Spooking/ improving horse's confidence

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thehorsediva

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I wondered if anyone could help me with some advice to improve my horse’s confidence. Generally he is very quiet and placid but occasionally he has an absolutely massive spook and I think I have worked out it is when he can’t see something properly (so today there was a man walking a dog alongside the field hedgerow which he couldn’t really see when I bought him in). He really loses his mind- jumps and runs away from it but I have always (so far) managed to pull him ok pretty quickly. Once I have pulled him up he stands looking at whatever it is, head in the sky, heart absolutely racing, nostrils flaring, panting in a right panic. I just cannot get his attention back onto me whether I am leading or riding him. I give him brewers yeast and magnesium in his feed. He just has ad lib hay, bit of fast fibre and hifi lite. Is there anything else people would recommend feed or training wise to help improve his confidence? He is only young at 5 and has had a bit of an unsettling year moving around so I appreciate he needs more time and routine but I want to try a make him a little less insecure so all help gratefully received.
 
A big spook at something that doesn't justify all that effort is counterproductive in survival terms, could he be magnesium deficient? My horse was, and I bred hom so I knew he hadn't been badly handled. He spooked big time at silly things he should have been able to cope with, magox transformed him in a couple of weeks. Worth a try, if only for elimination purposes - Magox isn't expensive and if you give him a teaspoonful or two daily for two weeks and there is no difference you will know it isn't that.
 
JillA said:
A big spook at something that doesn't justify all that effort is counterproductive in survival terms, could he be magnesium deficient? My horse was, and I bred hom so I knew he hadn't been badly handled. He spooked big time at silly things he should have been able to cope with, magox transformed him in a couple of weeks. Worth a try, if only for elimination purposes - Magox isn't expensive and if you give him a teaspoonful or two daily for two weeks and there is no difference you will know it isn't that.
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She said he already gets magnesium in his feed
 
I would take him of the Hi-Fi lite. It contains alfalfa, which some horses react badly to. I believe that it also has some molasses in, which some horses can't tolerate.
 
JilA haha dont worry I just appreciate a response. I thought the same thing hence him being on the magnesium- he isnt exactly one to exert himself unless he needs to which made me think it was the mag initially. I can chuck stuff around, bang things about, cause a scene, even had the stable next to him drilled the other day without any drama but when something is hidden he panics!
I want him to have something so he can have the mag/ brewers yeast. If not hifi lite what would you give him? I spoke to Dengie and they said that would be best to keep him on this one as lower energy content than the no molasses hifi.
 
Is the spook when he sees whatever it is that's been hidden, or when it's still hidden but making a noise? It seems as if he is spooking only when something unexpectedly appears, so might be a case of hearing being a bit foggy. Don't know whether you've looked into this, and obviously I don't know completely what your horse is about, but just seems like it might be a good thing to look into. Seems to be bombproof when he knows what's going on, so who knows! Sorry I couldn't add more than speculation!
 
Hmm thats an interesting thought re hearing... it is rather like something has suddenly made him jump, his reaction reminds me of when someone suddenly makes me jump out my skin! He jumps when he cant see what it is rather than when he can. When he can see things they barely bother him. I guess it could be that he isnt hearing it coming so to speak and then something is suddenly heard / seen behind the bushes...
 
If you feel more confident when on the ground take him as much out as you can try yourself calm down and bring him often in the same situations hold him not to tightly and you must always be calm if he stays calm as well show him that you are happy with him
 
Yes v calm with him. In fact it happens when I am prob at my calmest lol. Take today I was bringing in chatting and laughing with another lady n he absolutely freaked out n couldn't calm down until got into stable but I just walked him in ignoring him n kept lead rope long but he pranced in snorting at whatever it was! Once got to stable he was fine n over it
 
I'll never put a horse in the stable with an negative experience so I would try if he don't calm down go back to the stable and then back to the place where it happend and give him your confident that he can trust you
 
hi. i agree withTBlover. try and take hin back to the place where he has spooked from.My 5yr old has done this while ive been riding him and ive had to distract him from reacting. be aware if ur surroundings. Also try the hi fi molasses free xx
 
Okay thanks. Can I ask how you manage to distract your horse once he has seen something when you are leading or riding? He will always spot something way way beforeI do. When I spoke to dengie they said that the molassess free has less sugar but more energy, would that be preferable? Should I keep on with the fast fibre?
 
Maybe if its not his hearing you could try a bit of desensitising as this does seem quite specific, do you have an obliging foot person who could hide behind said hedge when you bring him in/out? They could hide there and when you are near start making lots of noise, then hopefully you can do what you'd normally do staying calm and indifferent and then said person can come out and say hello to show him it was nothing scary? Would also second the advice that once you have passed it, if he acts up then turn, face it and walk towards it a bit to try and encourage a bit more curiosity rather than fear. Then you can try it around other places as well.

If I notice something like this coming on a hack I try to acknowledge it like 'there's a man behind that car, but its just a man so its fine and not scary' in my head or out loud if no one is looking to think I'm mental ;-) I did this with my friend too when she knew her horse would notice something and potentially spook, it did work.

Does he have trouble with flappy birds coming out of hedges? Even I jump at those!
 
With a horse who is behaving oddly (for him/her) the first thing I do is remove all feed but forage. Feed companies are trying to sell their product, so a seller of alfalfa is not going to tell you that not all horses can tolerate it. Some horses cannot cope with molasses, although they can cope with the different form of sugar in sugar beet. We had a mare who could not tolerate grain, or any form of cane sugar, she could eat alfalfa with no problem. My current mare cannot tolerate alfalfa, or carrots, she becomes hypervigilant and it appears that her hearing becomes accentuated (the previous horse with food intolerances appeared to have visual problems when she ate what she couldn't cope with, she also appeared to have accentuated hearing). Both of the horses I have described were/are very unhappy animals when they had the foods they cannot cope with. The original was within days of being pts she was so dangerous to handle, we kept her for another 15 years with careful management.
 
Mabe its just him, some horses are just more spooky than others, ive a wb that was spooky when i got him as a 2yo and at 14 is still spooky but not as dramatically spooky as he used to be
 
With something as difficult as this to identify a specific reason, it helps to keep a log. Note down details surrounding the occasions when he has shown this behaviour - any change to routine, who was around, what was he fed, any change to tack, what you are wearing (yes, it can affect them, especially perfume) anything in the environment, any grass available etc etc, does he do it loose or only when you are on board or at his head. Sometimes you will see a pattern emerge, which then shows you what to work on. Have his eyes been checked for peripheral vision, if he can't see there clearly he could worry about things suddenly coming into his line of sight?
Good luck - might be one of those things that suddenly resolve themselves and you will never know why
 
Just had a thought - are you SURE it isn't a learned behaviour that in the past has gained some kind of reward (ceasing work, attention etc or the dreaded pat "good boy", which doesn't soothe but gives him the idea that is what you are after from him.) Could be worth putting him to WORK (circles, transitions, more circles etc) if and when it happens again, then if he has any control over it he will find that isn't all that nice and give up on it. At the very least you will get his focus back on you and get some schooling done, and it may well persuade him to give up on the behaviour if it is learned.
 
Just a stab in the dark - if he's also ear shy then I'd get someone out to see if he has tension in his jaw / poll / neck / girth area. It's probably not the case because you've said he's generally very quiet, but I've worked with several horses who seem to be more spooky because of tension in their body (think how much more uptight you are if you've got a headache, for example). I have a theory that if they are tight in their neck / poll / jaw, then they don't look around in quite the same way, and they can feel the need to move their whole body to look at something that catches their attention, rather than just turn their head to look at it.
Let me know if this is of any help.
Sue
 
If your horse is being spooked and sticking his head up ( snorting and generally not wanting to be where he is ) he can't see something! He's definately HEARD it - that's why his head's up but he still can't make it out.

I've had an opinion about cases such as this for years ( that's often poopooed by others so I am prepared!) Many horses are half blind! If you look into each of your horse's eyes, you should be able to make out the iris, which looks like a letterbox in a goldfish bowl - all around the edge of the letterbox opening there are dark inclusions that look like palls of smoke ( there's a special name for these that for the moment escapes me) most vets totally ignore them because it's plainly obvious that all horses have them and can still live normal lives.

However; considering the way that no horse likes things to jump out at them from behind bushes etc., you tell me if the big bush that's actually in their eye is any different?

To get over the problem, you'll have to talk to your horse more to gain his attention and see if you can teach him that you are looking out for things that might be spooky - BEFORE they actually spook - this take time and huge patience.
 
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Thanks for all the replies. Lots of interesting things to work on. I am quite happy to take him off all feed but I would like him to continue having the magnesium as our grass is poor. What would be best to give him with this? I would hope it's not pain related as he has regular shiatsu but he is overdue his next appointment so I will see if that shows anything up. I can get my OH to help with desensitising soon. Hopefully he is just extra sensitive due to recent snow. Just want life to be a little less worrying for him
 
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