This is Susie and Warpaint on the left. Berry, right, doesn't mind the former but has huge issues with the latter. (Getty Images)

Eric Berry might be one of the best young safeties in the game, but the Chiefs' 2010 first-round pick has a secret: he is deathly afraid of horses. And we don't mean he gets a little freaked out around an animal that could drop-kick him through the uprights. We mean full-on terrified to the point that he doesn't even want to share a football field with a horse.This is problematic since Warpaint trots around Arrowhead Stadium before home games. 

We know of Berry's phobia because he was miked up on a recent Inside the NFL segment (watch it here).

"Aw, hell nah, there goes that horse," he said to his teammates while standing near the bench. "I don't f--- with that horse. That horse -- I gotta wait 'til that horse pass. I don't mess with horses, bro, straight up. He might come over and throw a tantrum."

Later, Berry is shown in a huddle with several players and an assistant coach. Warpaint gets a little too close for his liking.

"Hold up coach, that horse out there," he said. "That horse. She needs to go on ahead with that horse," Berry said of Susie, who rides Warpaint. "I don't fool with no horses, boy. She needs to go ahead and drive that thing away. I'm not worried about the chick; I'm worried about that horse."

So why the irrational fear? Turns out, it can be traced back to a bad experience in Berry's childhood. Josh Klingler of 610 Sports Radio in Kansas City tweets the details (via SBNation):

So there you have it. No word on what the excuses are for the 52 other Chiefs, coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Scott Pioli.

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