Find it really hard to enjoy doing anything with spooky horse!

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micra

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I have the most lovely kind mare, we have lots of fun jumping and schooling without problem, but out hacking I could never enjoy a nice canter or such as she randomly ‘teleports sideways’ spooks, even on a stubble field she will do it, it’s so sudden and sometimes she’ll do one each direction one after the other and it really knocks my confidence
She won’t do it at all in the school or even in a different arena out competing. She’s worse alone but still does it lots in company. Tried reassuring her, also tried telling her off but it doesn’t really seem to go in her head

Would anyone have any ideas as to anything that could help her? She is on the Equimins diamond omega complete balancer and salt with honeychop lite n healthy and ad lib hay year round, so I don’t think she’s lacking anything. She’s quite an anxious horse in herself but very bold to fences!
Thank you 😁
 
Some horses just are more spooky than others, but you can often improve on their behaviour to some extent. The way I'd approach it would be to do lots and lots of hacking, until it's just not as big of a deal anymore. If the real problems come about when you canter, keep the speed down for the foreseeable, focusing on walk and trot. Make sure she's confident in those before upping the ante and it might help to some extent. Long reining will also be useful for spook busting, as you'll be able to get out and about and reassure her from the ground without your confidence being knocked any further.
 
You could try something like an R-store, or a simple neck strap, to help you say in place. You may be expecting her to spook which is unsettling her and making her more likely to do so. If you feel more secure and less likely to part company you might start to relax which will help her relax.
 
I recently brought on a very green horse with the same problem. He did the most unexpected lunges to the side in canter. Thankfully I was never unseated but it did put me and subsequently him totally off balance, meaning he then rushed forwards in canter until I could bring him back together again. I found taking him back to trot to begin with followed by lots of trot to and from canter transitions really helpful. He started to listen to me, waiting for a change of pace instead of staring around him and spooking at the silliest of things. He still occasionally spooks at stupid things but has learnt to bring himself back into trot or steady his canter to pre warn me and "ask for help" in case it really does jump out and eat him alive hehe. Good luck
 
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