Can a spooky horse ever be, well not bombproof, but despooked?

I too have a 3/4 Welsh who has been.....interesting. He is sharp and sensitive by nature and no training in the world will change this but what has really made the difference over the years is building our trust and developing my leadership skills. He is is good with traffic but "leaves" are something else - particularly if they look different to an adjacent clump of leaves! I can almost read my daughter's pony's mind as we hack out.... Try some shoulder fore past scary things or leg-yield if it's safe - give them something else to think about - keep the concentration. Same applies in the school - the inside rein pressure is only there as it needs to be - it's not constant. My daughter says if my horse were human, he'd be on medication!
 
tanyajade said:
Another thing about her schooling & concentrating. She always looks outside the paddock, whatever you're doing, riding, lunging etc. I've been told to constantly have a 'conversation' down my inside rein to keep her looking in. But surely there's only so much inside rein & leg until she becomes numb to it?
Click to expand...

I'd say this is your problem then - she isn't obedient or concentrating, is making her own mind up and spooking. Do you have lessons? I'd say you probably need to spend some time learning how to get her listening to you, so you can learn to keep her interest to stop the spooking. If she is going around with her head to the outside looking at stuff, she is ignoring you and you need to make sure she is concentrating on you and listening. Be firm.
 
I think it does depend on each individual horse - I had a 23yr old KWPN dressage schoolmaster for years - my daughter rode him down our local high street (don't ask!), he didn't bat an eyelid - honestly, you could've landed a Harrier jump jet in front of him and he wouldn't of minded - BUT, if a crisp packet rustled in a hedgerow or a butterfly approached him in a slightly threatening manner - WHOOSH - we were off! He was like that his whole life and never changed, I did love him!
 
tanyajade said:
Another thing about her schooling & concentrating. She always looks outside the paddock, whatever you're doing, riding, lunging etc. I've been told to constantly have a 'conversation' down my inside rein to keep her looking in. But surely there's only so much inside rein & leg until she becomes numb to it?
Click to expand...
If I was schooling this horse I would be keeping her on her toes, so everytime her attention comes off me we've changed the rein, zigzagging, serpentines, turn on haunches, stop, reverse, weaving around objects. Pony club games are great for schooling. Get imaginative, get creative, get thinking faster than she is!
 
Thanks! I've done all the changing directions, had obstacles out (which she spooks out). And I can't do that everytime I ride her just to get her listening to me...
 
Check eyesight, change feed, add magnesium, and do desensitizing, but alos be prepared horses will spook when fit and fresh, so either ride often or do not make horse fit
 
Blythe Spirit said:
Possibly over time - at 6 my boy was a spinner and reverser at 10 he'd just startle, at 15 he would just flinch and now at 20 he nearly always just looks - ears locked on target...
Click to expand...

OMG i hope i dont have to wait till mine is 20 for him to stop being a 'spook!':D

He is 6 atm and loves a good sideways teleport when im least expecting it! good job i have long legs!
 
My horse says she's finally despooked me ! Its taken her a couple of years and really constant effort. She started by challenging me with lots and lots of random spooks and once she got me used to that tried longer periods between them, She's pretty sure now I can sit to any of them and finally have trusted her that she isn't really going bombing off just making sure that nothing really dangerous ever attacks us.
 
Is it a mare thing? They assume they're in charge, the geldings submit more?
And how do you remain on board with that bloody sidewards catapult?? That's all she does. I wish she'd charge forward or something, I can go with that!
 
Ahh now my Welsh D's scares are: Gates (because other horse is) Arrow Heads put onto show jumps, Lorries.. actually anything bigger than a landrover probably?
 
It definitely sounds like you need some more general schooling/obedience I expect attention on me :p. Which will also make spook prevention easier ;).
 
tanyajade said:
Another thing about her schooling & concentrating. She always looks outside the paddock, whatever you're doing, riding, lunging etc. I've been told to constantly have a 'conversation' down my inside rein to keep her looking in. But surely there's only so much inside rein & leg until she becomes numb to it?
Click to expand...

Haven't read through all the replies since I last posted, so I apologise if you have already been asked this - but - does she behave like this if you lunge her in the paddock or is she just taking the mick when you are on board? What if when someone else rides her? Sometimes horses take the mick with a specific person - especially if they know they can get away with it - but behave better with someone else. Just a thought and might be worth trying out, that way you will have more answers to help you correct the problem.
 
Yep I have lessons with an instructor, actually, 2! Lots of schooling and despoking. I was asking for any unusual tips someone may have come across? Thinking outside the box.

She is just as spooky being lunged, and with someone else riding.
 
In the end your horse will spook less and you will get used to it more -and you'll look back and think why was that such a big problem - I promise you
 
Mine is like this - he's a 22 year old wb who should know better. His problem is he is intelligent and interested in everything, so inevitably spots things to be scared of. Like a lot of the others have said, he's pretty much bombproof in traffic/with genuinely scary stuff, it's the slightly odd or out of place stuff that gets us every time. When I can feel something brewing, I do try to employ leg yield or shoulder in, but he's smart enough to have figured out that means there might be something to spook at.

I've found that what helps most is ensuring he is truly in front of the leg - even supposedly "sharp" horses can actually be quite lazy/unresponsive. Once he is going properly forwards, other things become less of a distraction.
 
But in terms of getting past scary things, I stop, let her look ( turning her head away doesn't work for us - we need to confront things) I let her stand quietly until she is sure its not going to kill us, then gently but confidently ask her to walk on.That works for us, but sometimes she still spooks at stuff but doesn't really run off, so actually its no big deal. She is a fast spinner but I ride in a Syd Hill stock saddle and that helps - and knowing she's just looking out for us - not trying to kill me. See it from that perspective - you never know one day your horse might save your life!
 
My sec D thinks all puddles are sinkholes, the blue crosses painted on drains by the waterboard are a secret sign for dragon residence and a labradoodle called Harry has more sinister motives than 'let's play' . Whereas tractors, milk tanker lorries and vintage steam rollers are of no threat at all! He's young though so I'm getting him out as much as possible.
My old Sec D mare that I sadly lost 2 years ago was impossible. I tried everything but the older she got the worse it became. She then had a lot of time off recovering from an ovarian tumour that messed up her hormones. After that I couldn't even take her 200 yds down the road without her sweating and trembling. All the horses I've owned have become or always were safe hacking out but not her.
So there are horses that experience such fear that they will never overcome that. I think only time, patience and confidence will tell if her spooking is something you can work through.
 
I've posted in other threads that my spooky section d has chilled somewhat in the last few months, I added magnesium which didn't seem to work amazingly, main change has been seen since moving to a very busy yard, bizarrely she is now less jumpy. It's most Odd but for her the routine and constant coming and going of many horses seems to suit her, I've also now had her a year so maybe she is just settling to me. I am firmer with her now, act the lead and she definitely looks to me if scared, she did it tonight when I lunged her in a very shadowy, windy school her reaction to a flying bag was to tuck in behind me! I also think that I was letting her spooks, spook me which made me tense,then her tenser, you get the picture. I now make myself laugh at her ridiculousness, and really try never to feel tense - it does transmit.
 
tanyajade said:
Is it a mare thing? They assume they're in charge, the geldings submit more?
And how do you remain on board with that bloody sidewards catapult?? That's all she does. I wish she'd charge forward or something, I can go with that!
Click to expand...

I don't think its a mare thing, my new gelding spooks, not as spectacularly as my mare used to but he certainly has got a fair old leap. I think its a me thing ;-) just attract those kind of horses. I can't really explain how you stay on for the catapult though... like I said before you have to be on guard but relaxed at the same time... like others have said concentration is really important! My gelding tends to do it when I'm not concentrating, its like his reminding me that his the most important thing in the world, not what I'm thinking about and he should get my 100% attention!
 
Haha there's such conflicting advice. My RI tells me to forget about what my horse is doing underneath me, to distract myself and relax!
 
tanyajade said:
I must admit I find it hard to laugh at her spooks since I got dragged round in my stirrup for 5 circles. But I'll try :/
Click to expand...

EEk, well yes that will make it hard!

My mare really does feel me tense up though so getting on an expecting stupidness usually results in stupidness. When mine was at her most ridiculous she bronced me off when something minor happened so I do know how you feel. After that episode I did start having a couple of drops of rescue remedy if I was doing anything I felt might result in her being silly, this did help me, might be in the mind but then I think much of it is, in hers and mine!

good luck and keep at it, you sound like you are taking the right steps!
 
My boys A Welsh D too, used to be scared of his own shadow literally and the dark. He's still not keen on fly tipping, hates the hopper bus but is great with everything else these days. The power of positive riding :D He was so bad we had his eyesite tested :P

Lady now aged 23 and PB Welsh is scared of moving sheep, llamas, pony and traps, motorbikes and flytipping.
 
tanyajade said:
I have a 10 yr old spooky Sec D mare. She's the sweetest thing,she malice in her at all. She's just spooky.
I'm working with a great guy on overcoming the spookiness, and she's doing great. She's willing.
I was just wondering, have you ever known a spooky horse to get over it?
Click to expand...

My horse is really spooky, and even spooks when turned out into his paddock on teh way down the track!

But the vet said he had an extra layer of cells over his eyes called an epitheral layer and could cause him to spook. I do find that when riding the more he is worked the better he is.
 
I have a spooky TB, absolute nightmare, except........when put on Feedmark Steady Up. No I don't work for them!!

He can be desensitised again and again it makes no difference whatsoever, the only way to get him less anxious and looking for issues is to feed him a supplement.....although ponies we have had over the years were simply given more exposure to the issue and thankfully got over them!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top