Over-reactive youngster!!! HELP

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DamselInDistress

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Ok, a little background info. I bought my horse about five months ago, a four year old dutch warmblood. He is my first youngster and although he is a dream to ride, as soon as anything goes wrong whilst being ridden he just seems to fall to pieces.

He was super sensitive when i bought him, literally couldn't touch him with any part of my foot or leg without him running off but having had him for five months now he has started to accept the leg and is begining to work well. However, he can be a bit spooky and because he is so big, when he spooks it sometimes unseats me and i end up either losing a stirrup or getting thrown around the saddle and when ever this happens he just freaks out and runs. Even if i am riding in the school and i get too close the the edge and my foot hits the wall he flips out. So after ending up on the floor for the 6th time yesterday i was wondering if anyone else has had an over-reactive horse and how they dealt with the problem.

He is a very sensitive and forward going boy, and ninety percent of the time he is so well behaved and good to ride. But as soon as something goes wrong it is such a big deal to him and the chances are, i am gonna end up on the floor.

Any help or advice will be so appreiciated as i dont think i can cope with eating much more sand.
 
There's loads of books out there about "bombproofing" your horse. Bit of a misnomer really as there's no such thing as a 100% bombproof horse. But you can do a lot to build your horse's confidence in himself and in you. Ground work in teensy stages moving on to walking through mazes, walking over tarpaulins, walking past umbrellas, pushchairs, dogs, cattle, sheep, walking under things, round them, through them etc etc etc. Slow and steady in bite size chunks that your super-sensitive (and probably super-intelligent) horse can cope with. Go back a step if he gets worried. Kelly Marks, Richard Maxwell, Michael Peace, Monty Roberts all have good information and easy, common sense advice. Good luck x
 
Ditto the ground work. Get it sorted from the ground, where you're safe, before moving onto under saddle.

I have a VERY reactive horse too. I'd only need to cough to startle him, both under saddle and on the ground. Dropping a grooming brush would spook him. Changing or loosing a stirrup would cause him to shoot forwards in a panic. The panic wouldn't last long, just until he had time to think about it and see it wasn't a threat (couple of seconds) but he is very much a 'react first, ask questions later' horse.

I don't think he had a very good understanding of humans and struggled to read human body language and voices. He couldn't tell if I was cross, pleased, upset, frightened etc and therefore was always on high alert. He'd had a nice if sheltered up bringing so had not excuse to be worried of humans.

It's just taken time, mainly for him to learn to read and trust humans. As he improved on the ground he got better under saddle too, no extra training required . He's not where near a laidback 'dobbin' and you still have to ride quietly (he'll never be suitable for a novice for that reason - he takes everything literally) but he's not verging on dangerous anymore.

Inititially I started handling him in a very quiet, kidgolves kind of way but gradually became louder and more normal. Brushes deliberately dropped, flapping of arms, loud coughing ect gradually introduced. Everything thing was in black and white, not grey areas (not knowing what I wanted really upset him) and silliness ignored. Also just getting on with it, and going to see places and doing things really helped, hacking most especially (in hand intitially).

He's pretty 'normal' now and can do most of what i'd do on other horses. I do sometimes forget and a grand gesture from the saddle will cause an unexpected levitiation. And people getting off (or falling off) nearby still causes a science-defying 20ft sideways teleportation :rolleyes:
 
I think it can be a common thing with youngsters, mine was a bit like that when he first came and he was a bit older at 6.

I don't have much experience with this, but what I did was try to introduce things that he found upsetting in a controlled environment so that he would have a good experience and get over his fears. I started with moving about in the saddle, just little wiggles to get him used to the idea of his rider becoming unbalanced, and built up to leaning over, sideways, backwards, etc (take it easy though because you don't want to freak him out more!).

I also worked on getting him to accept the leg more so that when he shot off I tried to keep my lower calf on him (easier said than done I know!).

Good luck!
 
Falling off can be really, really scary for a yougster and creates a cycle of panic when something does go wrong that you're going to fall off again.

If he was mine, I'd do loads of ground work, using pressure and release/ advance and retreat techniques to desensitise him to everything I could think of, and really try to build his confidence.

I'd want to be able to sit on him and flop forwards over his neck, move around in the saddle, swing my arms around, clap my hands, rattle my coat etc etc with out him reacting........ that sort of thing is basic baby education, so you can ride them safely
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If you couldn't even put your leg on him, it sounds like big chunks of his education might be missing?
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Is he good to handle, mount, lead etc ?
 
ditto all the above but also use Magnesium oxide (mag ox) it is a very good chiller and calmer and very very cheap too, just search ebay for mag ox only about £10 and best stuff EVER
 
i've got a very over-reactive youngster, so i sympathise.
the only thing that works really is gradual desensitising.
can you stand above him on the mounting block, and bang the saddle, bang behind the saddle (loudly, rather than hard), do light slaps and bangs in whole area that your legs might touch? if not, repeat until you can, gradually building up volume, frequency, strength.
then, under saddle, with someone standing at his head if that makes him safer, (ideally with pony nuts to distract and reward), wiggle around in the saddle, swing your legs around, bang him with your hands all over... lots of this sort of thing to desensitise him. then, the same thing at walk, etc etc.
then, when such things happen accidentally, he won't think "OH MY GOD WHAT WAS THAT" and react so violently...
baby steps, lots of time, lots of praise. very best of luck!
 
Thank you to everyone who replied, you have gave me some good tips to get going with. He is very good to handle from the ground, he had a big problem with me getting on to when i first got him but after about a month he just seemed to get over it he is fine with that now.

It was nice to hear that others have dealt with similar issues and have overcome them. Sometime its just good to know that we are not alone with the problems face and it is possible to conquer them.
 
Wow what a great post and great answers I have been along exactly the same route and have been lent books on Bombproofing and I am 101% for it. Desensitising is working really well. My horse no longer spooks in the school and I am now working on a plan for out hacking.

When something blips the lad out he broncs big time and the explosion unseats me every time. My last experience of a bronc was very tame and he responded quickly to my voice telling him it was fine. Just have to desensitise me now.

Last time I rode in the arena and rain hammered down on the roof and banged the gate. I shied he didnt
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