How would you define a sharp/spooky horse when not being ridden?

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whiteblaze

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Hi all. I've been thinking about this as some riders tend to get the blame for their horse being sharp/spooky. I understand that a rider or handler will have some input to the way their horse behaves, but surely some horses are sharper/spookier by nature than others?

How would you define a sharp horse? How would the horse behave when not ridden? E.g. in the stable, field and being led.
 
I would define a sharp/spooky horse as one that it always on it's guard and nervy. My WB acts stressed alot of the time with repetitive behaviour and field and box walking, yet he is not sharp to ride.
I agree that some horses are sharp by personality amd others very laid back. I believe that feed and handlers/riders have an influence on this too. Horses are extremely perceptive and some are more sensitive than others to the handlers/riders mood at the time.
 
I had a very sharp and spooky horse. He was very sensitive and would easily lose his confidence so careful and kind handling and riding were important.

He had a strong sense of self-preservation and for that reason I always felt safe on him. I read an article in H&H not so long ago in which the writer said that sharp horses make the best XC horses, and mine was just that, he was a superb hunter and team chaser.

I would define a sharp and spooky horse as one that is always on it's guard, very alert, always assessing it's surroundings and has ultra quick reactions.
 
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Interesting, thanks. Do sharp horses usually display behaviour such as head flicking/weaving with people/food around? I know this is a bit of a generalisation but was wondering if a sharp horse could even be noticed when stabled.
 
One being too aware of it's surroundings, our TB ex racer gently spooks, (as in jumping if unsure) not taking off but not happy with something, eg; kids on a trampoline behind a garden fence, he spun round me several times, until I asked the kids to speak as they appeared above the fence, an amusing 5 mins till he figured it out, then happily home for supper
 
The Current Appy is rather sharp, and can be spooky when ridden. She isn't hyper alert, or constantly on her guard, but she is always purposeful. She doesn't amble round the field, but always moves as if she has a reason for going wherever she is going. The other three will amble to the nest patch of grass, but not her, she sets off and gets there, then will bustle off again to the next thing that attracts her attention
 
One of my horses (TB mare) on the ground is very sharp and nervy. She does field walk (see other post!), she's always on the look out from their yard, watching for anything that she's not happy with. When we're out hacking, she can become tense beneath me when she sees something out of the ordinary BUT she never, ever causes me a problem with it. So, spooky/nervy doesn't always mean difficult as such I think.
 
whiteblaze said:
Interesting, thanks. Do sharp horses usually display behaviour such as head flicking/weaving with people/food around? I know this is a bit of a generalisation but was wondering if a sharp horse could even be noticed when stabled.
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Mine had no stable vices at all. He was very wary of some people, mainly men. He loved kids though, perhaps he found them non-threatening.
 
Horses that are more alert in the field, and spot/hear things long before the other horses in the herd who are happy eating grass whilst the alert ones have their heads on periscopes looking into the distance.

When something spooks the herd into a gallop, the sharp horses take the longest to calm down and carry on trotting around, looking out for scaries and taking quite a while to settle before putting their heads down (like the others) to eat.
 
Strange i have a very sharp and slightly spooky tb that in the field and to handle on the ground is a complete dope, but the minute you go to get in the saddle she wont stand still and once you get in the saddle she is on her toes, and is ready for go.
Then at the opposite end i have one that is marching on her way when being led and a compete fidget when being groomed and tacked up but stands stock still for you to get on and is as slow and steady to ride as you can ask for
 
I wouldn't say spooky and sharp are the same thing... I have a horse that was very nervous and spooky, with very fast responses... (ended up in the ditch more than once!) but I wouldn't have said he was sharp. I would have thought sharp is more overly sensitive, very very responsive to the rider's every move. My boy was never sensitive, just anxious, and was the same with everyone who rode him. One of our others is sharp, if you put even a tiny bit more pressure than is necessary on his mouth he goes straight up, and is very quick off the leg ect. Again, he does this with everyone, so I don't think it's down to the riding...

Some horses with more nervous riders do seem to take the mick, spooking at things they've seen a million times before, whereas I think with a bit more leg and a 'no' they wouldn't.

My sister seems to have a 'hot seat', even when she just sits quietly, whereas I'm a pretty passive (lazy? :p) rider... She will get on something and it will be very on it's toes, and I will get on it five minutes later and find it lazy. So I thinks sometimes people have an effect on their horse without even realising.
 
The new one I have aquired is sharp/spooky. But there is actually something not quite right in his head so not a good one to go by - he weaves and windsucks as well as being very jumpy/runs off when worried on the ground. To ride hes better just spooks at the obvious things a spooky horse would - things not in the "right" place, odd noises and plastic etc!
 
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