need help with spooky horse - arghh!!!!!

[olop]

My boy has always been spooky (I have had him since a 3 year old) & I thought he would outgrow it but he is about to turn 9 & it feels like there is no change.

I like to do the odd jumping comp (nothing big, just to get out & have some fun) but I find we are constantly battling each other.

Anything new to him he will spook at - be it a new coloured filler, flowers or people standing around watching in the ring. He just stops blank what he is doing but give him another look & he is fine.

I very rarely go clear & always having refusals. He never knocks a pole though & has so much scope but am at my wits end with him with his spooking.

Does anyone have any suggestions to help me??
He has been ridden by others at comps & he does exactly the same thing with other riders.

 

[charlie55]

Completley know what your going through!!
But please, if you havent, get hes eyes checked, a friend of mine was going through the same with her horse and she had something going on with her left eye, hence the spooking.

But with my lad, he is a dressage boy, he spooks at the most stupid little things ever! Getting him round a dressage areana without jumping ten foot would have been a miracle, If i dropped a brush in hes stable he would shoot off and god help me if i was to sneeze while riding him!! :0 Ive tryed every calmer you can think of and nothing!! But, he is now a lovely chilled horse, no longer spooking at silly things and i can actually carry a schooling whip while i ride without him having a heart attack every time i dare moved my hand, and its all thanks to brewers yeast, i cant actually believe it! Ive spend so much money on 'the best' calmers out there and something that costs £6 and lasts for 2 months is the perfect thing! Who would have thought it!!! You must try it if you havent already, its fab stuff. Sorry for the essay :s
xx

 

[spookypony]

Much sympathy here, from another person with a spooky pony! Not sure what a solution is: I'm still plugging away myself at similar problems. Positive riding and lots of encouragement have brought some improvement, but he still really seems to need to figure every new thing out for himself before trusting it (or me, apparently).

charlie55, brewer's yeast sounds worth investigating...will talk to my trimmer tomorrow, see what she thinks...

 

[flyingfeet]

Here is a weird one, I de-spook using leg restraints. Leg strap and hobbles, not for long, but the training in the school forces the horse to accept the situation and trust that i'll sort them out.

The other thing is practise, I have an inflatable purple swan for mine to jump. Other venues fillers are tame!

 

[thumpbug]

My mare will jump anything you put infront of her,she's very brave,however she's silly with spooking,tiny things like a leaf,a bag,the letters in the arena(which she has gone past many times before),her own reflection and surely enough her shadow! Will be interesting to see some responses on this

 

[olop]

Thank you for the suggestion Charlie55 - will definately get his eyes checked out but he has been doing it for so long now that I doubt it could be that. Will also give the brewers yeast a go, have heard it is good for coats as well & he is a bit sweet itchy so could do with giving it a try

 

[horsey4]

Snap, my horse is just the same, isnt it frustrating! Where do you get Brewers yeast from? I have recently discovered Equifeast products and thought might give it a try, anyone tried it or got any opinions on it?