Scariest most ridiculous thing your horse spooked at?

There were a few things with my old lad: he was a cob, quirky as a box of frogs, and you never knew what he was gonna pull outta the box.

The first thing was this damn balloon. It had obviously migrated from some party somewhere, and there it was, bright pink, bobbing along the road. It wasn't doing anything, and from my recollection it wasn't a particularly breezy day, just the fact it was there - and I was having to live with this OS moment coz knew very well that it wasn't gonna be long before the wretched thing burst. Funnily enough, when it did, my lad seemed to breathe this huge sigh of relief, and was much happier.

Another thing was when we were out - on quite a windy day this time - on a flat piece of road, and heard this "ting ting" somewhere around. It was just "there", seemed to be following us along somehow. I realised it was an empty drinks can that someone had chucked away, and yes because the wind was behind us, it was following us. We turned down off the flat bit onto quite a steep downhill road. Sigh of relief from me, thinking that damned tin at least is out of the way. In just a few minutes, going down the hill, I again heard this cussed "ting ting" noise again; yep, the darn thing had followed us down the hill! Dammit!

But I think the one thing that really freaked my old lad out was meeting a bloke with a rucksack on his back; you know, the type that essentially are like the ones the military wear, and change the shape of the person. We were on our way home, and met this bloke with this rucksack, and I nearly got taken about a mile back down the road. This was in the village, quite close to home, and I dread to think what would have happened if we'd been going away from home rather than towards home. He just would not go past this poor guy; I had to bark out an order to "just stand still, please - can I ask you not to do ANYTHING" (he'd got his hanky to wipe his nose with and OMG we were in bolting mode when that happened, absolutely quivering, and almost had to ask the poor bloke not to even breathe).

This was a horse who'd happily ride through a working quarry, past lorries, tractors, and was used to being ridden in a military training area, both before I had him, and during. I was out on him once when a helicopter was literally just above our heads one day and troops started abseiling down from it all around us; did he mind? nope, he was fine.

He was a funny old boy, he taught me such an awful lot, and we still laugh about his antics eight years on. Bless him.
 
I was once out riding with a friend on her horses.
We went up a lane met a load of farmers who warned us they had just put a load of young cattle in a field ...
We heard the noise and went we will crack on past as horses couldn't see over the hedge.

We went to go past just as the cattle hit the top of the field, expecting to die.
I totally didn't expect the horse I was on to spook at at a bloody toe bar on the back of a pickup...
 
Was riding best friend's horse in a lesson once, who's a wiley part welsh chap (there be dragons) and he spooked because the poop scoop & bucket that permanently lived in one corner had moved all of an inch to the left. Another horse on same yard used to spook at the shadows caused by the beams in the indoor school sides 😂

Both coped perfectly with a manic yard, chaos, big kit, tractors etc etc seven days a week.
 
I cannot possibly let on to my chap that there are other horses who are scared of the same things as he is. He needs no encouragement to spook at, amongst other things, hay being in unexpected places, some blue flowers that weren’t there the week before, a large detergent container on the path (every time he saw it for the whole week it was there) and the ponies in the field next to the arena eating their lunch.

This from an enormous and frankly ridiculous horse who doesn’t bat an eyelid at all manner of large farm vehicles or low flying aircraft.
 
smolmaus said:
Same. Front loaders, slurry tanks, a tractor rally we got stuck in the middle of, milk tanker letting off the air brakes by accident, no problems whatsoever.

Someone dropped a tissue on the verge?! 💀💀😱💀😱 Littering is absolutely horrifying.

And miniature ponies also horrifying but I think she might be right about them. One popped out of a hedge at us one day (one we knew, as he used to be at our yard) and she has never moved so fast before or since.
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My tb spooked at his own miniature pony yesterday... 🙄
The pony I purchased specifically for the neurotic creature to have as a constant companion.
Tiny pony had the nerve to sidle up to the fence as we rode in the paddock next to where they're turned out together.
Also daffodils are lethal, as are dock leaves and any other non uniformly green foliage.
But he's the safest horse I've ever sat on in traffic and tries his best to catch me when he launches. So he is forgiven all sudden gymnastics 🥰
 
Hermosa is very suspicious of drains that have been cleaned or repaired. There's one she always takes a wide track around, ever since the council did some work on it. It happens to be on the road, so I have to make sure no cars are passing when we go by the "Cybermen drain."

My old horse, Gypsum, had a proper meltdown at a pile of snow once.

Fin has a meltdown when people hang coats on the outdoor arena fence. I have to yell at other riders to move their coat, if they've slung it there. He's also terrified of umbrellas, paddleboards, and seeing horses getting vomited out of those weird metal boxes.
 
Arabian gelding when younger caught sight of his own shadow and bolted sideways keeping an eye on it - i just sat there thinking that this is not going to end well.............luckily i managed to get him into the shade.

Same horse if the park we ride on has been mowed, or any tree trimmed....or if anything has been moved around the paddock....however same hore walked easily over felled power lines and huge trees and multiple trucks and chippers parked around after a freak storm destroyed the area he lived.

He hates cycles also.
 
Mine is a typical TB, the big scary stuff most horses spook at and she won’t bat an eyelid, but the small innocuous stuff like a big leaf, a butterfly or a log we’ve stepped over a hundred times before can be terrifying out of nowhere.

However my personal favourite to date was a man pushing a bicycle. Bikes wizzing past are not problem, even motorbikes are fine but a man walking next to his bicycle - that was terrifying. I explained to said man what I thought the problem was as we danced sideways down the road, bless him he got on the bike and the second he swung his leg over she was perfectly fine again.

Horses!
 
DecantersKingHenry said:
On a lovely cool and windy day hacking down the quiet one track lane, when and Emu, yes and Emu popped its head above the hedge 😂😂😂😂 Henry made an extremely quick retreat and trotted back to the yard, apparently 3 had escaped locally
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OMG! come back here to Australia guys! [I wonder how they stay warm in the English winter?]. Apparently there's also escaped wallabies hopping round over England as well.

Here, we have so, so many more 'hoppies'. They're everywhere. They have caused untold riding deaths and injuries in this country since 1789, when horses were introduced. One's horse has to be really well sensitized to them for an interaction to be spook free. Kangaroos have a habit of bobbing down in the undergrowth when they hear you riding along, then when you get near, they lose their nerve and burst frantically out of bushes! -- and then in their terror and hysteria, they try to jump either over or through the nearest fence, which they inevitably get caught on. This is just a spook a rama situation with bells on. with predicable results for horses and riders!

This is even though, at dusk, trolley loads of the bastards hop through our horses' paddocks, feasting on pasture, with absolutely no inter-species trauma at all.
 
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smolmaus said:
Sometimes tho if a car stops and they have their windows down, the rule is that they're supposed to give her a treat. My friend gave her a treat out the car window ONCE three years ago but it went in the Rules and can't be removed.
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Many years ago I had a mare who I had kept since she was 5 months old on an army camp and every unit that came through treated her as a bit of a mascot and used to fuss her and give her treats, unfortunately this meant that she thought every squaddie was a treat dispenser and gave quite a fews positions away whilst they were on exercise 🙈 She was also the only horse I've ever had that was literally bomb proof!....and also helicopter, gun and tank proof 😂

Current big gelding will literally spook at his own shadow! Last Autumn he was constantly spooking in the same place and I realised it was because there was a patch of brown leaves in the hedgerow at that point. His 'monsters' are numerous and include feathers, butterflies, his shadow, a leaf on the ground and during a couple of dressage tests a wheelbarrow outside the arena and and an area where the arena had been harrowed in a different direction. It's funny though as he will happily ride passed the llamas and pigs that seem numerous around our way.
 
My rock steady cob was terrified (and I think she genuinely feared for her life - wasn’t trying it on) at a large boulder in a gateway. I never knew she could reverse at such speed.
We had a similar issue with wrapped round haylage bales. They had been lined up in a field alongside a bridleway, she caught sight of one just behind her and shot forward, then saw the one ahead of her and slammed on the brakes.

The same pony was hacking round a field when a crop sprayer arrived and unfurled its spray booms ahead of her…..she didn’t blink! (Although we made a prompt exit to avoid getting sprayed)
 
As a teenager ...17/18 ...I had an ottb and one of our hacking routes was a bridleway across a golf course. Riding across it one day there were a couple of lads a little older than me playing golf and there was a bit of smiling and flirty eye contact as I approached and we had the 'you go first' 'no you take your shot first' conversation before I then went and I.thought I'd do a bit of showing off and open my boy up a bit only he decided that was the day he was going to spook and spin at the single dandelion on the bridleway track, I know it was a dandelion as I was able to inspect it very closely from my spot next to it on the floor! 😂
 
JacquelineR said:
Arabian gelding when younger caught sight of his own shadow and bolted sideways keeping an eye on it - i just sat there thinking that this is not going to end well.............luckily i managed to get him into the shade.

Same horse if the park we ride on has been mowed, or any tree trimmed....or if anything has been moved around the paddock....however same hore walked easily over felled power lines and huge trees and multiple trucks and chippers parked around after a freak storm destroyed the area he lived.

He hates cycles also.
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Is your horse a vampire?
 
There is a track around the property through woods that we often go on the yard. You can cut through the DIY yard to make it shorter or change up your route. Horse doesnt generally 'like' walking through but he normally puts his brave pants on and will go.

There is normally a muddy boggy bit which he particularly never liked but would again, go with encouragement. This muddy area has since been cleaned up so the path is nice and there is a little trench (and I really do mean little) for water drainage. Naturally with how dry its been, the trench is dry. We went there the other day and do you think for the life of me, he would go over it? 20 mins of arguing and a lot of gentle 'encouragement' (until I finally got a bit more forceful and decided to drag him over it)....

Bikes, trains, motorbikes, cars, trucks, tractors, model planes, parachutes (generally...sometimes these are scary), kites, etc. All not a problem (generally...if his arthritis or feet are acting up these can all be a bit scarier). A trench that you hardly even need to step over? No dice.
 
We are mostly fine with lawnmowers but the one time someone was EMPTYING the lawnmower 😱😱 He was a nice man we passed all the time so I asked him to let her sniff the evil grass basket, which he did and which was fine when she realised it was a man plus basket and not a horror basket-man, and he gave her a pat and told her she was beautiful ❤ (while she tried to stick her head in the basket to eat the grass)

A little robot lawnmower was also fine, until we hacked past it with another horse who told Sadie it was actually extremely scary, and then it was a problem 🙃 Same with road signs, they are not scary if we are on our own but if another horse says they are scary today then they are scary today and I am a liar when I say they are the same road signs from yesterday.
 
In winter we used to be allowed to ride on the canter track running round a neighbouring polo field. It was part of my normal safe circular hacking route on my elderly old share. We are trotting sedately along the top of this field where the stables were, just as usual but someone had left a clean white bucket the other side of the mesh fence. I was completely unprepared for her to spook at it.
She spun and fled directly onto the polo field, leaving shameful deep prints on its pristine green surface. It was a fluke I did not fall off. I wrestled her back onto the track and never took her up there again.
 
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