Spooking horse!

[kyraet]

Hiya,

Could anyone suggest any exercises to do with my horse in the school to help with spooking??

I have been doing regular schooling on him over the last month but find that he will spook at the daftest things within the school and over the fence! for example a pepperami packed wedged in the grass :) !! basically any thing he can find within view range. I'm not sure if its due to the lack of schooling from his last owner or if hes just trying it on with me!

I have tried exercises where im changing rein and transitions to keep him listening but still find him very tense!

I'm wanting to eventually introduce poles and some small jumps but think i need to work on the spooking first!

could any one help??

ash x

[Herbie's mummy]

Have you tried walking him out in hand....just around and about the yard mabey?
Also when you are riding-he spook, just ignore and get him to come back to you and start to listen, as you say i think its just lack of schooling and being a little bit silly.:)

[kyraet]

Hi,

You say walk out in hand, could that be done in a school also with poles and cones etc??

I dont think i help the situation as i can see ahead on a hack what he will spook at! I have been working on the tips in last months 'your horse' and have been trying to sit lighter in the saddle and relax more to reasure him!

Thankyou

ash x

[Herbie's mummy]

yes cones etc would be fab as well:D
you seem to be doing the right thing-i would just take it slow and steady.
Just try not to tence up....i know easy to say hard to do!!!

[kyraet]

Thank you,

will give that a shot tomorrow and see how we go ;)

[Herbie's mummy]

:Di'm glad! at least then you can ''give him a lead'' and just have a play about really!

[Elvengirl]

What does he get for food?

One of the horses I used to ride was given oats and within a week he was spooking at everything. He wasn't even the same horse! As soon as we took him off oats, he was mellow again.

Make sure when you're out riding to not try and "look" for things he is going to spook at because by looking at it you will subconciously steer your horse to look at it too, keep you eyes up and keep your body relaxed. (I know it's a lot easier said than done)

The ground work suggested is great. For when you are in the saddle I suggest shoulder-ins, circles, transitions, anything to keep the attention on you. Some horses are just naturally spooky and I found keeping their minds on their jobs is the best for them. The horse I ride right now wears a shadow roll on his noseband when jumping at shows to stop him from spooking, you could try this at home as well. It really seems to work but does encourage higher head carriage so not an option if the horse is already high headed.

[Greentchr]

There are a few more suggestions in the 'General' thread area on a thread labeled Spooky Horses... you might check it out. Here is what I posted there:

We have found that the more de-sensitizing we do, the less spooky the horses become. We desensitize to many, many different things- everything from blowing (big orange) bags at meal times, to frisbees being thrown at them, motorcycles zooming around them, crates drug behind them, boards to walk over... the more things we desensitize them to, the more they seem to trust us to protect them from scary objects.

Some other things we have used:
umbrellas, baby-strollers, backpacks, bicycles, dogs (still don't trust them not to kick one, however), fireworks, skis, basketballs, sheep, cattle, ropes around legs, saddles slipping under bellies, ect. The more you do, the less spooky they become.

[mayoguinness]

My horse used to this and I was told it was because he didn't want to do what I asked so to distract me he would find something to spook at and so far it had been working! So I started really starting to focose my atention and ignored him when he spooked and he soon realized it wasn't working and stopped ;)

[teabiscuit]

fin will spook to avoid work, but thug spooks because he's genuinely scared

[Joyscarer]

Joy spooks at all things natural when hacking out so I have taken to leading out in hand and she is a completely different girl because she then takes her lead from me.

I haven't yet tried riding her out again to see if the in hand work has made a difference so I can't say if this option has worked for us or not. Fingers crossed :)

[kyraet]

Hi all,

Thanks guys for all the tips! when damn weather picks up will give all of this a shot! :D

ash x

[Lucy J]

best way I cured my mare's spooking was to laugh at her everytime she did it so she felt stupid!!!

[Trewsers]

I've had Storm 2 years and I like to think we've "bonded" and that she trusts me more than she did - but, she still spooks like mad depending on the weather!!!! If we're in the school and its windy - well, she just about looks and spooks at every piece of sand surface - and woe betide me if there are rabbits or any other little wildlife scurrying about nearby in the evening! The most spectacular spook to date was when she saw something out of the corner of her eye and did what I call a " buck rear" (very odd to experience!) and headed right for the corner of the fence, fortunately we pulled up in time! I can only suggest lots of patience and time - and more exposure to scary objects - I like to see lots of scary things and I "kill" them for her in hand first - usually by sitting on them (funny coloured mounting blocks / strange jump wings etc etc). Good luck, I'm sure with practice you'll get there - always expect the unexpected and you won't go wrong!!!!