help with spooky horse!

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lozz_jess_bhabbi

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I have just took on a 15hh welsh section d project horse which is very spooky. I havn't attempted riding her yet and have just started from basics with her(lunging, ground work, manners etc...)i am wanting to jump her eventually as she has masses of potensial but want to get hr out of her spooking habbit anybody have any ideas to begin training her out of it(i know it will be difficult but i'll give anything a go) lozz_jess_bhabbi x
 
To quote a bit of Gok "its all about the confidence".

Seriously though, when I got my mare I tried all sorts of desensitisation techniques. I tied balloons, bin bags, flags etc around her field. There are cds you can buy with various sounds on that you can use. But ultimately she needs to get confidence from you. So be confident, consistent, ignore the bad stuff and overfuss the good. Be patient but firm and start small and give yourself time, don't rush, if it goes pear shaped go back to square one. :)
 
thankyou i will definatly be more confident but the thing is she spooks ranodomly sometime i don't even understand why she spooking :S x
 
How old is she? Don't worry about the spooking at nothing, my mare spooked at a leaf scuttling across the road the other day, yet ignored white van man speeding past! No rhyme or reason i'm afraid. Also, she's in a new environment, new leader etc and is perhaps a little overwhelmed and anxious. Give time to settle, get into a routine and build your bond with her doing your groundwork, copious amounts of grooming and general faffing.
 
My mare is spooky. Very spooky and not nice with it, i,e doesn't take you with the spooks and then chucks in a buck whilst your hanging off type of thing (welsh sec d, funnily enough xWB). I also watched her in the field today and she galloped away from the water trough in the corner of the field, as it's near the scary bush!!)

Like the other poster said, confidence. Even when they spook IGNORE and carry on. You literally have to pretend nothing has or is happening. I don't look beyond the railings of our school as she does so much. When she spooks you gotta carry on. I always hack on the buckle, warm up on the buckle, just to make it all very chilled out and all lovely and relaxed. Just don't look out for anything, their eyes follow yours. Don't tense up. All these little things have a HUGE impact.

Goodluck and let us know how you get on.

xx
 
:Dmy mare is very spooky, i found it really helps if she gets plenty of turnout and also when she spooks i try to not make a big fuss about it, keep leg on and keep steady contact with reins(not tight). she will spook at a leaf, but will happily pass the hugest lorries or tractors with no problem, in fact i usually give a lead to my friend. as long as i stay really calm the spooking is quite manageable. good luck:):):):)
 
she is 14 so has 'got away with it' so it's very much teaching a old dog some new tricks and like many off you said she is bombproof in the heaviest of traffic :D
 
When my mare was young she used to spook at anything, first i decided that every time she spooked i would 'sit liek a sack of potatoes'. Bacially just relax, sit deeply and put weight in the stirrups. Also if i see a place where i think she is going to spook i sing quietly to her usually something happy like you are my sunshine or whatever and she listens to me rather than to whats around her.

We took a football in the field and kicked it about while she was there, that got her used to things moving quickly.
People at the yard i'm at have just tied loads of stuff in hedges to try desensitise their horses, i think it depends on the individual animal really.
 
I have a 12 yo extremely spooky pony! He hates cows, sheep, gateways, fencing stakes, drains, pretty much everything. His favorite is the imaginary hedge monster.
He hates hacking alone and gets soooooo tense. So i am doing now what Denise657 is doing. I hack him out on the buckle, riding like a complete sack of potatoes so that i know i am as relaxed as i possible can be. If he spooks.....what of it.....i ignore it unless he really is taking the mick! but i try not to shorten the reins quickly if he spooks etc (unless its near traffic or he is using it as an excuse to napp!)
It really seems to be working.....he is getting much more chilled out.
Maybe get someone to ride out on hacks with you on a bike....we are using this technique with paddy...(my mum is going to be fit enough for the tour de france soon!!)
They seem to get confort from this, and combined with the loose reins, relaxed riding it seems to be really helping.
It also seems to be helping his napping too.

Good luck, you will never stop a horse from spooking, but in time they will get better!
 
Good advice above .... firstly desensitising is good, it won't stop them spooking but it helps your confidence if you know that actually they can deal with balloons, tractors, etc.

Secondly, when you are riding you want them paying you 100% attention - - which means you have to pay 100% attention when riding at all time. Look at those ears, they want to be flicking back to you all the time. So keep life busy merge the hacking/schooling together (why shouldn't you practice shoulder in when out hacking, etc).

You also want a call that means you want their attention NOW, so if it starts to drift you can get it back pretty quickly.

One thing I learnt recently, is that because I sometimes allow my mind to wander, my horse's mind also wandered, so now I do shorter but completely focussed sessions - good training for both of us!

Good luck!!!
 
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