Spooking

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Dream2own

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I read an articlein Your Horse magazine about the stages of a spook. I am a nervous rider inspooking situations as I'm sure a lot of riders are. I used to have lessons ona very young worried horse and I spent most of my lessons keeping worryingabout how much his ears were darting about and trying to gauge the next time hewould jump sideways at an imaginary monster in the trees. Needless tosay it didn't help with my confidence or my riding ability as I spent mostthe lesson focused on the behaviour of my horse.
To me, if thehorse I’m riding spooks, my fear is that he will bolt. From the article itseems that bolting as a last resort and most horses will not reach this level.Is this right? Am I worrying unnecessarily if a horse spooks at a bird flyingpast or imaginary stuff in hedges?
 
[SUB][/SUB]Your constant worrying, if I'm honest'....Will have made a spooky horse worse. They pick up on your tension...
I've had sharp and spooky horses....they look to you for confidence and if they get that in general they become less spooky.
There's always going to be something that will set off a sudden startle or spin, but I've never had one go off and bolt'.
 
Hippona said:
I know where you're at...it's not easy to break that feeling.

Have you actually had a bad experience or just worrying about it happening?
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I was on a hack a few years ago (a riding school hack which was a birthday treat) and we were hacking through a large country park. I think a frog or something jumped out of the long grass but my horse just bolted. It was a while ago now so I can't remember if there was any other behaviour before the horse bolted. I just remember one minute riding along happily and the next he was off and I was holding on for dear life before I fell off and bashed my head off a rock. I was ok, just a bit disorientated and shaken up. Perhaps it stems from that.
 
I will try not to ramble too much. Below is my experience of a spooker.

My first comment would be try and get the thought of bolting out of your head, trust me thinking the worst will not help you.

My young TB was (and still is to a certain extent) a spooker, but i know what her trigger points are so i can now reassure her before she has chance to think about it.

Her trigger is large lorries coming towards her. Coming up behind not a problem, issues was always with coming towards. She wasn't just a sideways spooker, she will spin, run backwards, bend her head and body into all sorts of positions but 'touch wood' one thing she has never done is bolted.

I haven't had her long, but she is very sensitive and easily picks up my emotions. As i said she doesnt spook nearly as much now and i believe that is simply down to building our relationship, her learning to trust me and me learning to trust her.

A lot of the time a lorry would approach and i would automatically think 'oh s**t' she is going to spook and she would, which was no good for her or me.

It took a while but when a lorry approaches i started to say to her 'its ok i trust you'. I know it sounds stupid but the more i put my trust into her the less she spooked.

Although i never fell into the trap of taking my legs off, when she spooks my legs are firm and on. Not for my balance but to drive her forward.

She is actually very easy and uncomplicated, she just needs someone who is prepared to understand her and be confident, that is what she looks for in a rider. Unlike my cob who didn't look to a rider for confidence, he had enough of his own!

The more you get to know the horse the more you will relax.

My advice would be and this is purely from my experience riding my mare. Try not to react to the spooking, sit quietly, keep your hands still, keep your legs in contact (hug but not squeeze), if you sense them stiffening up drive them forward. I also found with my mare being an ex racer, she prefers a lighter contact, shortening and tightening the reins is a big no no. If we are having a moment i give her her head (within reason).

I would say try not to concentrate so much on what they are doing, just relax and don't let spooking come into your mind.

Sing or talk to yourself, its sounds silly but it works
 
Thanks for that. I'd probably sing to myself if I was alone but not sure in company! :) On a recent hack my instructor took me along some busy roads. My horse got very anxious at a rattly truck going past and I just tried to talk to him to calm him down and also so I could focus on him and my voice rather than what I was feeling inside!

I have just always thought that if my horse got scared the initial reaction would be to bolt. It is reassuring that it is a last resort and not all that common
 
Dream2own said:
Thanks for that. I'd probably sing to myself if I was alone but not sure in company! :) On a recent hack my instructor took me along some busy roads. My horse got very anxious at a rattly truck going past and I just tried to talk to him to calm him down and also so I could focus on him and my voice rather than what I was feeling inside!

I have just always thought that if my horse got scared the initial reaction would be to bolt. It is reassuring that it is a last resort and not all that common
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Don't worry about singing around other people, they understand. Its the singing and talking that stops you from holding your breath, when you hold your breath you stiffen up.

Also there is a big difference between a horse taking off with you and bolting. You can stop a horse that's taken off, a proper bolter is not that easy and thankfully i think they are quite rare.

I was riding a horse that bolted once in a blind panic, honestly i thought i was dead. It was him bolting straight into a hedge that stopped us. Neither him or me were hurt thank god
 
Dream2own said:
Specific hypnosis re riding? Where did you go for that?
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Any good hypnotherapist can deal with any random fears. My hypnotherapist knew nothing about horses. I had a massive fear of jumping and riding with an audience. It's about the hypnotherapists technique rather than the subject matter. Some seem to just focus on weight loss and giving up smoking. Ones that focus on those might just be cashing in on popular trends. The guy I went to had a genuine interest in sports performance. Dealing with athletes getting stage fright or focussing on mistakes that hindered their performance.
 
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