Have your spooky and reactive horses stayed that way?

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Jinx94

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Tris has always been nervy and stressy to an extent.

When he's good and calm, he's a total dobbin. Unfortunately he's also the master of the "spin and bog off" and incredibly adept at the "scoot, take off and drop a shoulder". This has done wonders for my seat (probably tempting fate now!) but can be very frustrating.

I hit the deck when he lost the plot because a Chinook came over very fast and very low - I'll give him that one. You could feel the air vibrating and it made me feel nervous when it was overhead, though I was a little distracted by that point!! I expect him to react in those situations. But surely falling leaves, a bit of rain or a different coloured patch of grass aren't in the same league?!

I guess I'm just hoping for some reassurance that he might grow out of it? ??

Most of the time, I see the funny side and we carry on. Tonight would have been amusing if he hasn't continued to spook, scoot and jink around the school long after the initial rustle in the bush :rolleyes:

If there's a "thing" that's worrying him/has his attention, I can pre-empt and completely avoid the daft reaction. When something takes him by surprise, he reacts before he thinks and there's no warning.

The bogging off is much more controlled now (you'd hope so at 7 years old!!), and I can (mostly) get his attention back, but it would be nice to think that maybe we'll eventually be able to have a super chill ride with no concerns about a bunny in the undergrowth or a kamikaze pigeon!! ?
 
Sorry to say but mine stayed the same right up to the end, he was 27 and still spooked at leaves rusting, twigs snapping, rabbits just being rabbits any other random thing that may be lurking. We never even managed to ride in his own field without spooking at the hedge or a leaf never mind anywhere else.
 
Oh gosh!

Definitely better keep the level headed 3yo to help me stay sane ??

To be fair, he's a lot of fun and is a great character! I'll just keep gritting my teeth and trying to find the funny side!
 
Mine is better, now aged 13 and after I’ve owned him for 6 or 7 years. He’s always been a bit jeckyl and Hyde but is much better since his ulcers were diagnosed and treated and he’s on a gut maintenance supplement.....but still characterful on occasions!
 
Yes and no.

Temperament and character are what they are but training had made an improvement.

Groundwork to give them "coping strategies" and to get control of their feet. That then transfers to the saddle. Schooling so that they are in front of the leg helps. When a horse is truly in front of the leg it cant nap, spin, rear etc

Easier said than done I know!
 
She's 11 and still has her up and sideways move to perfection - with a buck if she's really "scared" ?

Although the school bus didn't get even a look this morning and i swear she drooled when the Aston Martin roared past.
 
Mine used to be very spooky, sharp and reactive. He’s now 17 and in the last couple of years he is much less so. I’m not sure why or if it was a combination of finally growing up and changing his feed. If his gut is settled, so is he. He can still have his ridiculous moments but generally is hugely improved He’s an Ex race horse whom I’ve had since he was 5. He’s also happy on the yard we’re on, as I am too.
 
I hacked out with a friend this morning. She was riding her 21yr old ex eventer and i was on the dressage diva, hers not mine sadly! The oldie was really quite silly, spooky and whipped round a couple of times at nothing. He's a real sweetie but has always been like this, you can ride him past the biggest lorry, loudest rumbliest piece of farm machinery and he doesn't turn a hair. Ask him to go past a tiny dog behind a gate or a leaf blowing in the wind and he just can't cope!
 
Had Madam since she was 3 - still very sharp and reactive at 11 - her default if pushed past her comfort zone is to go up on two legs ?
 
I forgot mine did calm down for a while at about 19 it kind of crept up on me and when I noticed I thought he was just mellowing in his old age, only later when other symptoms appeared did I test for PPID. Once he was medicated he was back to his old self again!
 
Mine was very spooky over the silliest things and would regularly shoot forwards or dive off sideways or spin from the age of 5 . I did plenty of varied hacking but always tense and reactive. He would often spin round & run off if he saw any walker . He was also spooky in the field. I started giving him magnesium and saw a general improvement but still tense so I upped the mag to a tablespoon twice a day and for the last 6 months he is totally chilled - even things that are scary don't worry him - the most he does is bend away slightly. He really is a different horse, He is now 8.
 
TPO said:
Yes and no.

Temperament and character are what they are but training had made an improvement.

Groundwork to give them "coping strategies" and to get control of their feet. That then transfers to the saddle. Schooling so that they are in front of the leg helps. When a horse is truly in front of the leg it cant nap, spin, rear etc

Easier said than done I know!
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yeah this up to a point.
I don't think you can guarantee that a horse won't get away from you either physically or mentally through training because ultimately they have their own minds, but you can definitely give yourself a good head start.
My stressy spooker will always be that way, but the better her training has become, the easier I find it to head off *many* over reactions.
 
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Both my warm bloods are spooky by nature but they’ve definitely improved the more they’ve done and been exposed to in-hand and ridden.
 
Yes, the horse in my avatar was given to me as "unrideable" because of spooking and spinning and general terrors. It took a couple of years and lots of patient work (and a sticky bum) and now he's a steady, brave boy in any situation. But no one else has ever ridden him, and he is nervous when anyone else handles him - the only horse of mine that is this way.
 
They are all different. My current 5yo was super sharp and reactive growing up, to the point I was very guarded about his temperament. Now as a 5yo is his a complete dude. He’ll have a little look at stuff, but the hysteria is completely gone.
 
Mine is better but only through the many years I have spent bomb proofing him - he still had his moments though at 22! Clattering around on the road this morning at the sight of a girl wearing a back pack - he's always hated backpacks ?
 
No, mine was treated for PSSM and had her workload amended to one she was happy and comfortable with and now shes a bombproof safe childs pony.
 
I think it depends on why they spook. Ones that have low level pain stay spooky, it is an overwhelm and whilever the pain is there, they will spook.

I have trained them out of spooking though. Charlie Horse was spooky at first, he took ages to feel comfortable in one corner of the school, I could traverse the school in 0.01 of a second. He later became the horse to put kids, novices etc on. Would practically doze off in the start box at events. Could skip with a rope at canter with no bridle. As reliable as any horse could be. I have several more, where we called it 'growing up' but those with low level grumbles, that may not make them lame, they are not so easy.

And some have a simply huge sense of humour! I am sure it is not like ours, but I have had those who just 'put one in' without being apparently in pain, or confused, or frightened. They continue with good grace and a comical look... Often these are the older ones, I think they have it as a learned behaviour for whatever in the past, that now simply gives them entertainment.
 
DizzyDoughnut said:
I forgot mine did calm down for a while at about 19 it kind of crept up on me and when I noticed I thought he was just mellowing in his old age, only later when other symptoms appeared did I test for PPID. Once he was medicated he was back to his old self again!
Click to expand...

Same here. I thought my Welsh mare had just grown up finally, but alas, she’s just as highly strung as she was in her youth.
 
Our Irish draughts are in general, horribly silly with too much sugar in their diet (think kids on adlib haribo ,??)

Or if underworked for their level of fitness - too many weather induced days off in the hunting season and they become very not-fun to hack

But normally they're pretty good (apart from sense-of-humour-induced spooking, from which no preparation or training can protect you!)
 
My spooky reactive ones have got better in time, but I guess I had to work quite hard at it. Lots of varied work and being brave about taking them out to lots of different places, doing more hacking than schooling, lots of lessons etc. The main thing is to keep your own confidence levels up, if you start to get nervous, you really need to address that as it makes them so much worse. I’m a big fan of groundwork with these types and I’ve found that getting them to really connect with their handler helps massively with the ridden work. I am not at all averse to some help from a really good NH person.
 
Millie is a lot better than she used to be. When she arrived she would spook, spin and run or teleport sideways. Now she tends to just jump on the spot.
She used to be terrified if a bit of the school surface hit the kickboards, but she doesn’t bat an eyelid now. Hacking used to be quite hair raising, but it’s a much more chilled experience nowadays and I pretty much trust her not to be daft in most situation. She does occasionally have a meltdown about something (usually something in the distance), but I can overlook a bit of silliness. She’s a pleasure to ride or take pretty much anywhere now.
She’s a part bred welsh, Nebo lines.
 
Daughter's welsh cob X has always been an easy ride in the school, but Queen of the spin and bog off moves out on a hack.
To the point that I refused to hack her out cos it just wasn't fun.

She is 20 now and since the age of 18 she's really relaxed and seems happier to let the human decide what represents a threat to life and limb.

Hoping you won't have to wait until he's an oldie! ?
 
We have chilled out a number of 'quirky' ponies, usually welsh who can be very paranoid, or evasive if they don't trust you. Hazard warning for experienced riders to anyone's ride generally takes a couple of years.
I think our set up suits them. 24/7 herd turnout, roughage only, lots of de-sensitising and fun, often fast but not pressured riding.
Not sure it would work with hotter blooded horses, althugh I'm sure it would help. I do think some are just sharp for life.
 
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