Head-banging horse makes international headlines
‘She just goes to town; the heavier the better’
A Kawartha Lakes filly has become an international sensation courtesy of her affinity for heavy metal music.
“She’s a very sweet horse for a chestnut mare. They can be pretty bold and excitable,” said Autumn Purdy, who looks after the running bred quarterhorse and others at Bogar Farms east of Cameron.
Purdy had no idea Pretty Runaway (Pretty for short), a talented racer at Ajax Downs, was such a “metal head” until a few years ago.
“It’s usually just me in the barn and it can get kind of boring without music,” said Purdy.
One day, Purdy looked over and saw Pretty head-banging to the beat. Thinking it was a oneoff, Purdy played other rock songs for the now seven-yearold mare. The reaction only changed with the song’s speed.
“If it has lots of drums and guitars, she just goes to town; the heavier the better,” said Purdy.
“And there’s no trick to it … I wish I could explain it to people.”
Purdy even tested this out by playing some country music. Pretty showed absolutely no interest, even turning her back to the boom box. When the selection was changed to a heavy rock tune, Pretty instantly turned around and began bobbing.
Pretty, who was purchased by farm owner James Bogar four years ago, shares the farm with 56 other horses and is the only head banger of the group.
Purdy noted some horses will bob their head in a similar manner as Pretty – albeit not to the same extent — because they are stressed or anxious.
“That’s not the case with her. She’s usually a really chill horse, even on race day,” said Purdy, who thinks it would be fun to use the Downs’ speaker system to broadcast entry music one day.
Pretty’s proclivity for thrash tunes — her favourite bands include Slipknot, Pantera and Black Sabbath — remained in relative obscurity until Purdy began putting some of the videos she had captured over the years onto TikTok.
“It just blew up. It’s just insane,” said Purdy of the media attention the videos have garnered in recent days, including on CNN.
“I know horses are kind of trending right now, but I was just blown away by the interest,” said Purdy.
The story has since been broadcasted on stations across the United States and Canada in recent days.