handbagsandhay
Well-Known Member
Exercising my friends gorgeous ex racer. he is an absolute sweetheart - on the ground
He hasn't been worked much in a while and is a little fresh! He is also very spooky. I only started riding him less than a month ago so we are still getting to know each other but lo and behold I am besotted with him! However in the field at one end of the school there are a couple of cows and the field at the other end donkeys/other horses.....this gives him the perfect excuse to spook at each end! He doesn't do anything too drastic - a little spin and a few fast steps. But then it's a challenge to get him walking by again!
It isn't helped by the fact that just now we can only ride at night - the floodlit school must create some very scary coo shaped moving shadows - and the one day I managed to get there during the day - it was mega windy so everything was heightened.
I have been trying to do a fair bit of groundwork in the school - when I am beside him he barely bats an eyelid at any of the monsters - as soon as I am on his back its a different story.
I have been working in walk and trot only and plan to continue this for now until we get the fundamentals right with each other and have been doing plenty of circling, movements etc past all the scary things - they are not going away so he really needs to be getting some confidence around him.
It doesn't feel to me like he is taking the pe - he seems to really need to get his confidence from his rider (walks out the stable with eyes on stalks just looking for scary stuff)
Does anyone have any other tips? I do get regular lessons on another yard and am thinking of booking my (fabulous) instructor to come to the yard and give us some lessons together - but I really would like to get the spooking in hand first?
He hasn't been worked much in a while and is a little fresh! He is also very spooky. I only started riding him less than a month ago so we are still getting to know each other but lo and behold I am besotted with him! However in the field at one end of the school there are a couple of cows and the field at the other end donkeys/other horses.....this gives him the perfect excuse to spook at each end! He doesn't do anything too drastic - a little spin and a few fast steps. But then it's a challenge to get him walking by again!
It isn't helped by the fact that just now we can only ride at night - the floodlit school must create some very scary coo shaped moving shadows - and the one day I managed to get there during the day - it was mega windy so everything was heightened.
I have been trying to do a fair bit of groundwork in the school - when I am beside him he barely bats an eyelid at any of the monsters - as soon as I am on his back its a different story.
I have been working in walk and trot only and plan to continue this for now until we get the fundamentals right with each other and have been doing plenty of circling, movements etc past all the scary things - they are not going away so he really needs to be getting some confidence around him.
It doesn't feel to me like he is taking the pe - he seems to really need to get his confidence from his rider (walks out the stable with eyes on stalks just looking for scary stuff)
Does anyone have any other tips? I do get regular lessons on another yard and am thinking of booking my (fabulous) instructor to come to the yard and give us some lessons together - but I really would like to get the spooking in hand first?