getting horse past 'spooky' stretch of road!?

[el_Snowflakes]

Hi all,

theres a stretch of road which my horse gets really nervous walking along. There are some houses which have building materials etc in the garden, sometimes theres new 'obstacles' in the gardens and im pretty sure this is what bothers her. Iv seen many horses worry at this corner so i know it not just mine. Unfortunatly its on a corner so its possibly the worst place to have a spook! My horse has tried to turn and run home occasionally. This has happened in company as well as by ourselves. Unfortunatly hacking in company not always possible. So basically my question is.....


do you reprimand this behaviour?

or do you pat your horse and encourage it?

should i be encouragin my horse to relax with a long-ish rein or should i have her marching on with a good contact?




obviously i dont want to reward this behaviour. I do try to trot before i get to that point so we have some momentum/distraction. I also carry a long schooling whip. The one time i could NOT get her past that area I gave her belting as i was so angry. In hindsight i was really cross and upset with myself as i felt i lost her repect and made her scared so iv never done that again. any tips would be appreciated

 

[fidleyspromise]

Because she is genuinely worried - I would not reprimand her but nor would I reassure her - this can have the adverse effect and make her think there IS something to worry about. I would simply ignore the behaviour and if she goes past it enough times, she should settle down going past it. Try not to focus on these houses and make sure you're breathing is even so that your not transferring your anxieties about going past this to her. Other horses are the same so it's not just her. I would try to get her listening further back and focussing more on you by doing some half halts, leg-yielding (if road quiet).

I tend to find if my horse is worried and I let her stop and have a good look, then this reassures her more than trying to constantly pressure her to go past. - again this depends on the road situation and if it's quiet enough.
We all get frsutrated at some point and you have accepted that belting her got you no further forward. Try to forget about that episode.

 

[xloopylozzax]

trot as you approach, dont look for monsters is the main thing.

let him look (i sometimes offer the flex) but look the other way while pushing him on (leg, voice, stick if needed) have a decent contact. dont force him to pass close to it, move into the middle of the road by choice just as you pass this point

 

[SpruceRI]

I have exactly the same problem on one of my rides... a small collection of houses in the middle of nowhere that for some reason, terrifies my cob. Has done for the last god knows how many years!

For years I've tried leg yielding, getting cross with her, being uber nice, singing, trotting on, walking extra slow (never gave her a long rein, that meant certain death as the spooks are more violent the longer the rein!)....anything to take her mind off the fact that this area of the hack is terrifying.

And then one day I just got off and led her! And she's fine with that, me being at the head end is obviously ultra reassuring because she just strolls past all happy! And then we have a nice ride and I don't dread it!

 

[el_Snowflakes]

I have exactly the same problem on one of my rides... a small collection of houses in the middle of nowhere that for some reason, terrifies my cob. Has done for the last god knows how many years!

For years I've tried leg yielding, getting cross with her, being uber nice, singing, trotting on, walking extra slow (never gave her a long rein, that meant certain death as the spooks are more violent the longer the rein!)....anything to take her mind off the fact that this area of the hack is terrifying.

And then one day I just got off and led her! And she's fine with that, me being at the head end is obviously ultra reassuring because she just strolls past all happy! And then we have a nice ride and I don't dread it!

i tried the getting off and leading trick once madhossy, but shes quite a big mare & i couldnt get back on- doh!