Newbie - help - spooking in menage

[Boggle]

Hello! Wonder if anyone can offer me some advice. My horse (7 yo ISH) has always been a little sharp but managable. Currently been schooling nicely at Prelim level and has been very sensible/non silly in the ménage as of late. This week I was lunging in the rain with an exercise sheet on. As I went to switch the lunge line over to change rein a gust of wind whipped the exercise sheet up slightly, que massive spook from horse who charged away at speed minus lunge line. Then spooked it took me a while to actually get near him as he cantered/charged around the ménage looking pretty worried. Once caught I proceeded to do 5 mins more quiet work on lunge to ensure horse was calm and session ended on good note. He hacked the next day perfectly fine. However when I came to school him again the day after he felt like a ticking time bomb! Rigid, tense, hollow and charging off at every opportunity. Unnerved I popped him on the lunge (seemed fine) then had to rush off go to work. I got on him today, exactly the same! Tense, spooky, frightened. Obviously I am thinking he remembered spooky lunge antics. How do I go forward with him now admittably feeling nervous? My instructor is away currently til end of week. Assume I will need to go back to basics in there with lunging, walking around in hand until he realizes again that the ménage is a safe place to be?

 

[littleshetland]

Sorry to sound like a novelty tea towel, but keep calm and carry on basically. If its at all possible can you turn him out for a short while in the arena with a bit of hay? or maybe share the arena for a couple of sessions with another rider to keep you both calm? I'm sure you'll be fine...

 

[Turks]

Hows about giving him his short feed in there too gradually nearer the scary areas so he starts to associate it with nice stuff.

 

[Boggle]

Nothing worse than wobbly knees is there, especially on an oversenstive horse! I should imagine I would have a window to turn out/feed/hay in the ménage, good idea. Will try today. Need to get the ménage back to being a safe place again - frustrating to have a set back with things going well but suppose that's horses for you. Need to man up and work through it! Thank you

 

[BellaBoobies]

Nothing worse than wobbly knees is there, especially on an oversenstive horse! I should imagine I would have a window to turn out/feed/hay in the ménage, good idea. Will try today. Need to get the ménage back to being a safe place again - frustrating to have a set back with things going well but suppose that's horses for you. Need to man up and work through it! Thank you

Haha I always tell myself I need to man up! Easier said than done. I had a similar situation at the beginning of last year my horse had been on boxrest and was doing 10 minutes ridden walking a day and my friend had kindly offered to do Bella's 10 minutes as I was having a lesson on my friends horse that night. Unfortunately it all went abit wrong that night and my friend got bronked off ending with a broken pelvis in 2 places. This was totally out of character for Bella and I think she really spooked herself. After that she was a nightmare in the arena she obviously remembered the dramatic events from that night. Anyway she got turned away for a week to get her off the boxrest and he walking was done out of the arena. 3 months down the line I was sttill being a wuss and didn't go in that arena (luckily we have 2). We were at the point of being able to work her properly when I finally decided to man up and go in. As expected Bel was very spooky and tense but after advice from my instructors we started to chill. I started learning dressage tests and riding throught them so I was always asking something and she always had to listen. I was constantly doing transitions, turns, circles, leg yielding etc. anything that allowed me to put my leg on without asking for more forwards. She started to chill alot provided she had something to distract her and I think that is what you need to do here. Ask someone to go in the arena with you on the ground just so you have someone there (this always makes me feel more secure - atleast if i fall off someone will know about it and can help lol) Learn some tests and ride through them constant transitions and turns. dont let up until he really relaxes spiraling in and out on a circle is good for being able to put your leg on without to much forwards involved. Good Luck!! oh and most importantly.. breathe!

One more thing that helped me (my instructor only told me this on Wednesday when bel was having a spook) think of your contact in the reins like holding a spring. If you compress that spring (hold your contact to tightly) when you realise that spring for a split second it will release all that energy you have just created and burst across the arena (in my case haha) If you keep your contact light even when you feel vulnerable (again easier said than done but it does work) then that spring won't compress and the energy won't build up. Try and keep that thought in your mind as your riding let us know how you are getting on

 

[Boggle]

Thank you - some really good pointers in there. I always think of the arena as a safe place to be and this week that's really turned on it's head! It totally makes sense about the relaxed reins, it's just a shame that when it feels like said horse is going to charge off nature tells me to reel them in for self preservation. I will have to take some deep breaths and try again this weekend!

 

[joolie]

Mine can be very much like this and he remembers the smallest bad experience! With him I would pop him on the lunge and do some quiet work in there every day if you can to get him used to being in there again. Assume he hacks? Try and do some work with him to get him on side again and relaxed with you on his back and take some small steps until you are feeling more confident.

 

[kc100]

Hacking has helped my spooky mare chill out in the menage - she used to charge around at 100mph and snort like a dragon 24/7. Decided to only school twice a week and hack her twice a week (head girl would hack her once or twice as well), when we got back to the schooling on a tuesday after a weekends hacking she was super chilled, relaxed and finding it much easier to stretch - no more charging off.

Not entirely sure why hacking has helped so much, she spooks when we are out hacking too but maybe its made her see that there are scarier things out in the big wide world (like donkeys, cows, fields with no horses in, white plastic on the road...) so the menage seems boring in comparison! Horses can get a bit tired of too much schooling in the menage too, not all horses but some respond very well to time out of the school so when they do have schooling sessions they dont mind them as much.

Hand walk in there too, I ride a friends super spooky horse and he is so much better if you do a few days hand walking before you go and ride/lunge in the menage.

 

[Ceriann]

Mine had been difficult in the school for a few sessions - not really silly but hollow, focussing on sounds in the distance, spooking at one particualr corner, allowing horses in nearby fields to excite her, after being very calm in the school (which had started to make me nervous). Last few times she had also been very difficult to mount in there too. I went back to basics and lunged her there a few times (always settled after 5 minutes of silliness - i try not to allow her to let off steam on the lunge) and got her out hacking (including someone to do this for me in the week as its too dark when i get home). I decided at the weekend to bite the bullet and get back on her in the school and whilst she took 10 minutes to settle i rode her forward and did lots and lots of circles, figures of 8, changes of impulsion in trot (this gets her more focussed than walk/trot trot/walk) leg yielding so she didnt have a moment to think about b*ggering about. Ive also bough and RSTor, which is used for the first time at the weekend - fab for making me feel that little bit more secure.