is there such a thing as a horse that doesn't spook?

Thankfully, my little cob is nosey instead of spooky, although I often get pulled on a detour to investigate anything 'odd' looking! A friend's horse is as bombproof as you like on the roads with traffic, steamrollers, steam trains, convoys of emergency services etc, she'd probably ignore a jumbo jet if it was taking off next to her. However, some days, there may be a small flower grown in a hedge that wasn't there before, or, a menacing coke can, half hidden in the undergrowth that could, at any moment leap out and rip her to shreds. The only way to avoid this is to swiftly drop her left shoulder (always the left!), then spin to right (always the right) at the speed of light, depositing my friend on the floor. Once she's on the floor, my friend's mare must decide all is then safe as she stands there like a donkey (although, I swear I often heard her chuckle)! For my mate's birthday, I got her this;
http://www.rstor.co.uk/
She's only come off from a spook once whilst using it!

Hope your tailbone mends quickly!
 
Yip, there are horses that dont spook at anything, but are very hard to find!! My best boy, as I always call him, was pts nov 09, and was ex riding school, I've met at least 50 people to learned to ride on Cooper, and about 20 that started hunting on him. He was such a good horse but was spooky as hell, and nappy, once outside the riding school. his "spooks" were miserable though, and i never once fell off him, even though he hated tractors, or anything coming from behind, and it took me 6 mths to get him to leave the yard by himself. So, while he was "spooky", no badness whatsoever, just afraid of things and once you were nice and talked him through, then he was fine.
I had a mare that was so quiet, i used to check her pulse to make sure she was alive, and she caused the worst fall i've ever had. falling on the road from a milk carton!!! bad back ever since, so seriously, whilst they are there, they are so hard to find, good lucj with trying to find him/her!!!!!
 
Hope you get well soon, sounds very painful. I can totally understand your confidence taking a dip.

Having gone from my unflappable, dependable first horse Chumley to one who spooks at silly things it has been a learning curve for me, I've had Toby just over 18mths now and it's taken that long to get used to the spooks. I've accepted that it how he is rather than wishing he was bombproof.

However Chumley had one hell of a buck if he decided he didn't want to do something (like schooling..) whereas though Toby can be a cheeky begger he generally loves life and puts 100% in to everything I ask him to do, he is proving his worth as a schoolmaster and we are having a whale of a time :)

Agree with others that keeping them occupied helps, I just have to keep plugging away and keep him active when he thinks the birds in the trees around the school are out to kill him. I was quite pleased with him on Wed when two pigeons suddenly went bonkers in the tree next to the jump I was going over, his ear just flicked in that direction but he carried on, he was so engrossed in what we were doing. If we had been in walk not doing much I would have been holding on for dear life... I've also found the Relax Me calmer helps take the edge off. Amazingly he is far more chilled at competitions when he has a job to do.

The only thing I'm still working on is hacking, I find it more difficult to keep his mind on me. I do miss my 'end of the buckle' hacks on Chumley. But I will keep working on it but doubt Toby will ever be a happy hacker, he much prefers parties and that suits me right now :)

Good luck, hope you work it out with her.
 
swampdonkey said:
Hi all, i came off my mare last friday when she spooked in the school and fractured my coccyx. She is sometimes quite spooky but don't think she is truly afraid but seems to do it when she is bored. At 1st i didn't really think about it but the more time goes on and the pain is really getting me down the more i keep thinking about the spooking and i'm worried if i keep thinking with this train of thought I'm going to worry myself into not riding again. I've come off her twice since i've had her, both times from a massive spook altho have sat many more. Not really sure what I'm trying to ask, Is there such a thing as a horse that doesn't ever spook if so I'm getting myself one. Sorry for being so long, really feeling sorry for myself.
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QR: yes there is :)

Both my mares will spook but in a very gentlemanly way, one will look and decide and to walk around the offending object at good distance and one may well decide to spin but in a slow and accommadating way :)
 
swampdonkey said:
Is there such a thing as a horse that doesn't ever spook if so I'm getting myself one. .
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No guarantees. However you can reduce it with training, training and more training. How long it would take depends on the horse and on the trainer. And of course you cannot train for every eventuality. But you can do a huge amount to reduce spooking with time, patience and correct communication.

Hope you feel better soon
 
Any horse can be trained not to spook!
Sure, there will be times when they look at something but, if they trust the rider then they will not whip around and try to dart away from whatever.

I was exercising two fit TBs one very windy day. We were trotting up a narrow lane and I had my head down as we were going directly into the wind. The horse I was riding did a voluntary half halt and when I looked up and saw a giant octopus coming down the road about six feet off the ground. Both the horse I was riding and the one I was leading had eyes out on bean stalks but when I told them to stand they did.
The octopus got a tentacle caught on the hedge and was struggling to free itself and billowing across the road about 40 yards ahead of me. It was a back plastic car cover that had escaped from wherever - both horse went forward when asked and went past it with not a thought of doing otherwise.

I teach the horses that spooky things are usually 'my' fault. It is nothing for me to to walk into the stables with an open umbrella, kicking a football, I throw rugs and empty haylage wrappers over the babies, they are in loose areas and free to run away but they rarely do. The dogs (many) are always running around and when one youngster was being shod for the first time she never moved when two terriers, a GSD and collie all coursed a rat under her.

That same (TB) filly had never been off the premises and when I led her out from another horse, the only thing she spooked at was a slow sign on the road. Ridden out for the third time she had ever been sat on, she was happily trotting in front along a track she had never been along before.

It is a matter of knowing and understanding. A horse will give a warning of a spook in that it will tense for a fraction of a second. If it has faith in the rider then the command
to go forward will be obeyed. The horse that has been allowed to spook needs to be stopped from whipping to the side turned back against the direction and made to go to whatever and stand right next to it. No roughness from the rider, just a cool determination to make them do so. In the end spooking is not worth it.
 
Poor you, I hope you feel less sore soon.

My friends horse spooked three times in the ten years I new him and was the most bombproof horse I've ever met.

Merlin has the odd look at things but isn't a spooky horse which makes a change from Fudge who has the run backwards and spin spook down a treat :rolleyes:
 
Fany is bombproof, she has never spooked at anything. We have had pheasants, an angle grinder start up next to her, she just looked, a strimmer start up on the other side of the fence, low flying fighter planes,even had YO drive right up to her in lorry and toot the horn to make her move on ( didn't want to come in from the field) nothing. That said I firmly believe there is no such thing as a horse that would never spook, there will always be something that takes them by surprise.

FDC
 
swampdonkey, really sorry to hear about your accident.

I haven't read all the replies but IMHO, no, all horses spook.

They are flight animals and it is natural for them to move evasively, fast when something startles them.

You can try and not bore your horse. You can try desensitising.

But sometimes any (live!) horse WILL spook.

Personally I'm grateful for exposure to spooky ones. It teaches you how to sit spooks as good as you ever will.

Good luck for when you're back in the saddle.
 
The horse I ride out with, I think you could put a bomb under her and she wouldn't flinch! She is the only horse that we'll allow my best friend on at the moment while she's awaiting back surgery xx
 
What a boring life it would be without horses that spook! Like having roads with no bends or women I understand ha,ha,ha!

Thankfully, I have been blessed with horses who could spook for MI5 and the CIA - my daughter's second eventer actually managed to canter backwards with me along the edge of a laneside bank at 90 degrees to the road - only a few strides but I was dead chuffed that I sat to it and very sorry to see the hoof marks slowly disappear as I used to so love to point them out!

My old mare was still spooking on the day she died - why change the habit of a lifetime?

I know a young helicopter flying instructor who can really throw one of those things about the sky - his motto is - if you're not prepared to push the envelop - you shouldn't be up here!
 
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1stclassalan said:
What a boring life it would be without horses that spook! Like having roads with no bends or women I understand ha,ha,ha!

Thankfully, I have been blessed with horses who could spook for MI5 and the CIA - my daughter's second eventer actually managed to canter backwards with me along the edge of a laneside bank at 90 degrees to the road - only a few strides but I was dead chuffed that I sat to it and very sorry to see the hoof marks slowly disappear as I used to so love to point them out!

My old mare was still spooking on the day she died - why change the habit of a lifetime?

I know a young helicopter flying instructor who can really throw one of those things about the sky - his motto is - if you're not prepared to push the envelop - you shouldn't be up here!
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What an interesting perspective... :)
 
Used to have a clyde x who would not spook. Why? because we took him everywhere and let him see everything. We used to have to go through sainsburys carpark to get to the bridlepath. Not bothered by trolley, shopping, kids etc.

We have also had quite a few TB's who hunt at the yard and they were the same. As they had seen the sights since they were young.
 
I hope you recover soon

And to answer your question, being prey animals I think horses instinctively have it in them to respond to very small stimuli. And they are programmed to flee from danger as they see it. How they respond seems to be dependent on the horse and what it does or doesn't find frightening. I used to ride with a friend who had a quarter horse that could spin very very fast if she caught sight of something she didn't like, how she managed to stay on sometimes I don't know! Mine I would say is fairly good with things but 2 weeks ago saw a dog and some people way off in the distance and how he interpreted it I will never know (I'm assuming mountain lion!) but he was very frightened and we ended up heading for home at speed. Unlike him but there's always going to be something at times I guess. Yesterday the dappled light on the bridleway coming through the trees onto the ground was causing him to react a bit as the shade I think looked like huge black holes, just a little dither no major spooking. We have a corner of the school at the yard which for some reasons most of the horses have an issue with at various times - and yet there is nothing we as humans can see, smell or hear going on there. I have learnt the difference between my horse trying it on and genuine fear and in those times I can tell he is scared I will try my best to get him past whatever it is or reassure him so that whatever it is is not so scary from then on. Thankfully there do seem to be out there horses which are totally fine with everything but are few and far between I'd say as you're never going to totally override the survival instinct.
 
Firstly OP can i send my sympathies for the pain you are in from your coccyxc having broken mine many years ago falling down the stairs. I found good pain killers, anti-inflammatories and a board to sit on all helped. Unfortunately I did such a good job of mine it was a few months before I could sit on a soft chair with any degree of comfort :(


As for non spooky horses, I don't think there are many who won't spook at something at some point. My youngster has been taken out on walks and has seen a lot so far and is pretty sensible. If something scares her she will plant and stare and then go and have a look and a sniff so she knows its not going to jump up and bite her on the bum ;)

My other one though favours a spin, will back up and dance but does it to evade :rolleyes: A few weeks back a leaf blower suddenly started up on th other side of the hedge from where we were schooling. She shot forward a couple of strides but was easily brought back under control and carried on with the trot circle we were doing. Could feel her heart pounding though, bless her
 
Serephin said:
I was told my boy wasn't spooky, but he is. He can do the spin and run thing, but is easily stopped, so we don't go far. He spooked at a rabbit the other day and my saddle slipped and I fell off! He is bomb proof in company, its as if he figures the other horse will get eaten first! But if I put him in front he can be a baby.
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Your saddle should not slip with a spook, make sure the girth is tight enough and the saddle is a good fit, also sit up and keep alert, ride with thighs close to the saddle, (a sticky bum johdpur can help too), some of these elastic ended girths (esp both ends) are useless in this situation, also keep a finger on the neck rein while trotting.
I have a spooky horse, he can get in a panic if left in front of a group in a new situation, and then spins round, I have to always watch his ears for signs of "scary things ahead" and ride positively even when on a long rein. He needs that leadership, and also gets magnesium when I am bringing him back in to work or whenever I feel he will be confronting a stressful situation. hope that helps, remember to train with leg yield past a scary object every day, though in my case it is not so much objects as situations, and objects that have been moved from where they were previously out hacking.
From you r post he is bombproof in company, yes because he is not under pressure to be a leader, this to me is the essence of a spooky horse. btw I often go out to the field with a super little cob, only four years old but he is a star, ignores all traffic, and is unfazed by everything, he can lead my 8 year old out to the field, and back again, will jump for fun and has lovely paces, this little boy is a five star pony, but as a ride would be too forward going for a novice.
 
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My old horse never spooked at anything, I truly believe a plane could land near him and he wouldnt have bothered. New boy is a megaspook at everything, even in the yard, and especially out on his own he is v nervous. I wonder whether I am being cruel making him go out on his own if he is truly afraid ?
 
Old saying That a horse that never spooks is a dead horse, they all spook at something even if it's a small jump from them. Mine yesterday jumped 3 inches off ground when he notice something that wasn't there the day before and he is bombproof.:o:o:D:D:D:D
 
alma said:
My old horse never spooked at anything, I truly believe a plane could land near him and he wouldnt have bothered. New boy is a megaspook at everything, even in the yard, and especially out on his own he is v nervous. I wonder whether I am being cruel making him go out on his own if he is truly afraid ?
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No its not cruel to ask him to go out in to the big world, he may need more time to settle in to a new yard, I feed magnesium calmer to mine, and try to get someone to go out with me, he is getting better, practice leg yielding and going in to the arena, but change things around he needs to relax and go forward, be careful you don't praise him when he spooks, he needs to get past stuff without being given praise for spooking.
 
MagicMelon said:
I dont believe there is a horse who never ever spooks as its in their very nature as flight animals. Its how well they contain it that matters.
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I think this is very true. I've got a really non-spooky youngster who hasn't really ever spooked much even as a 3 year old. Still shot up 3 feet in the air yesterday when a deer jumped out of the trees. If you are worried then you can get something called a 'gel out' pad which will hold you in the saddle I believe. Personally I have just invested in a wow saddle with deep seat and awesome knee rolls which do the same.
 
swampdonkey said:
Hi all, i came off my mare last friday when she spooked in the school and fractured my coccyx. She is sometimes quite spooky but don't think she is truly afraid but seems to do it when she is bored. At 1st i didn't really think about it but the more time goes on and the pain is really getting me down the more i keep thinking about the spooking and i'm worried if i keep thinking with this train of thought I'm going to worry myself into not riding again. I've come off her twice since i've had her, both times from a massive spook altho have sat many more. Not really sure what I'm trying to ask, Is there such a thing as a horse that doesn't ever spook if so I'm getting myself one. Sorry for being so long, really feeling sorry for myself.
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prob no such thing unless the said animal is dead.
Dont worry we all come off. I feel daft after but glad both i and horse are in one piece. Im pants at riding but getting there. Just dust yourself down and get back on.
Folk will say try to relax so your horse doesn't pick up on it. Easier said than done. If anything try not to over think about things. Love your horse and time with them. even if you avoid certain situations that may lead to more likely spooking. Good luck
 
7 years of owning the spookiest horse in the world and I'm still riding and standing!!! He's blind in his left eye so we can go past 'scarey' (as in stone..or random bit of paper) monsters and I think we're safe and he'll catch sight in his good eye and bang..spook central!!!!:rolleyes:

He's bombproof in traffic and we have RAF nearby so anything can go over him but he's scared of silly things and god help us if anything changes on his usual hacks...if someone dare move a plant pot outside their house and it's meltdown!!!

Best thing I ever had was my treeless saddle, rode in that for 4 years and he never once got me off from a spook...very close sometimes but the saddle held me!!

I really just don't even notice them now unless they are really spectacular ones, people riding out with me first few times always comment on how I just carry on talking while he's skidding around on 2 hooves and telling me the horse eating monster is going to get him!!
 
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