How often does your horse spook/what do they do?

[icyfreya]

Just curious really! As i have nothing to gauge mickey's spookiness against!


My horse spooks all the time! When he was sold to me was described as a little spooky when out hacking alone, but not any other time...however this has proved quite far from the truth, bless him he's the scarediest horse i've ever known. He's an 18 yo TBXWB, i know he's a flightly breed but i thought by his age he would know better! I've had him 4 months and pretty sure i haven't had a single day where he hasn't spooked at something.

His spooks consist of either jumping in the air, swerving sideways, crabbing sideways (as in like jumping his whole body 3 feet sideways), refusing to go forward/turn & walking backwards, spinning 360, spinning 360 & then cantering away, or just lurching forwards into canter from say halt or walk . Also curving his whole body and leg yielding around stuff, which is quite cute He espec. hates noises, like lawn mowers, bangs of feed buckets, etc, and doesn't like leaves/sticks/horse poo in road/and all the usual stuff eg crisp packets etc.

He is very spooky out hacking alone (to the point where i won't hack him alone anymore as i'm not that experienced and can't always control them). He is also a bit spooky hacking in company, espec. in front (i once counted 40 major spooks on a hack, including 3 spin & canters) although he's normally good as gold behind And then he can be quite spooky in the school, we have trees down 1 side, and all the jumps & poles etc in another corner, etc.

Now, Micks is my first horse and as i'm quite a novice at these things, I would label him as very spooky...however he hasn't ever bucked or reared, and i don't know how much a normal horse would spook, as before i got him I was at a riding school, where all their horses are pretty much spook proof!

Soo, how much does your horse spook?

 

[Batgirl]

Mine spooks at the odd actually scary thing, like last weeks Turnip muncher x bonfire x remote controlled aeroplane! (Farmer throwing turnips in a chipper while a bonfire raged and someone dive bombed us with a remote control aeroplane!

Other than that he spooks going in our gate eversince the bouncy castle last year, he generally does a mini rear and spin 180 if he is having a proper spook and tries to bugger off, sometimes more of a star jump.

 

[muddygreymare]

My mare hardly ever spooks but if she does its usually on a hack and she jumps sideways and runs away from whatever it is that spooked her - suppose it's just natural instinct really

 

[Moggy in Manolos]

Bless Seren, she was nearly always spooky to some degree out hacking alone, but alot of the time it simply equated to a little look or a little jump really, sometimes nothing at all. She was generally as most are less spooky in company, it would be a genuine reason for spooking in company, such a dog and horse rider suddenly charging up from behind for example, this happened to us in September!

She fortunately was not too daft with it, she would freeze after her front legs went a little wobbly and slam to the ground lol!

She would give things a very wide berth and eyeball them as she walked past.
And if something really scared her from behind she could shoot forward just a few paces then generally stop.

I tried to ignore it best I could to reassure her there was nothing really to be scared of.
On a rarer occasion there was no convincing her and she would cack it the entire hack, so we would be both be glad to get home on those rare occasions lol.
But as I knew her so well I tended to know what to expect from her.

 

[jumpthemoon]

This sounds more like napping than spooking to me. If I were you is find a good instructor to help you get to know him better so you are more in charge and can give him confidence.

 

[sleepykitten]

Blimey! and I thought my new boy was spooky! Generally, Quinn will stand stock still with his head way up in the air and stare at whatever has caught his attention. If he decides its safe to proceed, then he'll just plod onwards, but if not then he will spin round 180 degrees and try to walk off home!

As long as you pull him round on circles for about 2 mins, then he will give up and go past!

My mare, on the other hand, will flick an ear sideways. Thats it. Even when an entire herd of cows galloped up behind us bucking and mooing. Flicked an ear and just carried on walking down the field!

 

[Tickles]

icyfreya I applaud you in coping so well with your spooky boy. My first share wasn't dissimilar and I think they can make lovely first horses!

I now ride a few different horses who spook maybe once in every 5-25 hacks (jump sideways/walk-canter transitions depending on horse and spook) and that is actually much scarier... you get used to them being calm so when they aren't you start looking for the dragons too!

 

[starbar]

I would say your boy is rather spooky but it does sound a bit nappy as well. As your relationship grows and he gains confidence in you my bet is it will die down a bit. Once he trusts you as the leader that that you are not going to take him past anything that will bite/eat/kill him he will improve!
My boy is quite spooky too but it generally stops at an all 4 legs off the ground jump. For REALLY scary stuff there may be a bit of a spin and canter but I can usually pull him up in 2 strides. We generally get quite a lot of nose in the air and snorting at stuff, mostly sheep and cows

 

[Sparkles]

Never/rarely.

Even after going through a bag of racehorse cubes...not even managed one extra 'jog' yet. [Though he did manage a trot turned out in the field today! Well. To the gate, when I called him.]

He's good old predictable Bust. Waste no energy on silly things.... *sigh* lol.

 

[shadowboy]

Hardly spooks. Maybe max of one a hack, but some days none at all. If he spooks he will either jump sideways a foot or so or stop suddenly, snort then carry on. He's rising 4

 

[icyfreya]

This sounds more like napping than spooking to me. If I were you is find a good instructor to help you get to know him better so you are more in charge and can give him confidence.

Ahh well my instructor (who events at 3* level) has ridden him and he does it with her too, she doesn't think it is napping (generally), she thinks he is spooky! She says he has the brain of a 4 year old haha.
Most of the time he really seems frightened, his whole body will go completely tense/rigid, he will breathe in snorts, he will tremble/heart pump through his whole body/eyes bulge etc. I try to ride him very confidently and quietly, I don't scold/shout at him but rather just kick on and ride forwards positively, and give him pats etc. Occasionally it is nappiness, but i can usually tell when it is, as he isn't 'scared', and then im much firmer/growl and get after him etc. He even spooks when he's in his field if a bird flies close or he hears a car backfire or a sudden gush of wind!

 

[Noodlebug]

My horse spooks a lot normally at leaves, twigs, logs, dead grass, strange looking grass even spooked at his own gob once. They can range from little jumps to 180s, stopping and looking or walking pass with knee trembling

 

[guesstimation]

Tigger spooks if something suddenly comes out from behind him, for example a car went past us then parked and the driver opened the door and a dog then jumped out, Tigger tried to bolt forward but luckily listens so when he felt me say stop heturns to face whatever it is and then nomally snorts loundly!

He is only recently backed and he's not too bad considering, initially he'd spin but go nowhere. If it's something in front of him he normally stops briefly sorts very loudly then cautiously walks past it

 

[skydancer]

My mare is very spooky at the beginning of a hack fine in the middle and then spooky at the end of the hack God knows why its just her! Se will jump forwards, sideways and all feet off the ground - i just tell her to steady on and tend to ignore all spooks

 

[Flight]

Did you have him vetted when you bought him? Just wondering if it could be a problem with eye sight? My friends horse is very spooky as his eye sight is deteriorating and he spooks at shadows and other dark/light things.

 

[Bluecomet]

One of mine when through a stage of spooking, really dramatic leaps sideways, 180 spins round etc usually followed by a little bronc... It stopped a couple of months ago and I only recently linked it to a change in feed..

He'd been on alfa a for quite a while and I couldn't get hold of any so got readigrass instead. Since changing to readigrass his spooking has reduced to barely even there...

May be worth looking at what you are feeding him? X

 

[Shantara]

With the group on a hack - Only when the rest do/something actually scary.
In the school, alone - Sometimes, at loud noises, movements etc...
In the school with others - Not very often, if ever. (Or like above, if the rest spook)
On his own, with no horse in sight - Quite a lot!!

 

[Kellys Heroes]

A lot, bless her!
She generally hacks out with her nose between her knees and tail over her back, but we've just got used to her, that's just her her spooks can range from jumps (all 4 legs), 'looky' leg yields away from whatever horse eating monster is there to bucks, spins.
Luckily, she's quite easy to sit to and we know her well enough that she rarely takes us by surprise. Funnily enough, her daughter is exactly the same, apart from she will speed walk backwards away from something she doesn't like!
I'd have him checked over, eyes etc just for your peace of mind, but to be honest, that's just how some of them are!
K x

 

[jendie]

Mine spooks at any opportunity Head down, shoulder in and a spin to the side. She is better than she used to be though. She is 20 now so perhaps in another 10 years or so she'll be a nice plod!

 

[Holzdweaver]

Mine hardly ever spooks, hes a full TB and hacks out alone or in company the same. Goes past tractors/lorries/trailers etc with no worries (we had to work up to this mind, at first he used to almost sit down and then bolt) But with a lot of work, hes got his confidence up and nothing fazes him.

We have even had someone open a car door into him as we were riding past, he didnt even jump. lol

 

[Burnttoast]

My share (Simple Horse) spooks regularly and frequently Has to be ridden on the aids for his own safety Everything from a little flinch to full-on-spin-and-continue-back-the-way-he-came... It's particularly funny when it's just a falling leaf or me sniffing on a cold winter day. Also scared of logs, flowers, all forms of flying things, funny-coloured grass, signs, bare earth (???!!). He's good in traffic but so scared of the verge he's hardly safe on the road Now that's he's learnt to be in front of the leg the spooks just have more impulsion - yay!

It's just him. Diet seems to make no difference. Repetition helps with the fixed frighteners, but leave a route for a month and you're back to square one. I do wonder what it's like inside his tiny, confused brain.

 

[littlescallywag]

My boy very rarely spooks and if he does its just bambi legs and boogle eyes, used to nap for england but doesn't anymore
Daughters horse is spooky to the point he will bolt and not stop sometimes and others he will just boogle and snort, horses eh ?
OP sounds like your horse is napping abit.

 

[splashgirl45]

i feel for you, my mare is quite spooky and is worse in the winter, she is 20 so should be better behaved but i think thats how she will be for ever. as someone else has said i would check the feeding and maybe cut out any hard feed and only feed hay for a while...also have you tried doing lots in hand with him, get him to walk over poles, over polythene, hang a few carrier bags on the fence and gradually get him used to walking next to them...i think there are some books with exercises to help with de spooking, maybe michael peace? it can be good fun doing things in hand and should help you bond with him...good luck

 

[1Lucie]

My boy is pretty bold and never spooks in manage. He only tends to spook when he goes hacking on new ground. I discovered yesterday that his idea of a spook is to stand with his eyes on stalks and maybe one step backwards. But with positive legs and a small tap with whip, he'll go past no problem. He's 7 and i've not had him that long so i'm pretty pleased with his reactions.

 

[monkeybum13]

If she does spook she spooks and then that's it, back to plodding out on a hack.

One of my old ponies used to spook, spin and bugger off. Never having one like that again!

 

[Snowysadude]

Mine it depends on whose riding him!! Hes too bright for his own good sometimes, he isnt "spooky" but if something does make him jump or he takes exception to it for no good reason anyway he will either sit down and shoot forwards (then walk) or plant! Much better than when I got him a couple of years ago when he would spin and gallop off or just bolt home (over hedges, gates, down roads etc). Its never at anything though and hes so sharp, hes not spooky at normal things

 

[sandi_84]

Just curious really! As i have nothing to gauge mickey's spookiness against!


My horse spooks all the time! When he was sold to me was described as a little spooky when out hacking alone, but not any other time...however this has proved quite far from the truth, bless him he's the scarediest horse i've ever known. He's an 18 yo TBXWB, i know he's a flightly breed but i thought by his age he would know better! I've had him 4 months and pretty sure i haven't had a single day where he hasn't spooked at something.

His spooks consist of either jumping in the air, swerving sideways, crabbing sideways (as in like jumping his whole body 3 feet sideways), refusing to go forward/turn & walking backwards, spinning 360, spinning 360 & then cantering away, or just lurching forwards into canter from say halt or walk . Also curving his whole body and leg yielding around stuff, which is quite cute He espec. hates noises, like lawn mowers, bangs of feed buckets, etc, and doesn't like leaves/sticks/horse poo in road/and all the usual stuff eg crisp packets etc.

He is very spooky out hacking alone (to the point where i won't hack him alone anymore as i'm not that experienced and can't always control them). He is also a bit spooky hacking in company, espec. in front (i once counted 40 major spooks on a hack, including 3 spin & canters) although he's normally good as gold behind And then he can be quite spooky in the school, we have trees down 1 side, and all the jumps & poles etc in another corner, etc.

Now, Micks is my first horse and as i'm quite a novice at these things, I would label him as very spooky...however he hasn't ever bucked or reared, and i don't know how much a normal horse would spook, as before i got him I was at a riding school, where all their horses are pretty much spook proof!

Soo, how much does your horse spook?

Wow intense! Good on you for coping so well with it! I used to ride my sister's boy a lot before I got my Loki and I'll probably ride him when she doesn't have time to herself.
Odin is quite spooky, he cat leaps sideways or runs crab-like sideways or just plants at all sorts of things: mirrors at junctions on the road, puddles, dogs and once to my huge amusement HIS OWN SHADOW! Giggled myself silly at that one!

 

[wtdnh131]

she's only ever spooked in the arena once, when my friend was driving her shetland in the field nextdoor, the carriage had a big reflective sign on the back in orange and yellow, she hated that!! especially when it was moving, she stopped and stared at it before leaping a little and quickly side stepping away from it

the other times have been in the field when a bird has flew out of the bushes or a large noisy tractor has drove up behind her, she cantered forward suddenly and leapt a bit but once id turned her so she could see it was only a bird/tractor she was fine, except still a bit tense for a few minutes

 

[badgerdog]

Mine can be quite spooky when out on his own but he doesn't really do anything! He just stops dead or has a good look and slightly side steps. He spooks at his own shadow and puddles but happily goes past tractors pulling long flat bed trailers, herds of cows running towards him, cherry pickers etc. Mine is also a TB but your's sounds much more spooky than mine.