spooking - how do you deal with it

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Horsekaren

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I have a new horse that seems to spook a lot in the school.... I say a lot ....but he will spook once and break into canter to run away from the scary bush... I then struggle to calm myself and then we just spook about everywhere and eventually end up getting off as I think it does more damage me trying to stay on whilst shaking as he just thinks OMG we are going to die.

My biggest struggle is being out of control, I hate it! it scares me and knocks my confidence every time :(

I am not the best rider by any means and he is by no means an advanced horse, he is a novice type ride but he seems to be on his toes when I cant calm myself.

What do you do when a horse spooks? how to you stop them from charging off? at the moment I am doing that awful thing where I pull on the reins and bring my chest forward in a panic which obviously isn't stopping him.... I heard pulling the reins down can stop him, is this correct?

my poor horse is really suffering with a wimpy rider at the moment :( I know I need to be confident for him and push him on, stay on him and help he realize everything is ok.... but for the moment I cant seem to do anything :(

any advise would be great
 
That's awful...I am having riding lessons and one of the RS horses suddenly spooked head went right down to the right with a quick sideways foreleg down...I was thrown off to the as my body didn't have time to catch up . Not a very nice experience ...head injury and cracked ribs...I hope someone on here can give you their expert help ..Take care and keep safe

Shirl
 
shirl62 said:
That's awful...I am having riding lessons and one of the RS horses suddenly spooked head went right down to the right with a quick sideways foreleg down...I was thrown off to the as my body didn't have time to catch up . Not a very nice experience ...head injury and cracked ribs...I hope someone on here can give you their expert help ..Take care and keep safe

Shirl
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o no that sounds awful, that's exactly what I am scared of! him doing a massive spook and me not have the skill, technique or experience to ride it out :( luckily at the moment he just seems to turn and run away from things. I hope are on the mend and had the courage to get back on! xx
 
Without sounding patronising, i feel your best way forward is to invest in lessons from an experienced, registered instructor, who also is patient and will build up confidence. Just one thing - pulling the reins down wont help - this will put too much pressure on the bars of the mouth. You need to look at the bigger picture and break this down into manageable chunks.

Firstly, is this a pain issue. Mine spooked a lot and was found to have dental problems and ulcers (we had her scoped). Do all the usual checks (and perhaps some unusual ones), including saddle, (incl girth), bridle etc etc. Once you have a clean bill of health, get some impartial advice from a nutritionist. Its amazing what an effect feed can have on behaviour (mine cant tolerate alfalfa, yet it seems to be in 95% of chaff!).

Then we have the ridden stuff. If your horse is not feeling pain and is fed appropriately, he needs to have confidence in you. You may be inadvertently giving him signals that there is a problem in that bush, which he is listening to and responding accordingly. Positive thinking and positive riding makes a heck of a difference ! But it can be hard to do and takes a lot of time and effort to change the way you think.

Youll get there though. Commit to this and take the downs with the ups, and have a structured approach and in 12 months time you'll be flying :-)
 
shirl62 said:
That's awful...I am having riding lessons and one of the RS horses suddenly spooked head went right down to the right with a quick sideways foreleg down...I was thrown off to the as my body didn't have time to catch up . Not a very nice experience ...head injury and cracked ribs...I hope someone on here can give you their expert help ..Take care and keep safe

Shirl
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Shirl, I'm very sorry that this has happened to you and I hope you recover swiftly! However, that probably wasn't the best thing to say to someone who is struggling with their confidence.

OP - lessons are an obvious one, but a couple of practical tips in the meantime. Make sure your stirrups aren't too long, sit up straight, keep both leg and your core muscles engaged and you should be able to sit the spooks. Head up, look where you want to go. If the horse spooks away from the fence line, keep your head to where you want to go - ride there! Breath, sing to yourself if you think you've stopped breathing. If you have a jumping saddle that fits the horse, ride in that. You should feel more secure which will make you less scared of the spooks.

If there is a particular corner of the school that he spooks at, circle at the other end until the horse is relaxed and listening to you. Then go near the scary bit without the rider tensing up. Circle closer and closer to it, trying to keep the horse focused on you and your aids. If he does a big spook, start at the beginning again. The key is not to make a big deal of the scary thing. Just ignore the behaviour and bring him back to you.
 
I call spooking that moment when a horse is frightened and jumps or drops in place, maybe once or twice. Sounds like your being bogged off with to. As far as I'm concerned constant spooking , over and over again at known objects is not right and could mean something else is wrong. Get your checks done, back, teeth,eyes, tack and once they are all correct if your horse is still spooking I would get another , professional up and see if he does it with them. He is already doing your confidence no good, if he checks out and he is just a pain, i get rid of him. Some people like them like that.
 
I would take a 2 pronged approach.

The first is to build up a bond/relationship with your horse, this will take time but essentially your horse needs a lot more confidence in you so you can teach it to be less reactive more responsive. Everything you do will help, riding lessons, clicker training, Richard Maxwell, parelli, groundwork, breathing exercises (very important to control your emotions when on board) agility training. Anything you can to build a better stronger bond.

And then there is the immediate stuff you can work on. When a horse spooks it turns it head and bum towards the object (with the body away) before running off. Therefore neck flexions away from the object (little stuff) are good, shoulder in (more 'spooky' stuff) this disengages the hind legs and is a very important tool which leads on to the next skill - get someone who knows to teach you an emergency stop which will give you confidence. Also NEVER look at the spooky item, your job is to focus exactly on where you are going to give your horse confidence ...... If you don't know exactly where you are going (I mean focus* on that tree 50 yards in front, etc) you can't expect your horse to trust you! These can all be practised in the school before going out and about.

Have fun learning and good luck x

* focus is such an important skill to develop .... if you watched Badminton, those riders - and therefore the horses - were always totally focussed on the next fence there were heading towards. If they had just been lolloping along looking at the crowds you can bet your bottom dollar the horse would be spooking at the crowds, the dogs, the bunting, etc, etc!)
 
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A livery spent a fortune getting her horses teeth, eyes, back, saddle, legs looked at after someone suggested her horse was spooking because it was in pain. Her vet looked at the horse, said utter tosh and declared it fine and it later transpired it was still being fed boiled barley water which she suspected was the cause after she told the livery yard owner not to feed it anymore. One of the liveries told her she witnessed it still being fed. So OP I would eradicate any foodstuffs that could possibly causing your horse too much joy and lunge before you ride. Chances are its spooking because it has no confidence in you or doesn't see you as its owner so doesn't have the respect for you that it needs.I used to ride my mare twice as hard when she spooked.There are some good calmers on the market as some horses are deficient.My previus mare was on nupafeed.I know of many who rate Magic quite highly,
 
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Start at the beginning. Is this horse having adequate turnout (i.e. out all the time!) and adequate feed (ie nothing except hay!). If not, change his living situation. Meanwhile get a good instructor. No one is going to be able to help you over the Internet you need eyes on the ground and good ones!

Good luck.
 
If a horse spooks and shoots off because it is genuinely frightened I would first make him ride past at a safe distance (for him) and just ride up and down gradually getting closer and closer until eventually he is going past without even a glance at it. When he's doing it fine I would make other 'spooks' - coats, cones, flower tubs - anything and do the same going past them. Then move them around and keep practising them until you can ride past anything.
If he's taking the piss and doing it just because you are letting him, shorten your reins, turn his head towards the object (he's less likely to take off away), hold your stick in the hand the other side from the object, use the leg furthest from the object hard and give him a slap on the shoulder - even if you are half passing past at least he isnt spooking.
And dont forget the praise when he goes by nicely.
 
FfionWinnie said:
Start at the beginning. Is this horse having adequate turnout (i.e. out all the time!) and adequate feed (ie nothing except hay!). If not, change his living situation. Meanwhile get a good instructor. No one is going to be able to help you over the Internet you need eyes on the ground and good ones!

Good luck.
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This!
 
Totally empathise with all you have written!! I had also perfected looking like a chicken in the saddle (body forward, elbows back, mild look of terror). We're a few months down the confidence building road now so have moved on from getting off at the first sign of trouble towards ignoring and just cracking on. The more you force yourself to stay aboard and deal with it, the easier it becomes, I promise. I agree with Notimetoride, a good instructor who you really click with is invaluable.

As it happens, I was having a lesson last week when my mare decided that spooking (repeatedly, at a stationery car parked near the school) was the way forward. It was a bit windy, there was a horse eating bush nearby as well and clearly the answer was to spin and run. Or, plant then spin.

My instructor's advice on how to get past the corner of death focused first on my position - lower leg forward and body back, and keep your reins short enough for a good bend in your elbow. Then, get the horse moving forward - we started away from the scary corner for a couple of circles in a nice forwards trot. Once moving forward, then we headed to the corner - I knew where the spook was likely to be so could pre-empt with lots of inside leg and some inside bend to stop her looking too much at the scary things. Within maybe 10 minutes we'd moved from lurching across the school to getting into the corner in question, albeit concentrating every time we passed that corner on not letting her spook.

My girl responds well to voice as well - approaching the scary corner with lots of 'forwards forwards forwards' helped too. As did remembering to breathe.

Hope that was in some way useful, even if just to say that you can definitely get past it if you put your mind to it.
 
Lots of good advice already so just an extra thing to add. is your horse spooky on hacks? If not then I'd suggest that spooking in the school could be an evasion. Horse doesn't like being schooled because it's hard work, so spooks and rider gets off reinforcing in his head that the way to avoid something he doesn't want to do is to spook (which is really napping). What happens if you put a stronger more experienced rider on him in the school? Does he still spook to the same extent? A good experienced trainer should be able to help you sort a problem like this provided the horse is pain free and in properly fitting tack but you may have to put your brave pants on.
 
Start by having a session teaching horse to follow a rein ... it's also almost impossible for a horse to spook with a big internal flexion so stick horse in shoulder in if its spooking ++ once you know how to stop a spook then actually the best course of action if it's a genuine spook is to ignore it and carry on riding your line .
 
I tend to think it is important to acknowledge that you probably *will* fall off a few times. It doesn't (usually) mean the end of the world. But it is a fairly integral risk of the sport we're doing.

Once you say, "yes, it will sometimes happen", then you can stop worrying about "oh my gosh how can I stop it happening?!?!?" it and get on with riding the situation in-hand.

I'd be getting instruction asap and possibly looking to ride with others around to give you and your horse more confidence.

Horses are prey animals. They spook. Even the most bomb-proof with the best management and least discomfort will sometimes spook. Get a few lessons from someone on the ground who can help you.
 
How do I deal with it? Usually kick on, laugh at them or tell them to stop being an idiot. Really scary things get walked past about 6 -10 times or until they are bored and/or reassured that 'thing' isnt scary (8 times I made my mare walk past a field roller that had moved about 30 yards the other day ... I mean honestly how many times can you climb a hedge whilst snorting and eyeballing it to get past something you've hacked past before, just in a slightly different location!)

I think some great advise has been given already so I'm just saying how I deal with it which hopefully gives you some hope that one day you will be doing the same and be confident enough to just ignore them and kick on :) Good luck, it will get easier.
 
Great advice has already been given i think :) How new is your new horse? If you haven't had them all that long then they'll still be settling and gaining trust in you so the behaviour may get slightly better over time.

How do I deal with it?
Well, I mostly do what Ant does and ignore it. My boy can be a bit spooky/looky sometimes. He was worse when I first got him, he also used to nap quite bad (sounds like your horse might also be a bit nappy) but he's so much better then he was. And that's mostly because we've got to know each other. He still has his moments, yesterday we went round the fields and he spooks at things behind hedges (sheep and cows in this case), he spooked twice. I mostly try and keep myself relaxed and try and take some humour at it. When he's spooking at a lamb I talk to him and tell him he's a 'silly thing, it's just a little lamb'.

I know that my boys reaction when he's coming up to something he doesn't like is to plant and try and turn for home, so I always try and stay relaxed (most important), take deep breaths if you need to when you feel him tensing up, make sure I have a nice contact on the reins (but not so tight i create tension myself) and keep him pointing in the direction I want him to go. If i let him turn around I know he's more likely to bog off, so I make sure I focus on a point ahead of me and think 'I want to get to that point'. I also talk to him, it helps calm me and I think helps take his focus a bit away from what he's spooking at. When we get past a sticky point he always gets told he's a good boy and a big scratch :)
You could try talking to your boy when schooling, keep him focusing on you and the movement you're trying to do and away from what he might deem spooky.

I agree a good instructor will help as they can see exactly what's happening. Horses can spook/nap for different reasons and in different ways. Mainly, just try and relax and not think about it too much, if you're tense then your horse will feel tense and that will make him more likely to spook.

I also think acknowledging that you will fall off is good too - no one wants to do it but it does and will happen! Don't let the fear of falling ruin the riding part :)
 
My tip would also be to get a good instructor to give you lessons. Also, wear a body protector.

My gelding bucked me off a couple of times (years ago now), and it really knocked my confidence. I found that wearing a body protector meant I was a little less worried ("I've done all I can to keep myself safe"), which in turn meant my body wouldn't react quite so quickly to anything worrisome, allowing me to stay calmer.
But the instructor made an even greater difference. Alone, I'd get this continuous stream of worst-case-thinking going through my head, either remembering past bucks, or anticipating new ones. With the instructor, I had to concentrate instead on my position, riding shapes, generally concentrating on the instructor and my riding. That slowly changed my stream of thought. Eventually, cantering didn't prompt thoughts of bucking, but had me mentally rehearsing all the things I was supposed to do in canter - "keep your upper body back, don't pull your leg up". In the end, that's how my confidence returned.
 
Everything said is very wise but two thoughts:

If it's just one thing he spooks at, try zig-zagging him up to, hands wide apart, leg softly but firmly on. The zig-zag is how they would approach a suspect package in the wild...

Once he's up to it, praise him muchly, walk away and then back again until he makes nothing of it.

But it sounds a bit like napping away - that is he's doing it to get out of work. Here you need to be firmer - but a good teacher YOU click with will be a huge help in that. Don't be shy to try a few until find the right one....
 
A question for the OP - does he just spook in the school,or on hacks too? I definately think some anti-spook training is needed if he does it on hacks- set up some scary 'spooks' in a field or a sfe lane and practise riding him past. If he is really scared there is no disgrace or failure in leading him past first, before you ride him past. If he's just taking the pee dont get off, ride past as forcefully as you have to.
 
Thanks for all the replies, I have had him for 4 months so not very long at all.
I just want to be confident in myself to be able to stay calm when he has his moments, at the moment I cannot focus on anything apart from anticipating the next spook, I shake, panic and have to dismount.

His teeth, sadle and feet have all be checked and he not long had a vetting - all OK
I am yet to hack him out because I am a back of nerves but my friend has taken him out a few times and he is good, alert as it is new but good.

I am at a point where I dread the thought of getting on him. I build myself to get on, walk about and trot maybe for 10 mins and then we will have a spook, I will stay on for as long as possible usually minutes after then have to dismount.

I am almost embarrassed for an instructor to come as when I get myself in a state I cannot see the wood through the trees and honestly feel like I am almost about to have a panic attack.

I'm sure a lot of you must think why on earth have I gone a brought a horse but I had happily loaned for 2 years before I took the plunge and the pressure of making it work is so huge its almost like I don't try in fear of failing and I don't want something so bad to happen that I wont get on him again as he is wonderful!

I hope to find an instructor who gets it! and will help me..... when i brought him i truly thought i would be riding on my own by now but i wouldn't dream get on with no one around!
 
No instructor worth paying would ever make you feel bad it is their job to help you.

I think I would stop riding for now in your situation and just do some ground work, lunging and long reining. Hopefully this will help you enjoy your horse again. Also you will keep his brain busy while you find an instructor, who can help you with your nerves.
 
Horsekaren said:
I am at a point where I dread the thought of getting on him. I build myself to get on, walk about and trot maybe for 10 mins and then we will have a spook, I will stay on for as long as possible usually minutes after then have to dismount.

I am almost embarrassed for an instructor to come as when I get myself in a state I cannot see the wood through the trees and honestly feel like I am almost about to have a panic attack.

I'm sure a lot of you must think why on earth have I gone a brought a horse but I had happily loaned for 2 years before I took the plunge and the pressure of making it work is so huge its almost like I don't try in fear of failing and I don't want something so bad to happen that I wont get on him again as he is wonderful!

I hope to find an instructor who gets it! and will help me..... when i brought him i truly thought i would be riding on my own by now but i wouldn't dream get on with no one around!
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No! Don't think like that - nothing to be embarrassed about, I'm sure most people have had a loss of confidence at some stage or other. Feel free to message me if you want to, this all sounds so familiar! You will need your brave pants but do give yourself a break. The more you do the easier it will become but don't try to push yourself too far out of your comfort zone - baby steps!!

Where are you based? Someone on here might be able to suggest an instructor with the right balance of positive & motivational but no-nonsense!
 
Have you fallen off at all in the 2 years you have been riding, Horsekaren? Honestly, falling off isnt that bad - and the more you do it the less scary it gets. Or is it more the horse taking off after a spook that scares you? If you have got someone who can hack him out for you, get him hacked out a lot, in all kinds of situations. If he only spooks with you, and in the school, I wonder is he really spooking or is he napping and knows that if he does that behaviour you get off? What do you do when you get off? Lead him past several times then ride him past? Put him on a lunge and lunge him in the 'spooky corner'? Get someone else to ride him past? (All acceptable) - or take him back to the stable?
 
You have my sympathy as for various reasons I am having a confidence crisis just now. However. I know the more you analyse it and struggle on yourself the worse this situation will get. Get an instructor that is good with working with nervous people. You MUST do this. Why don't you say what area you are in and someone could recommend someone.

It's meant to be fun so you must get the right help to get you there.
 
We had a lady at our yard lose confidence in her horse. Popping her on something she knew was 100% bombproof (a RS pony that takes disabled kids) meant that she could focus on deep breathing and her position whilst the pony bobbled around safely. If the pair of you are nervous then can you borrow something for a lesson and then graduate back to your horse again when you're more settled?
 
Theres absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about. Nothing. If other liveries are making you feel embarrassed then ignire them or move. Always set yourself up to succeed and if that means 2 mins in the saddle, that is totally fine. Set a goal of one 20m circle, praise pony, get off and call it a day. Feel proud of your achievement. Then when youre up to it, increase to two 20m circles. Dont aim to go large - work on circles and figures of 8. This will take a while, taking teeny baby steps, but the goal is to build your confidence. Its so delicate easy to lose, so treat it with care. Most riders have been where you are, incl me, and i absolutely promise that you can overcome it. Focus on thst belief (and believe it!) and youll get there.
 
Notimetoride said:
Theres absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about. Nothing. If other liveries are making you feel embarrassed then ignire them or move. Always set yourself up to succeed and if that means 2 mins in the saddle, that is totally fine. Set a goal of one 20m circle, praise pony, get off and call it a day. Feel proud of your achievement. Then when youre up to it, increase to two 20m circles. Dont aim to go large - work on circles and figures of 8. This will take a while, taking teeny baby steps, but the goal is to build your confidence. Its so delicate easy to lose, so treat it with care. Most riders have been where you are, incl me, and i absolutely promise that you can overcome it. Focus on thst belief (and believe it!) and youll get there.
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Thats not really helping the spooking though - i think what OP is saying is she cant really do a 20m circle because of the spooking, so that really has to be tackled first.
 
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