Anything I can do to make my spooky horse less spooky? Need help :(

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icyfreya

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Long story, sorry!

My horse (who i've had 3 months) is an 18 year old TB xWB, been there done it schoolmaster type. He's a superstar most of the time, and has a really lovely, calm temper most of the time, however he can be quite spooky, especially out hacking alone - today i was hacking him up the road to the school, and there was a cat by the hedge - he spun round and cantered down the road, luckily managed to stop him straight away & turn him round, mum was with me so she lead him passed the cat, but he was very tense and jumpy. Then proceeded to swerve sideways passed the wheelbarrows, jump poles etc.
He jumps in the air at leaves, twigs, hates man holes and road markings/different colour tar mac, he's even scared of horse poo in the road.

Sometimes he'll spook when im bringing him in from the field and canter to the end of the lead rope, and if he hears a noise or it's windy when he's tied up he'll sometimes pull away and just be really jumpy and jittery.

He was sold as generally dope on a rope/placid, but a little bit spooky out alone. They said the most he would do is freeze or jump on the spot if on own, and never do anything else, whereas i find he freezes/jumps all the time, leading him in, riding with company/schooling etc, and he can be a bit of a nightmare out alone. My instructor and everyone who's met him says he acts like a green 4 year old. I'm pretty sure it's not naughtiness, as it seems like genuine fear, his eyes get huge and i can feel his heart exploding out of his chest, bless him.

I wondered if there is anything i can give him, like a calming supplement? That would reduce this, or will it not make any difference? Also with regard to feed, he's on alfa a oil (was on the original), topspec balancer, topspec conditioning cubes, ad lib hay, and i did give him a little sugar beet but it made him really fizzy so stopped that. So is this feed likely to be encouraging the spookiness, or not?

Any help would be appreciated :D He's really settled in himself, and some days will be chilled as you like, but others he's a nervous wreck :( freya xx
 
I have used the conditioning cubes before and had no problem with them although they can all react differently. The oil might be giving him more energy than he needs which could in turn be making him feel a bit wound up. You haven't had him very long so he may just need time to get used to you and new surroundings. I feed mine magnesium from the Feedmark essentials range as I find it just takes the edge off him and is pretty cheap too. Other than that there are a couple of good videos on Horse Hero about spooky horses and how to help them be less reactive. Just a few ideas :)
 
I would second the magnesium from feedmark - very reasonable so well worth a try.

Could you lunge him before you hack to take the edge off?

My boy was a little jumpy out hacking when I first got him but as he learnt to trust me he has become 'bombproof' - we have had our moments coming off boxrest but 'touch wood' we're back to our normal selves again! Ground work and anything that helps build a relationship has got to be good.
 
What did his previous owners feed him? Was he stabled at night or did he have 24/7 turnout?

I would be tempted to stop his hard feed and just give him a low calorie chop to mix in an all round supplement, like Bailey's Lo-cal. It takes a while for a horse to settle into new surroundings and making sure he has a regular routine will help him feel secure.
 
He is out 24/7 and will be all winter, only comes in when it's really wet and slippery to save the fields. He was out 24/7 at his old home too.
They fed him on a cheap conditioning mix full of sugar & cereals, but only gave him a tiny bit, and hifi lite. However he was drastically underweight (almost coathanger shape) when I got him, so obviously I have been chucking hay and conditioning cubes at him to get the weight on before the cold sets in. He's looking a nice weight now though, but i'm a bit reluctant to cut out feed incase he drops weight as he's a poor doer? He only has a handful of cubes, and has like half the reccomended amount of alfa a. He's in work 4/5 days a week, hacking and schooling, so I don't think it's pent up energy.

We tried a magnesuim supplement, but it was really expensive and didn't make any difference, but will look into this other one which might be cheaper. It's so funny as some days he's really well behaved, and others really different! Today after the trying to go home incident and all the spooking trying to get to the school he did an hour of really good concentrated school work, didn't spook at anything, and was really chilled. But he was then quite spooky on the way home!

Will try to just chill and give it time, it can just be really frustrating sometimes when he spooks 30 times out on a hack and is frozen and tense the whole time! Thanks for the ideas guysss :) will check out the videos on horse hero also :)
 
Am I right in thinking that alpha oil contains molasses? If so I would change this for an unmolassed hi fi or alpha a. I changed mine from alpha a to hi fi molasses free after a hack where my WB felt like he was on speed - literally jumping at every tiny thing. It really made a huge difference.
 
If he's tense on his own out hacking, then you have to be super confident. Talk to him, keep your leg on, left/right/left/right, think forwards. Don't let him fixate on objects, turn his head away or leg yeild away, keep his concentration on you. Carry a short whip and tap him lightly on the shoulder when he fixates on something if your legs are ineffective. You will just have to work a bit more hacking alone than when in company:D
 
i would maybe try something other than alfalfa, maybe ready grass or just grass as my wb went nuts on anything with alfalfa in. Took her off it and within 3 days she was chilled and happy, Could be worth looking at.
 
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