My Lesson & some advice for seriously spooky horses! + Photos

coreteam1

coreteam1

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My horse has become seriously spooky at the moment. He's ok hacking out but when he is in the school/arena he is awful

We will be trotting around and then he spooks, quite violently and enough to unseat me. I find myself hanging on for dear life sometimes! lol

We came back to walk the other day and he did it, so fast that I had no chance of staying on, I landed softly with him looking down at me as it to say ''What''?

I had a lesson yesterday (third lesson with this trainer) and would have loved to have started off with a stretchy long and low neck but the beast had other ideas. I had to take a firm (but not strong :)) contact and push him straight into trot as he just kept spooking.

We have a 20 x 40 arena and sometimes it sees impossible to go to the 'C' end of the school which faces out across fields. There is also a 3ft dyke surrounding two sides of our arena which are homes to trolls and things not quite imaginable :eek: There were monsters in both corners from 'H' and 'M' and he certainly wasn't comfortable going past 'E' !!!! :eek:

So we concentrated on collecting his canter on a 20 metre circle at A and then the trainer said lets go down the other end!!!!!!!
She stood in the corner between M and C and I walked him down. He was jumpy but ok. So then the serious work started :D Into a small Jiggy Joggy trot (not a working trot but a manageable, slightly faster than walk, collected trot, to get him listening) and we did some 10 metre circles with quarters in and out to get him listening to me rather than looking to spook at gremlins.
We then increased the circles to 20 meters and then started doing some leg yields. Then some leg yields from the safety zone of 'A' to the scary end at 'C', remember though the trainer is still stood at the scary end and I have him well into my hand but pushing him forward from my leg, every step!
We then went on to do some shoulder in along the long sides and Traver. He was a star. No spooky moments (apart from a genuine spook at a large German Shepherd (dog, not a German man shepherd :D) but it was containable due to him being in Traver and being held between hand and leg.

There wasn't the tension he had at the start of the lesson and at the safe end. He was having to work hard, listen to me.

I think the spooking with the majority of horses like this can be some sort of evasion. My trainer says my boy is doing it with me to find out how far he can go, how far he can push me. He wasn't tired by the time we got to the scary zone, the difference was that he was being asked to work and it took his mind off being naughty and spooky.
Someone mentioned in a previous thread about professional competition horses not spooking at major competitions, as much as ours amateur grass roots riders. It's true, and their horses are probably a lot more highly strung than ours, so what's their secret? I think it's all about riding correctly, into enough of a contact and being pushed into this from the leg, not being behind the leg and being given work that makes them concentrate.

It might not work for every spooky horse but I thought I'd pass on this advice as it seems to be working for me.

The first photo, he is hurried and tense


IMG_6332 by

This is where we are talking about going into scary zone!!!

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/32105456@N06/5351419377/]
IMG_6324 by

I know he is on the forehand here but he felt so much better (by this I mean less tense) than the start. We wwere doing walk to canter, then back to trot, leg yield and then shoulder in. Keeping his mind with me :D

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/32105456@N06/5473118617/]
IMG_6349 by http://www.flickr.com/people/32105456@N06/
 
I have a spooky mare, although it is getting less and less and only really happens badly now when we are somewhere new or if the weather is bad etc.

I'm also in the process of trying new instructors as most in the past have tried to spend the whole lesson trying to sort out her spooking by doing really basic exercises. Over winter I've not had any lessons but have pushed us both to our limits and I'm constantly throwing new things at her. It works, she is clever and the more you throw at her the better she is.

She'll never work long and low or relaxed for the first few minutes but this is just her way, once past this she's fine and works well.

Seems that a lot of horses are like this,and sounds like yours is the same, hopefully I'll now find an instructor who will listen to what I tell them and work with us! If I end up with someone who wants to spend the entire lesson working on a circle in trot trying to make her relax we'll get nowhere!

Although, I will add with mine it's not always an evasion, she is a wuss at all times, not just when ridden! lol
 
I think it has less to do with a technique (although indirectly the technique works) and more to do with having the confidence to really challenge and get after a horse which is being wilful. As often as not the horse is spooking to avoid having to work and most pro's won't faff around trying to baby the horse to go in the spooky corner and will just demand the horse goes in the bloody corner and make sure it stays there.

Horses can get very good at training their owners I think.
 
Well you know I agree :)

You sound confident enough to ride him through it which is essential. A lot of spooky horses have equally spooky riders lol.
 
siennamum said:
As often as not the horse is spooking to avoid having to work and most pro's won't faff around trying to baby the horse to go in the spooky corner and will just demand the horse goes in the bloody corner and make sure it stays there.

Horses can get very good at training their owners I think.
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Most definitely! :) He's a big boy mine at 17.2 and I'm not a small person but when he's spinning and pooking all over he is taking the mickey! No more though! :D

I think as I have got older I have lost more confidence though. I use to ride for the pony club x-country team years ago and jumped anything and everything. Now days I still have some confidence but no where near as much as when I was younger :(
 
dressager said:
Well you know I agree :)

You sound confident enough to ride him through it which is essential. A lot of spooky horses have equally spooky riders lol.
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Sometimes it's scarey but it has to be done or he would be horrid. There are lot's of people on the same yard who are absolutely terrified of their horses. It's a shame when you become to afraid to ride it, and we have quite a few of those.
 
You and me both with the confidence thing Janey. These days I find the conflict free route wherever possible. Thankfully my young horse isn't too spooky - yet!
 
siennamum said:
I think it has less to do with a technique (although indirectly the technique works) and more to do with having the confidence to really challenge and get after a horse which is being wilful. As often as not the horse is spooking to avoid having to work and most pro's won't faff around trying to baby the horse to go in the spooky corner and will just demand the horse goes in the bloody corner and make sure it stays there.

Horses can get very good at training their owners I think.
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This is painfully true! My grey will happily work away for a while when schooling and then start finding everything horrendously scary and spook/stop/spin - any way of evading doing any more work.

I know I have to work through it, but some days, I just can't be bothered with the argument!
 
I think you are right re the professional riders or competent riders even if not professional. My horse was in a professional yard and if he spooked when I was riding him the school, it was basically and don't let him do it - by ensuring he was working properly and listening to me not pratting around.

I think there is a lot of not being worried about the horse so that the rider has the confidence to ride them through it as well as the common sense approach that you and your instructor took about working him through the leg yields etc. Mine was being a pain spooking at something the other day in the school and I did have to get a little cross with him whereupon he went well - as you say it is a way of evading what you want them to do.
 
Well done for riding him through it. Sounds like your trainer is suggesting all the right things so I would stick with that plan of action!

With spooky horses my personal but limited experience is that a sudden change in character could well be down to a physical problem. Pain makes some horses more sensitive and more likely to over-react to things, so if this is new behaviour I would call the vet out for a thorough check-up....Then again sometimes it's just cheekiness either because the horse is young, or getting fitter, or the weather is sharper! I think the main thing professionals do differently is that they push a spooky horse on and use the energy to produce better work, whereas amateurs tend to back off. I don't mean that you must antagonise a spooky horse, it's not a matter of bullying, but rather insisting that forwards is the only option and using all the energy to do useful things with it. That tends to keep their minds more on the job and less likely to spook.
 
FWIW, pro's ride so many horses they cannot pander to each individuals little wants/quirks etc, so every horse is expected to behave in a reasonable manner. get on,ride, expect no trouble and if you get it-ride through it in a matter of fact way.

much easier to dissociate from the bond when it isnt yours for sure, but i try and have the same rather no nonsense approach at all times, i certainly dont spend ages slowly leg yielding in to the spooky area/creeping past it....as someone else said, it goes in every sodding corner, same as the one before, and it works how it was asked to work,end of! (assuming that is, there is nothing actually to spook at-plant machinery,bonfire etc id be more sympathetic about!!!!) they are not allowed to have area they like and areas they dont, i want to use my whole arena thanks!!!!s

i tend to produce none spooky horses (mine are all dead from the ears down as far as flowers,banners etc go at shows).so there must be something in it.
 
Wow OP you have just described my 5y/o to a T!!! He is exactly the same at the mo! I have to have him into a contact otherwise he's spotting monsters in all the corners!

Unfortunately he's only a few months under saddle so we're not leg yielding yet just trying to control his energy!
 
It sounds like your horse is very similar to how mine used to be! He is organising you and getting you to ride him how he wants to be ridden.
I found myself riding defensively instead of positively and didn't even realise it.

I started being much more proactive in my riding, asking more, throwing a bit more at her and when she started spooking, really sent her forwards, then back, then bend, then forwards, then back etc.
Don't look at what he is going to spook at, keep your leg on and don't take his rubbish!
 
Your guy sounds so like mine.
Ive learned the same thing that he has to be worked and asked questions to get him over his spooking. I do lots of shoulder in and transitions within the pace. And also canter in my warm up really helps him, can be a bit of a scary moment when you first ask for the canter when he is tense, as it usually has a leap at the start, but after that he is much more settled.

My problem is he is powerful, backwards thinking and spooky! not an easy combination
 
He is 7/8ths TB mixed with a bit of ID but not a baby anymore. He is 9 this year. I've learnt to live with his behaviour to a certain degree and know that he will never be a quiet type to ride.

He has always spooked and it's more at this time of year, then again towards Autumn when he's ready to come in for the winter!. He is very sensitive in that if the weather changes he can become a handful, even when coming in from the field.

As long as I can keep his attention long enough this Sunday at Hargate then we should be ok!

Funny thing is, he isn't scared of tractors, water trays, fillers etc, just blades of grass that move the wrong way in a slight breeze :D and things that can't be seen. Oh and not forgetting the legs under the trees at Sheepgate last year!!!
 
my horse is a seriously spooky one too janey... how you describe yours is exactly like mine... ome days he is so bad that its difficult to achieve very much. have tried a variety of thing with him and the thing that works the best is to put my ipod on and ride around as i would normally. as soon as he does a mega spook i kick him forwards into canter and make him do lots of unpleasant things that he doesn't want to - leg yields, small circles etc- after a minute or two i return to what i was doing... repeat until he stops spooking... it normally works- he is (like yours) using spooking as an evasion- so this way it doesn't work, in fact he just has to work harder! the ipod just hekps me to stay chilled and not be so tense! :)

he doesn't spook at things as a general rule away from home- its very much a cocky reaction to working at home!
 
Your right. My boy spooks and prats about when he's not concentrating. When I get him working properly and asking his brain to work he doesnt spook much. Also he doesnt spook so much during a lesson than he does when i'm schooling alone which is probably because im having to concentrate more when i'm being taught.
 
My horse has become seriously spooky at the moment. He's ok hacking out but when he is in the school/arena he is awful

We will be trotting around and then he spooks, quite violently and enough to unseat me. I find myself hanging on for dear life sometimes! lol

We came back to walk the other day and he did it, so fast that I had no chance of staying on, I landed softly with him looking down at me as it to say ''What''?

I had a lesson yesterday (third lesson with this trainer) and would have loved to have started off with a stretchy long and low neck but the beast had other ideas. I had to take a firm (but not strong ) contact and push him straight into trot as he just kept spooking.

We have a 20 x 40 arena and sometimes it sees impossible to go to the 'C' end of the school which faces out across fields. There is also a 3ft dyke surrounding two sides of our arena which are homes to trolls and things not quite imaginable There were monsters in both corners from 'H' and 'M' and he certainly wasn't comfortable going past 'E' !!!!

OMG are you riding my horse! describes his behaviour perfectly some great tips from everyone thanks, but one question how do you warm up? I've been launching in to trot work very quickly I don't warm up other horses so quick but he concentrates better if he is moving, walk is soooo lethargic and spooky. Tonight he was so spooky I just couldn't really warm up - I didn't have lunging kit with me so ended up working with him from the ground which really isn't my prefered option but he was getting ridiculous.
 
Booboos said:
I think the main thing professionals do differently is that they push a spooky horse on and use the energy to produce better work, whereas amateurs tend to back off. I don't mean that you must antagonise a spooky horse, it's not a matter of bullying, but rather insisting that forwards is the only option and using all the energy to do useful things with it. That tends to keep their minds more on the job and less likely to spook.
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Hope I used quotes better this time! Without sounding thick, how do you drive him forward? Mine isn't particually forward at the best of times, and goes dead to leg when he is spooking. Using a crop just antagonises him.
 
Vodkagirly said:
Hope I used quotes better this time! Without sounding thick, how do you drive him forward? Mine isn't particually forward at the best of times, and goes dead to leg when he is spooking. Using a crop just antagonises him.
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As an example, I saw a pro event rider sort out a big, piggy, strong, nappy horse once. The horse wouldn't jump into water with his very capable female rider. The Pro got on and asked the horse forward, when it went backwards - he hit it really hard & repeatedly. When it stood still he just kept his leg on, when it went forwards he praised it. I'm not suggesting this is right, or that your horse is nappy, but just illustrating the level of tolerance many pro riders would have to the concept of a horse being antagonised by being asked to do as it's told.

The nappy horse tried to spit the dummy, the rider just beat it more. He gave it no option at all apart from obedience. It jumped straight into the water and didn't utter a squeak of protest for the rest of the day - I think it was shellshocked.
 
Spooking is just an outlet, like another horse might buck or rear or run or otherwise act out tension. So the same horse might spook for any number of reasons if that's his "thing". At this time of year I'd probably be thinking freshness and/or not being fed for work being done. In Canada, where we were trapped in the arena for months, I had a few over the years who got so spooky you were lucky to make in once around the ring without a massive spook. I also had a couple who not only spooked themselves but clearly enjoyed setting other horses off as well. :D My old event horse spooked for fun and could be lethal with it. (And to add to the pro conversation, my trainer at the time tried to "teach him a lesson" and nearly got himself turned into a lawn dart, after which he decided we'd go another way with it. :D)

Perhaps tweaking the feed/exercise? I have one right now that spooks horrendously when fed a competition/grain based hard feed but hardly at all on a forage-based diet. Is he "doing enough" turned out? Maybe he needs a longe/loose school every now and then, even if you have to box him somewhere to do it. Sometimes letting it all hang out once does a horse good for quite a long period.

I don't think it's entirely true "pro's horses don't spook", at least in the technical sense. Sure, having a horse "through" - calm, forward, straight - makes it much easier to ride and less inclined to waiver in its attention. And yes, they will make SURE a horse is accepting the aids at home, even if that takes some "discussion" before putting it into situations where it might be inclined NOT to pay attention. (Which goes back to the "competition" thread - you're not going to see pros' horses unless they're pretty sure they are going to behave!)

BUT there are some seriously spooky horses doing high class jobs. What professionals often are is much better at MANAGING the situation. They notice and correct inattention earlier, they manage the horse in its daily life and work to keep it its most ridable, they plan their ride in order not to get into situations they can't solve quickly and easily.

I've seen plenty of riders leg yield away from something a horse is starting to fixate on, then leg yield back, gradually working through it but so calmly and carefully you wouldn't spot it if you weren't looking.

They keep their "eye on the prize" and get the horse doing its job without getting into fights about less important issues.

Also, their horses tend to go more places and do more things. One of THE most useful things is for horses to go to multi-day shows to "hang out". A few days hacking around the showground, living in stabling etc is hugely beneficial for spooky horses and easily done if you're taking a lorry load and staying away anyway.

So yes, their horses are better "broke" (which they should be, given the amount or riding and learning your average pro should have done) but they're also better ridden.
 
TarrSteps said:
Spooking is just an outlet, like another horse might buck or rear or run or otherwise act out tension. So the same horse might spook for any number of reasons if that's his "thing". At this time of year I'd probably be thinking freshness and/or not being fed for work being done. In Canada, where we were trapped in the arena for months, I had a few over the years who got so spooky you were lucky to make in once around the ring without a massive spook. I also had a couple who not only spooked themselves but clearly enjoyed setting other horses off as well. :D My old event horse spooked for fun and could be lethal with it. (And to add to the pro conversation, my trainer at the time tried to "teach him a lesson" and nearly got himself turned into a lawn dart, after which he decided we'd go another way with it. :D)

Perhaps tweaking the feed/exercise? I have one right now that spooks horrendously when fed a competition/grain based hard feed but hardly at all on a forage-based diet. Is he "doing enough" turned out? Maybe he needs a longe/loose school every now and then, even if you have to box him somewhere to do it. Sometimes letting it all hang out once does a horse good for quite a long period.

I don't think it's entirely true "pro's horses don't spook", at least in the technical sense. Sure, having a horse "through" - calm, forward, straight - makes it much easier to ride and less inclined to waiver in its attention. And yes, they will make SURE a horse is accepting the aids at home, even if that takes some "discussion" before putting it into situations where it might be inclined NOT to pay attention. (Which goes back to the "competition" thread - you're not going to see pros' horses unless they're pretty sure they are going to behave!)

BUT there are some seriously spooky horses doing high class jobs. What professionals often are is much better at MANAGING the situation. They notice and correct inattention earlier, they manage the horse in its daily life and work to keep it its most ridable, they plan their ride in order not to get into situations they can't solve quickly and easily.

I've seen plenty of riders leg yield away from something a horse is starting to fixate on, then leg yield back, gradually working through it but so calmly and carefully you wouldn't spot it if you weren't looking.

They keep their "eye on the prize" and get the horse doing its job without getting into fights about less important issues.

Also, their horses tend to go more places and do more things. One of THE most useful things is for horses to go to multi-day shows to "hang out". A few days hacking around the showground, living in stabling etc is hugely beneficial for spooky horses and easily done if you're taking a lorry load and staying away anyway.

So yes, their horses are better "broke" (which they should be, given the amount or riding and learning your average pro should have done) but they're also better ridden.
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Oh yes I think he does do it for fun. There have been four of us in the last week bolting for the top end of the school, it's a game of who can get from one end to the other the quickest! One spooks they all spook :D

I definitely can't smack him, like you say, mine would spit me out and have me for lunch if I ever whacked him hard enough (I can use it as an aid when schooling, lightly). I did it once when he was a five year old I haven't done it again! :eek:

I am currently in the process of changing his feed, from quite a high starch based feed to lot's more fibre based feeds. I got some good advice on here the other day :)

I agree with your comment about there being some seriously spooky horses out there competing. My trainer who rides at top level says there are some really spooky one.s and hers too is no donkey. However like you say they manage it better, and notice the inattention earlier. My instructor says I must plan my warm up, as though it's a test.
I will definitely put his leg yielding to the test on Sunday if he starts to play up when we are out, for the first time since Oct !
 
janey said:
Oh yes I think he does do it for fun. There have been four of us in the last week bolting for the top end of the school, it's a game of who can get from one end to the other the quickest! One spooks they all spook :D

I definitely can't smack him, like you say, mine would spit me out and have me for lunch if I ever whacked him hard enough (I can use it as an aid when schooling, lightly). I did it once when he was a five year old I haven't done it again! :eek:

I am currently in the process of changing his feed, from quite a high starch based feed to lot's more fibre based feeds. I got some good advice on here the other day :)

I agree with your comment about there being some seriously spooky horses out there competing. My trainer who rides at top level says there are some really spooky one.s and hers too is no donkey. However like you say they manage it better, and notice the inattention earlier. My instructor says I must plan my warm up, as though it's a test.
I will definitely put his leg yielding to the test on Sunday if he starts to play up when we are out, for the first time since Oct !
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i can't smack mine either. he would kill me i think :eek:
 
hmmmmmmm, not sure id stand for that TBH....spooking for fun but kills you if you tell it off? doesnt sound like much of a partnership here. getting "antangonised" by being sent forward and given a *******ing is just showing the horse has you by the balls, he can spook and tit about and you cant get in there and say "no"....ball is constantly in horses court.

you might have to scare yourself in order to get it back in yours, but until the status quo is evened out, you arent going to make a lasting impression.

(this is all in relation to what i call an idle spooker BTW, something doing it because it can, not a genuinely terrified horse).

if its looking and wont go forward, flex to inside and SEND it forward, there must be respect for the leg at all times.come round again in shoulder in and SEND it forward past whatever its spooking at-getting it on a contact and in shoulder in BEFORE it has a chance to even peep at the object.
 
Prince33Sp4rkle said:
if its looking and wont go forward, flex to inside and SEND it forward, there must be respect for the leg at all times.come round again in shoulder in and SEND it forward past whatever its spooking at-getting it on a contact and in shoulder in BEFORE it has a chance to even peep at the object.
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We went straight to the 'spooky' end today. No twitting around in the safe zone, and he was a star! Started work straight away, no warm up I'm afraid for now but he went well.

There was a 'moment' when his friends walked past on a ride and I could feel him tense up as if to say, ''hey I'm coming too'' but I kept his attention and worked through it. We were able to cool down and walk nicely around at the end too. :D

What I didn't mention in the previous post was there is a fox den at the scary end, or so I'm told. I can see holes leading into what looks like a den but I've not seen any activity there. Others have mentioned seeing a fox and one rider fell last week when a fox ran across the school. However this said I do think my boy was fooling about? Can horses smell foxes like they can smell pigs :eek:
 
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