” is limited.
If the responds with a jig, a little buck, maybe a dramatic head toss - suddenly it’s not a comedy anymore. Now it’s a “behavior issue.” Now someone’s calling a trainer, a chiropractor, and possibly a priest. They're taking their toys and going home.
It’s like that person who loves teasing everyone at the party, but if you tease them back even one ounce, they go silent, stare at you like you’ve shattered their world view, and spend the rest of the night telling other people they were “attacked.”
The whole thing asks a bigger question:
If you want a horse who can “take a joke,” maybe the first step is learning to take one yourself. Because a real partnership isn’t one where only one of you is allowed to be imperfect. Sometimes the horse’s “joke” is just them telling you the truth—with a little extra enthusiasm.
If we expect our horses to tolerate our whole routine, it behooves us to tolerate theirs, right? Otherwise, we just look like that sulky stand up comedian going on a tyiade to an audience. Maybe the audience got the joke, they just didn't find it funny.
Here's Merlin's puzzled expression at my joke. I waited for the punchline to sink in, but he said, "I got it man, you're just not funny."
Photo by Caitlin Hatch
