Bombproofing spooky horse

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katiex2

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Hi again does anyone have any suggestions for bombproofing a spooky horse. I bought her about a month and a half ago and she is a very late starter - she is 8 but treat her as a four year old!! Very confident out hacking and marchs on ahead of our 'aunty' mare but as soon as she sees something slightly out of the norm, does the usual snorting, sideways things and occasionally turns. As yet not done anything that bad but would like to try and help her as best we can. There are just too many scary monsters out there!
 
It's great that she seems so confident out hacking.

But I would suggest that Aunty is either made to keep up with her or that another horse is used if Aunty can't. That way she will take her confidence from her babysitter when confronted with anything she's not sure of.
 
Is it spookiness or just taking the mick? After ten years together, I know which one it is with my horse and can either agree wth him that's it's scary, and let him take his time, or give him a slap on the bum and tell him to stop mucking about! Change of food or too much food, or coat changing can all make a difference too!
 
I recently set up a small 'course' in the outdoor school of lots of scarey things - tarpaulins, bags on sticks, umbrellas, etc. and I walked my horse around. I also put the tarpaulin over his back gently and, when he accepted this, I rustled it more and more and dropped it off behind him. He was very good for a 5 year old and actually didn't bat an eyelid at anything but when we walked back to the yard, a car pulling out of a driveway 100 yards away, made him jump!!
Next week we're going to walk around the farm machinery when it's being used to get him used to large, noisy vehicles.
 
I think frequent exposure to scary things is the best way, so long as you stay calm and reassure your horse (and so long as nothing untoward actually happens!). I don't hack in the winter and for the first few hacks in the spring my horse is a spooky nightmare. After a couple of weeks he settles and by the autumn he's really chilled and laid back. Just persevere, it'll be worth it when you've got a confident horsey!
 
Hattie does this she is only a baby. I take her out on a hack at least twice a week once with another horse and on her own aswell. Just keep taking her out frequently and constantly keep your eye out for thing she will spook at. And once you get to it keep your legs on and use your voice to comfort her. Also dont tence up just relax and dont have a short reins give her her head so she can have a sniff at the horse eating monster!!
Hope this helps
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:)
 
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