Schooling Advice - Spooking

[Sambo]

Help needed please! Sorry if this is long...

My Welsh D is being a pig in the school at the moment. I havent been riding too much due to being pregnant, but I have now decided to sell him. So I've been trying to do a bit more with him in preparation for a few viewings we have lined up at the end of the week.

He has started being really spooky in the school. Which there is no need for. His field is right next to the school, and nothing has changed. So I lunged him all around the school in walk/trot and canter until he stopped spooking - which didnt take long. He seems to be finding excuses to spook rather than working forward - so with the use of a lunge whip to get him going forward, the spooking reduced to nothing.

So I decided to get on after him being lunged, in walk he was fine, would go round the whole track without spooking - trot he was OK, but making his excuses to cut in from the outside, use of rein and inside leg just made his head higher and avasion of any contact, and him ignoring my leg! Tried a canter to get him going forward again, cue him being very strong and darting wherever he fancied - no amount of contact, leg or growling seemed to help.

So I went and got a crop to give me an extra schooling aid.. this just made him jig jog rather than walk - although it did keep him out. Trotting he was very springy and again spooking at anything he could, but quite violently - when I told him off or touched him with the whip he just got stronger and spooked again. Asked for canter and he bolted! (Not technically because he was stoppable.)

Normally I would have fought until I won, but I had to admit defeat incase I fell off - which obviously isnt ideal being pregnant. But any tips as to what else I can do??!

Am at my wits end, was so angry with him yesterday, he has never behaved like this, and if he does at the viewings, no one will want him!

Maybe he's decided to be naughty cause he heard the S word?!!?

 

[Tinsel Trouble]

My Welsh D was doing exactly this yesterday!

I refuse to fight him so made sure I kept my hands either side of the pommel and let him work long and low over his back in trot for 10 mins, and then did my 100 trasitions in walk trot and halt (too wet to canter with us!), and when his shoulder darted in and he was evading piroet I did satelite circles instead.

I wondered if the cold snap had made his back a bit stiff.

I find that I have to keep him interested. Normally I would be changing direction and gait every few strides to keep him concentrating. Serpentines, loops, zig zags (incoroporation shoulder- in and leg yeld to change direction...), circles and moving away from my leg and 100 transitions just to warm up! this stops the bucking and the darting because he can't plan his next move!

 

[Winklepoker]

My horse spooks in the school regularly! ... he goes in there 5/6 days a week and still spooks! It ranges from a slight tension in the base of his neck that only I would feel, to a head up/spin/bolt scenario! I work through it with flexion, clicking, leg yeild, ANYTHING to focus his attention back on me.

To me, because this is a new thing - it sounds like he might be bored. add some trot and canter poles in the school and a cross pole if you are feeling okay and see if he still spooks when there is something fun going on. Be careful!!

 

[Peegeesmum]

Really,it would be ideal to prepare him for selling long before you have people coming to see him.

If he hasn't been ridden for a while,it's fairly normal for them to be a bit uppy & spooky. There is no quick fix,just regular work to get hin back in the swing of things again.


I would pospone the viewings until he has settled & is working well,that way,it takes the pressure off you,& gives him the time that he needs to calm down & concentrate on his work.

It doesn't help matters if you are getting cross with him,as that will just upset him more.

Try turning him out in the school if you can,so he can start to relax in that enviroment,& then walk him round in hand in a calm & relaxed manner before you ride him. Keep things calm & chilled, & take all the time you need. It will be time well spent

 

[wizbit]

One of mine is exactly the same! Very sharp spooking and can drop a shoulder quicker than I can blink. Don't know what gets in his brain, and I haven't even mentioned the "S" word!
The only thing which helps me is, like you say, getting him working forward and doing something which offers a challenge (usually jumping). He gets very bored of flatwork. Mind you, he also gets bored hacking unless we're going fast!
On really bad days though I just have to try and stay on, nothing gets his brain out of it lol.
So I too will be waiting to hear anyone elses suggstions!

 

[Sambo]

Really,it would be ideal to prepare him for selling long before you have people coming to see him.

If he hasn't been ridden for a while,it's fairly normal for them to be a bit uppy & spooky. There is no quick fix,just regular work to get hin back in the swing of things again.


I would pospone the viewings until he has settled & is working well,that way,it takes the pressure off you,& gives him the time that he needs to calm down & concentrate on his work.

It doesn't help matters if you are getting cross with him,as that will just upset him more.

Try turning him out in the school if you can,so he can start to relax in that enviroment,& then walk him round in hand in a calm & relaxed manner before you ride him. Keep things calm & chilled, & take all the time you need. It will be time well spent

He's only had about 2 weeks off, and Ive been lunging him too. He is fine if he is being led, lunged or ridden with someone on the ground - he is like a donkey and will follow a person. Its just when he is being ridden...

I cant really put off viewings now, because I dont want to leave it too late for me not to be able to ride comfortably to show him to people, or to be more at risk...

 

[Peegeesmum]

It sounds like he is stressing,rather than actually being naughty.If he was mine,I would keep things relaxed,as if you go in all guns blazing,he will just boil over.

Imagine if you were upset,& someone argued with you,you would become even more upset, & defensive,whereas,if the same person was calm & level headed,you would calm down & see reason (after a while)

Try not to take it personally,he is just being a horse,& as I said before,turn him out in the school an hour before you ride,& do the first 20 minutes in walk.
Leg yielding,spiralling in & out of a 20 mtr circle,turns on the forehand & haunches, lengthening & shortening the walk,circling left & right off the centre line,rein back,shallow loops,figures of eight etc.Then do the same in trot,keep it calm,& work on a relaxed contact

If he has only been out of work for 2 weeks,then he is still quite fit,it is his mind that you need to be working on rather than his physical fitness.....think calm.

 

[noblesteed]

Mine used to do that and was FAR worse in cold weather... expecially with low winter turnout. His spooks were naughty like you describe. He was a monkey after the snow of the last few years prevented us riding out. The only things that helped was cutting feed, giving him some calmer, increasing turnout and riding out more. I find a good long ride out sorts him, if he is REALLY naughty I trot him up a very steep hill, soon takes the wind out of his sails.
I am pregnant too, my horse doesn't do so well not being ridden so I have someone loaning him now. Can you find someone to ride him for you temporarily while he is for sale? Even if it's just hacking out.

 

[Sambo]

Mine used to do that and was FAR worse in cold weather... expecially with low winter turnout. His spooks were naughty like you describe. He was a monkey after the snow of the last few years prevented us riding out. The only things that helped was cutting feed, giving him some calmer, increasing turnout and riding out more. I find a good long ride out sorts him, if he is REALLY naughty I trot him up a very steep hill, soon takes the wind out of his sails.
I am pregnant too, my horse doesn't do so well not being ridden so I have someone loaning him now. Can you find someone to ride him for you temporarily while he is for sale? Even if it's just hacking out.

Thanks for your reply

He is out 24/7 with no grass, haynets at night and was just having Hi-Fi with apple (but that has been cut out, as he is a fatty)! And his field is next door to the school.

I did have my sister to ride him - but she unfortunately cant for a few weeks due to an unrelated injury! So its left to me to try and sort him this week...



I will try the patient 'benefit of the dount' approach today, in that he is just nervous/tense rather than being naughty. Will try the suggestion of just walking for 20 mins and trying to keep his mind busy before adding trot in. And see how we get on!

Will update you later!

 

[Peegeesmum]

I'm sure it will help him, & if he spooks,just ignore it,don't tell him off,just carry on calmly
Rome wasn't built in a day.

 

[just-me]

I had one who never put a foot wrong until someone came to try her, was very embarrassing! sure she knew.

My tb is genuinely spooky and the only thing i have found to help is to keep him really busy focused on me with loads of changes of pace, direction & lateral work.

 

[ladyt25]

I have had my horse 17 years (he's 21 this year) and he has always spooked in a school and probably always will! It is not that bad though as in it's not dangerous and, after a while he usually stops and starts working.

I had a lesson a while back in a school I don't think he'd been in before and they had some long mirrors in a couple of the corners (it's an outdoor school by the way). He wasn't keen on these and kept avoiding the corner. He is quite a forward going horse and the instructor actually told me to concentrate on slowing down his walk and asking for halts if he pulled, then asking to walk again but just try and get it as slow as possible. This instructor is very in to balancing the horse above anything else first.

Anyway, remarkably this actually did work and he stopped spooking. Ordinarily in the past i have probably done similar to you and sort of gone "oi, stop pratting about and do as I ask!" That sort of worked but would wind me and him up in the process!

If yours is one who normally strides out as well then I would maybe try this and see if it helps. Just think "slower"!

 

[Sambo]

Thank you

Just got off him. Didnt turn out or lunge first. Just got on him like there was nothing to worry about. Done 15mins of solid walking, loads of serpentines, figures of 8's, and walk to stand to walk etc - and didnt spook once.

Then went for trot. Did 20 mins of trot. Doing the same. Didnt have any spooks but he did cut in occasionally, so i just used his direction to add another loop or do another circle and just ignored him.

Then went to canter where he tried to cut in a few times so id do the 20m circle spiraling in and out thing which worked, in the end he was so confused about what i wanted next he wasnt even looking at potential horse eating things!!

Then finished with loads of halt-trot, trot-halt, walk-canter, stand-canter and canter-walk

Thats the best hes felt in a very long time. And i rode the whole time with very little contact, and didnt put him under any pressure.

Big smiles today - thank you x

 

[Peegeesmum]

Well done YOU!!!!!!!!!