Getting unconfident horses confident

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saddlesore

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As above - ideas please!

Had my boy 2 1/2 years now and he's come a long way in that time but is still unconfident and can be spooky. He is naturally skeptical and needs to be reassured that things are ok before he can trust them.

Sounds reasonable enough except I've been doing my best for ages and in some ways feel he should be 'over it' by now.

Does anyone have any tips I could try? Haven't been situation specific as there isn't anything in specific - just life in general upsets him at times! :rolleyes:
 
saddlesore said:
As above - ideas please!

Had my boy 2 1/2 years now and he's come a long way in that time but is still unconfident and can be spooky.
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You might hate me for this - but I have to say that almost EVERY unconfident horse I have met comes complete with an unconfident rider/owner! The fact he has improved in 21/2 years suggests you're not the ONLY problem - other issues may be bloodlines, or past history - but I would GUESS you're expecting him to be spooky! A very confident rider makes a confident horse - if he can't trust you, who CAN he trust?
 
I see where Janet George is coming from, but I would suggest doing some 'spook busting' work at home. Michael Pearce has done an inspiration book 'the 100% horse' I think it is, or look at some of the LeTrec stuff.

You can do it inhand initially, then when you come across similar things, you think 'OK I know you can handle this' and are more confident and hey presto it is a virtuous cycle!!

I have in the past also put a mini trampoline in the horses field (we had to go past a trampoline on our ride) and bounced on it feeding carrots, taken a lawnmover, strimmer and cycle around the field, slowly getting nearer the horse. It all takes time but does pay off.

Good luck.
 
If you mainly do ridden work /schooling type work might you both benefit from doing some groundwork ..... maybe have a go at horse agility type work for example. That way you are not dealing with spooky out on the roads / hacks and work at generally getting you both to do things with confidence.

one of the principles is that you have a slack rope so you are not leading or pushing the horse to do an obstacle and he is learning that he cAN do new things.

similar to canteron sugestions



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Tassle - love the photos, they are brilliant.

Saddlesore - meant to add that I don't think you can every stop a horse being looky or having a spooky shiver, thats beyond their and your control, what you can achieve is the confidence that the horse wont do anything more and I really do believe that lots of ground work and spook busting work helps you both.

Also, when riding past something, make sure you don't focus on the 'bad' object because if you do the horse definitely will as well!!
 
Thanks guys, Tazzle those are some great spook busting toys! I'll need to get creative I think :eek: I'll also take a read at the Michael Peace stuff :)

JG - on the contrary I think you're totally right! Its been a cycle though - I was confident when I got him, he was so naughty/insecure that I lost my confidence and we have crawled forward together from there with the help of a very sympathetic instructor.

We're never going to be super brave but its hard for me to fake being brave when he feels like his knees are knocking together :p In a lot of ways we are a bad combination but we've come so far that I'd hate to give up now.

Any tips on getting more confident?
 
re getting more confident yourself.

you could think about or write down a list of all the things, no matter how mundane they might seem, that you feel safe and confident doing.

then think of one thing you would like to achieve and create a plan of what and how you need to do to get there.... something achievable, not going round badmington :D :D :D



eg when I realised I was putting off cantering when I lost confidence following assorted happenings i made a plan

1. identify why I felt that way and acknowlege what was realistic re my skills or lack of ... and what was the "what ifs" that were unlikely / unrealistic

2. do some canter groundwork with Taz to refresh our confidence / communication in each other

3. have a cantering lesson on a different horse to ensure my balance is ok, have an accurate assessment and boost my spirits ( well I didnt fall off huge horse even when I lost my stirrups so guess I was at least ok ;)

4. go out with trusted friend and horse (and avoid those that considered a fear of cantering being wimpish) and have short canters

and or

5. canter in school

6 . canter alone


you could do the same ...... its great when you can rack up each target and you see the progress that is being made.




I would do the same for the horse...... identify his strengths and things to work on and make plans of what to do .... even something simple like walking over poles then backing over them. thats a huge trust as he cant see what he is being asked to do.


being able to drape a flag over his head for example ..... if he trusts you to do that you would be doing very well indeed ;)
 
JanetGeorge said:
You might hate me for this - but I have to say that almost EVERY unconfident horse I have met comes complete with an unconfident rider/owner! The fact he has improved in 21/2 years suggests you're not the ONLY problem - other issues may be bloodlines, or past history - but I would GUESS you're expecting him to be spooky! A very confident rider makes a confident horse - if he can't trust you, who CAN he trust?
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I so agree with Janet! People often wonder why I can do things with horses that they cannot and the answer is because I expect them to do as I want.

If a horse stats to be silly over something then I will NOT make a fuss over it I will give the horse a command which I expect to be obeyed and they know that life is easier if they try to please.

A lot can be put down to breeding/temperament but if given firm, fair leadership a horse will trust the handler/rider and do its best to please.
 
There must be plenty of tips about gaining confidence, it has to begin with you, if YOUR scared the horse will think, cricky if owner sacred it must be something awful! So start handling him in ways you feel happy and relaxed, ie brushing picking up feet, do not rush it and act like its the most normal thing in the world, always leave him happy, some days you can do the whole hog other days do the minimum and leave him almost wanting more, Always have a routein be quiet but business like in all matters, ask him things you know he can do ie move over backing up and give lots of praise, make it a pleasure for him to have you around, keep it simple, when he's gaining confidence you can ask for more, patience and kindness go such a long way. If he does have a moment of uncertainty, just stand quietly and let him know it doesn't change anything and go back gently to what you were doing. Working in hand is great, I used to walk my youngsters round the village with a lung line "just incase" and use all the verbal comands you would use if your mounted. The horse will let you know if its getting a bit much, stay calm, tell him its OK and give him as much time as he needs to look at dustbins telephone boxes even parked vehicles, he needs to see you as a safe place. I was taught if its something scary to look at it for as long as it takes so they can process "the danger" and then dismiss it. I had to follow a dustcart down a narrow lane and by the time we go to the bottom he was immune to all the noise and men emptying bins!!! Trust each other and the rewards are fantastic. never rush anything but keep the lessons flowing, and have a plan before you see him, not written in stone though. Its all good fun for both of you really, good luck
 
saddlesore said:
Had my boy 2 1/2 years now and he's come a long way in that time but is still unconfident and can be spooky. He is naturally skeptical and needs to be reassured that things are ok before he can trust them.
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What do you do to reassure him, Saddlesore?

Do you pat him and tell him he's a good boy? Just exactly what you do when you are telling him that he is doing something right? So that what you are actually doing is telling him that he is right to be afraid?

If you do, you are far from alone. This is one of the commonest mistakes that people make with spooky horses. Do not reassure him. Ignore him, or even get cross with him, anything but "reassure him". Let him know that YOU know it's safe, and act in the expectation that he will believe you.

Having said that, I have come across one horse in my life who was just like no other. I still have him and after 5 years, he is finally almost safe to hack out. Before him, I did not believe horses like it existed, but that it was always the owner. However, I agree with JanetGeorge and Foxhunter that almost all spooky horses are "allowed" to be that way by their rider.
 
I am a confident rider but about two years after backing him, I realised I had a spooky horse, it took this long because I had never had one before, also it really came to the fore when I moved yards, one symptom was that he had to be handled in a bridle as he could jump in to me if spooked, before that I thought he was a bit nappy, and to some extent there is a relationship in his case.
He is very willing, but needs to be ridden, that is to say, he gets worried if ridden by a novice AND I am not in sight, he even followed my car up the road once, when I let someone [I"i have ridden youngsters for years"] try him!
I always feed a youngster magnesium as a calmer, and went back to this in the second year, there is probably a bit of Magnesium deficiency in West of Scotland judging by the number of people who feed calmers.
Totally agree about patting them, they take it that their spooky behaviour is being rewarded.
If he genuinely scared, I can feel his heartbeat, and I might have to wait for him to sort things out in his mind, though it is best to kick on, but this only works if I am right on cue, if he had whipped round, I have to use another of my many strategies.
 
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Whilst I do agree with the advice re me needing to become more confident, his 'spooking' is very random indeed and at the daftest of things. Like I was hacking round the village last week and a car stopped to talk to my friend, car put down its electric window and wheeeee, we got two strides of canter! So its not even a case of me not looking at the scary thing because I never know what he'll find scary if that makes any sense? He is more jumpy than spooky I guess, maybe thats a better explanation? He does everything that is asked of him and he is in no way mollycodeled (sp) but he cannot seem to get past this 'eek' mode.

Its the randomness of the spooking that goes for my confidence tbh because I can't predict what may cause a reaction and therefore ride strongly or whatever. Like I said, its not situation specific! :rolleyes::confused:
 
saddlesore said:
... we got two strides of canter!

Its the randomness of the spooking that goes for my confidence tbh because I can't predict what may cause a reaction and therefore ride strongly or whatever. Like I said, its not situation specific! :rolleyes::confused:
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Well I think you need to stop worrying, it is not really a mega problem ......you are not falling off every time you ride out, and if he only goes two paces forward, it is not quite the same as bolting up the road in an uncontrollable manner when a car passes you.
Every horse has a few moments, and you will learn to relax and enjoy your riding the more you do it, it helps to go out with someone else and chat away with them rather than anticipating scary things.
I do a bit of singing when I am out and about on a youngster, he listens to me, and I listen to him (his ears don't half waggle)
Your own body reflexes will keep you safe. The more people ride horses the more the body learns to cope, just watch the horse racing this afternoon to see how well the jockeys cope with really quick types.
 
MrsD123 said:
I do a bit of singing when I am out and about on a youngster, he listens to me, and I listen to him (his ears don't half waggle)
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That's the best bit of advice going! My staff always know if I'm nervous when I'm riding something 'tricky' because of the singing! I always say it's hard for the bu**ers to buck if they have their hooves in their ears! :D

Singing (or talking - if you can't bring yourself to sing) relaxes your jaw and helps keep the rest of you from tensing up. If YOU are tense your horse will be tense. It's also a distraction for the horse from the things it finds spooky - if he's listening to you he probably won't notice the spooky stuff as much!
 
I chat and sing to mine when on my own as I was taught I need to keep his attention focused on me, and with youngsters they have the attention of a pea!. I will also tap his neck when he starts to focus on other things more interesting than me (when in the school). Works both ways - I am focusing on him so don't tense up and he is focusing on me so less inclined to make a big deal about something. I had a geniunely spooky TB a long time ago who never really grew out of it but was taught how to ride past scary objects (i.e head turned away from scary object, leg firmly on to keep the quarters in - think of an articulated lorry - if the head turns towards object, the back end swings out which is obviously dangerous on roads, head turned away and inside leg on strongly, means backend is behaving). TBF, his was geniune because he didn't then use it as an excuse to play up or disappear so I never felt unsafe!
 
Oh saddlesore, I can completely sympathise as i am having the same issue!
I had 9 months of absolute perfection and then he just changed. I don't know why but he did. I wouldn't say mine is particularly spooky but he does tend to shoot forwards like yours. I'm having lessons with a very sympathetic instructor and very very slowly getting there.

My horse is 5 and people tell me that it probs just a phase.

I do wonder whether things will ever be as they were in the first 9 months but I keep going and working hard just for the chance that it will be.

The advice that is coming is great so thanks for starting the thread saddlesore and good luck x
 
My horse turned into a nervous wreck after being perfect for 6 months too! It seemed to be triggered by me falling off him. I think we lost confidence in each other & got into a downward spiral. After loads of groundwork & confidence building for both of us I have had him rebacked. It is going well. I am singing Twinkle twinkle - rapidly changed from Humpty Dumpty because I didn't want to dwell on him falling off & breaking into bits!
 
alma said:
Re the singing thing, I am very unmusical and tend to sing Mull of Kintyre very badly and only know two lines!
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for some reason with me its "Yellow submarine" which matches his walk rhthym.. I don't eve like that song (and doubt my horse does any more now!)
 
Thanks for all the advice guys :D

MrsD123 you're prob right in that I just need to chill out but I do find it hard when his knees are knocking together and his legs feel like they're walking through treacle lol. I do love him to bits but wish he would grow up a bit! (rising 7)

I'll try the singing and blame you guys when the villagers get a headache :p
 
Sandylou said:
Oh saddlesore, I can completely sympathise as i am having the same issue!
I had 9 months of absolute perfection and then he just changed. I don't know why but he did. I wouldn't say mine is particularly spooky but he does tend to shoot forwards like yours. I'm having lessons with a very sympathetic instructor and very very slowly getting there.

My horse is 5 and people tell me that it probs just a phase.

I do wonder whether things will ever be as they were in the first 9 months but I keep going and working hard just for the chance that it will be.

The advice that is coming is great so thanks for starting the thread saddlesore and good luck x
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i'm having the exact same problem with baby clydie atm we had just started hacking out alone first perfectly then he tanked off out of no where and has started shooting off at bizarre things so my confidence has crashed and so has his so we have gone right back to what he and i are confident and happy with before we try again as i definitely think i need to be fully confident to help him. Atm he and i are ahppily and spook free long reining ... good luck with your :)
 
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