How do you cope when riding a horse that is scared of something?

Laura2184

Laura2184

Active Member
Mar 1, 2005
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Cheshire
www.cheshiretackroom.co.uk
I went for a hack across our field last night to meet my friend that was coming back to the yard after using a menage at another place. It was dark but I had my mum walking with us head torch and hi viz gear.

We got to a spot in the field which is next to a canal and factory, funny noises were coming from the factory so he was scared, I was then a bit scared at the fact I was sitting on an animal that if scared has a flight response!

My friend then came around the corner and my horse didn't know what it was! You'd of thought he'd of been able to smell his field mate coming towards him :confused: anyway after several dragon snorts with head truly in the air he had a bucking fit, I stayed on thankfully but this isn't normal behaviour so just wondering...

How do you cope when you're horse is scared of something and has their head high and isn't listening to you?.....
 
Its sooo hard to do but I try my best:
Dont look at the thing yourself ignore it and look in the direction you want to go
Keep your legs wrapped round but don't kick
Sit up and keep a normal relaxed position
Resist the temptation to take a really short contact as it just communicates tension. Instead open your hand really wide and low to turn in that direction and get feet moving.
I sometimes find it useful to ask for a schooling outline and do some leg yield on a really small circle or a turn on the forehand or something as a distraction. Be quite insistent about this.

That said, if it actually progressed to bucking more action is needed! I'd be quite firm to get their attention by keeping their head up and trying to ride forward, then again would work on distracting them with something complicated.
 
If one of mine gets particularly upset about something then I'll do my utmost to consciously relax and breathe so I'm not transmitting any additional tension myself and also remind them that I'm there and I want their attention in some way, be it by correcting a step to one side or tweaking the rein to ask them to keep facing the direction I want them to go. Other than that I always read an erect neck as genuine fear and I'll give them as much time as they need to overcome it if the situation allows. If it doesn't then I'll do as much as I need to to try and get their attention back and keep us safe, but it isn't something that arises very often.

I've not come across bucking when scared before, most of the horses I've ridden would rather spin and run if they were really frightened.
 
and one of the best aids you have is your voice; lots of encouragement and praise. calm and happy, rather than sharp and excited. pats and strokes at the first sign of potential scaredness ie, if the head goes up.
 
Yes Sorry Yann, my story wasn't truly correct there! after the dragon snorts he calmed down a little after we stood talking for a few minutes, it was then we turned for home that he then bucked 3 times out of the blue, not sure whether my friends horse got to near him though.

It is sooo hard to try and relax yourself when you really don't know what will happen, all comes with experience though I guess and knowing your horse, we haven't really been in a situation like that in all the 4 years I've owned him so I guess its unknown territory a little as to what he does in those situations.
 
Yes, it can be scarey when put in that situation. I have to say that when I am nervous I have to talk to my horse otherwise I would probably freeze. It's horrible when you can feel their heart pounding and body allo tense. Sometimes if its because of a dog or someone they cant see I tend to talk louder so the scarey thing can hear me and come to my rescue!!
 
I think in a situation like that the horse needs to be reminded (constantly) you're there, before the flight instinct kicks in :eek:.
The horse also will take courage from the rider, so you need to act very confidently, even if you aren't.
One thing that changes when we get nervous and a horse can pick up on it, is breathing. So to keep my breathing even and steady I sing :eek:, much to everyones horror that has the misfortune of hearing :p.
Keep the horses attention by asking it to do some schooling moves.
If all else fails I laugh.
 
yes , daisy roots, i sing too!!! after my previous mare had her eye removed, i started riding her again quite early in the morning to begin with, so that she could get used to things quietely, but i forgot about waking pidgeons up, and we had some terrific take-offs as they flew off as we went under trees, so i used to sing at the top of my voice ( well- not quite) the entire route to drown out the sound of flapping wings and shaking branches. just silly songs, with her name often occurring in them, but she liked it and it calmed her ( and me too)
 
Another one for singing! My old loan horse used to be very very skittish out on hacks (stereotypical TB!), and jump at absolutely anything. When we were out on our own and he got scared I used to sing to him, or find a phrase and repeat that to him in a rhythm (like "good boy, don't be scared" in a singing voice and a specific slow rhtyhm), this used to keep him focused on me and in a rhythm rather than thinking about scary things, or trying to run home!

The best thing you can really do is relax and ignore the scary thing yourself, if they see that you've seen it and noticed it then it'll become all the more scary, whereas if they can get confidence from you that it's not actually scary they'll behave. The other tact is to notice it but laugh about the scary thing, I got so used to Spyder being stupid that I'd pre-empt anything scary and laugh to him about it - like "oh look Spyder there's a plastic bag flapping around it's going to eat you!" That also worked :D
 
8 legged pony: thats exactly the sort of song id sing, almost like silly nursery ryhmes soothing and sing- song, and making up the words keeps you concentrating, so not being afraid
 
if you ride at dawn,dusk or nearly dark expect probs! in the wild pray animals are always most wary.most vunrable time.our horse is very questioning with things he is worried abt he has a reason for it, but long story.
 
I love hacking and I love it even more when I find something Joy isn;t sure of so I can have the satisfaction of getting her over it.

My first instinct when she is unsure of something and I know whet it is is to laugh at her! I'm relaxed and I give her more rein and tell her in a low slow voice what a daft old baggage she is :p She responds better to the freedom of longer rein as to say 'well if you ain't bothered then I ain't!'

What more of a problem is when she spooks and I don't know why. This is because I'm more tense and taken by surprise.

I'll do the singing trick to calm us both down and if Joy won't go past (she'll plant or run backwards if you push her) then I'll hop off and lead her past from the side she's concerned about making sure I'm ignoring her completely so I expect her to follow. She'll follow me anywhere if I do this.

Once past I'll hop back on.

Not sure what I'd do if I were on a horse I didn't know inside out.
 
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