Spooky horse owners

quirky

quirky

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How does your horse spook? ie. bolt,spin,leap etc.
How do you deal with it? ie. ignore,tell off,reassure etc.
Do you have your horse on supplements to try to overcome spookiness, if so which one.

Finally, do you just accept this is the way your horse is, or does it p***s you off or get you down in anyway?
 
buster normally uses a spook as a way of trying to gallop off!
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hes normally worse going down the road and just leaps everywere. its just because he is very fit and i suppose its in his caracter to a certain extent. dont really punish him, sometimes hes so bad he nearly makes himself fall over so i just say serves u right!
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dont really let it get to me, i think its a sacrifice i have to make in order to have him fit to event!
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My horse spooks, usually he leaps but has spun twice. In the past, because I felt nervous, I got cross with him but it only made him worse. As I've got more confident I usually ignore it or reassure him. I can feel him tense before he spooks and usually shoulder in away from what he's looking at. Sometimes he feels he's about to go in blind panic and then I circle him in trot in 10m circles asking him to work such as spiral in and out, do shoulder in. By giving him something else to focus his mind because he has to or he'll fall over at 18hh, he starts to settle and relax. The more regular work i.e. 6 days a week 1 hour a day he has, the better he is.

However, he has not hacked out for over 12 months because he leapt into a 4 x 4 and nearly threw himself across the bonnet. Luckily he was OK but dented vehicle.
Driver was shaken but not hurt and was fine about it. We don't have access to off road riding and many drivers drive fast around our lanes plus we have a busy main road to negotiate from our yard. Therefore I only ride him around arena and fields or box him up to safer hacking or nearby range of hills with off road riding.

He's worse when he's been roughed off. We're due to get fit in 2 weeks time in walk, so I'll start by walking him around the school but asking him to gently flex and stretch plus halt and half halt, then ride him up and down our hill field. I do this for a week to 10 days before short periods of trotting.
 
LOL when I first read the title, I wasnt sure whether you were asking:

a) owners of spooky horses
b) spooky owners of horses!

In answer to the question, my Ellie tends to either leap dramatically to the side, or stop dead and run backwards. If the thing she is spooking at is genuine, I will pat and coax her forwards - this tends to be when she has shied to the side - and she will snort, stagger around on straightened legs, then eventually believe me that nothing is about to eat her, and she will walk on! When she runs backwards, it is normally a p155 take - believe me, after 8 years, I know! And so then I will try to push her forward, but often she will pretend to rear and dig her toes in, in which case she is likely to get a whack, especially if she is mucking around in a dangerous place. No supplements - didnt know there were such things for spookiness! but cant honestly say I would want to try - Ellie's spookiness is what makes her who she is!
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As for whether it gets me down, it depends where, when and what. Sometimes her spookiness will make me laugh and see the funny side, eg. yesterday, when she was busy leaping over SLOW signs on the road. Other times, it can pee me off if she is putting us in danger unnecessarily, and even get me down if I am trying to get her to work and she is having none of it! eg. tonight - trotting 20m circle was rudely interrupted by the appearance of................................a stone
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Ah, lovely mares!
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I am an awfully spooky horse owner... bin liners and pheasants really freak me out!
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Lol, no seriously - My girl spins and then heads for the hills, normally bronking for England....
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Mine bolts, spins and leaps!! He doesn't go far, though. Weirdly he rarely reacts if another horse spooks or if the horses in the fields are having a run round.

I try to ignore it, as he seems to like a reaction of any sort, but it is hard because he makes me jump! I find if I keep a good contact he is less spooky.

He has Valerian from time to time, just to take the edge off.

His spookiness does p**s me off sometimes - I'd rather he didn't do it - but I've accepted that that's the way he is. The more he is ridden, the less he spooks so in the summer he is Mr Chilled!
 
Forgot to say this is the way he is. Sometimes it does p****s me off and I've lost my temper which hasn't achieved anything. One evening I got so cross I knew he was going to explode. My nerves failed me and I scrabbled off him! But as I was coming down, he was on his way up - a full rear and leap forward in panic. I had to do a lot of calming down, eating humble pie and changing my body language before he let me approach him. Then I led him round the school to regain his trust. It made me nervous to get back on him and had to ask my YO and trainer to get on him to settle him. Big lesson learnt. I realised that I have to show him confident leadership and the difference has resulted in me feeling more happier and looking forward to riding him.
 
PF is a recreational spooker; she does it more when she's fresh/hasn't been out on a hack for a while, and she has been known to spook at things she's seen thousands of times before... She's especially 'scared' of small pieces of paper (especially if they move!) and bags.
It's just the way she is!
 
Willow either stops dead, spins around, runs backwards or just jumps out of her skin.

She was a LOT worse after having 8 months off work, now isn't so bad. I don't usually bother telling her off unless she's in the way of traffic or something like that as it doesn't achieve anything.
 
The loan horse I've got is ultra spooky - he's a lovely boy but he's scared of his own shadow.....call me boring but it's not really my cup of tea! Every horse will spook but I can't be dealing with it 5/6 times every hack! maybe some of it is my nerves on his as both my TB's are fine!
 
Very spooky horse. Mine turns and runs in the other direction if something worries him.

Dont tell him off, theres no point; i just ignore him. Dont think he'll ever change, hes 15 now and hes been the same way since he was 4. That being said, hes not quite as bad as he was then
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My girlie isnt particularly spooky, but will take the pee with a rider if she thinks she can.

personally i think a lot of horses are like that, they take advantage of the rider. i certainly have ridden horses how i would class as non-spooky but other find them very spooky.

depends on the riders confidence levels in IMHO
 
Im lucky two of my horses are very brave and rarely spook at anything, unless of course a carrier bag came tumbling down the road and wrapped itself on her legs then she'd freak.
What really gets my goat is horses who spook for the sake of it, my Father in laws horse spooks at anything, but you can see hes just doing it for effect because he lacks conviction when he does it its a real half hearted attempt and drives me crazy. Its not because hes scared he's just a d**k.
I certainly have time for those who genuinely lack in confidence but some just absolutely take the p*ss.
 
Merlin used to be very non spooky but recently has turned into a bit of a menace....

He will leap sideways, yesterday at a piece of plastic in the hedge, or it could have been the blue spray paint on the verge... who knows............ he also spun round because there was a horse eating digger moving someones driveway around...... Ok, that was a bit scary, but coaxed him past it. And leaped out of his skin coz there was a bonfire in the dip to the left of the lane!!!! All that in a 20 minute hack.

But to be honest, although I dont want to hit the deck, it does show that he is alive
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I cant really tell him off.... mainly coz I dont carry a stick, but also, its only a year since I was told he may never be ridden again. So am happy to be able to ride him, spooks or not
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mine leaps sideways, one minute hes under you, the next hes beside you
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i just act like nothings happened & carry on
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although last week we went backwards down a very very steep hill because off some building works, was sure he was going to break his neck or mine
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Funnily enough I've just been having this conversation with a friend.

Rosie my mare is a serial spooker. She darts sideways, left or right, quite often I've fallen off before I know what's happened. She occasionally takes off, either on the road or in the field, or just jumps up in the air a little and lands on all for feet looking wildly about.

When I fall off she NEVER runs away.

She's scared of anything that moves (apart from cars and bikes unless they're going fast) and a lot that doesn't move, like litter and logs.

I've just had a chat with my friend about her spooking which I have to say scares me, and I have come to the point that I hate riding her.

she's bad on the road and really bad riding in any of my fields or the adjoining ones.
I box her to off road riding where she's a little better and she's a lot better in company and brill at a competition.

I can't wait until the Event season starts, but with that comes the fitness work, and having to ride her.
I don't even bother to ride when it's windy - we lunge!

Doesn't make any difference whether I smack her, shout at her, pat her or ignore it.

I can often feel one coming on now which I couldn't before, but really she hasn't got any better or worse with age, I can just feel it a bit more. She's rising 15yrs and I've had her 13yrs.

If the new babe turns out like her she's going, as I can't bear another one like this!
 
Spinning and dropping her shoulder is corroy's trick. I have just learnt the hard way to stick on. I have got off her in the past and wanted to leave her
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or kill her. She tries my patience less these days, but she still does it every now and then to check my wits. She is spooky out and always will be, so I live with it.
 
My boy use to spook badly, generally jumping to the side, but over time hes calmed down a bit, but we do have days where he spooks at everything! and to be honest i just laugh at him on those days and give up trying to do anything! my other boy doesnt spook at anything at all, literally a horse could fall down around him and he would just stand there, except for when hes bored and will then leap about a foot in the air at a blade of grass! again, we just laugh... Its better to not get annoyed if you can because it will make you more tense, which will send more scary signals, also, I dont believe telling them off gets you anywhere, but sometimes a firmer, more determined leg aid can help to convince them that the horse eating monster that hasnt been fed for a week isnt going to eat them today!
 
Depends on what it is! He normally spins, leaps out of the way or bananas past it. He does sometimes plant himself or try to bolt past an object. He does only have partial vision in his left eye which does make it worse on that side

If it is something silly (like a shadow or a leaf) I will give him a tap or a kick and make him go past it a few times until he gets used to it.

I have found that you just get used to it and a lot of the time I don't really notice any more (he has done wonders for my seat
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) He has got better over time as his confidence has grown.
 
Thank you for all your responses ... many of which had me tittering!!

Mine spooks at anything and everything ... people watching him, coats left over school wall, bikes, his own shadow.
I have had him 5 years and he is getting a little better, he's coming up 9 in June. I try not to make a fuss about it, give him a pat and lots of leg for confidence. If I know he is going to spook, I'll shoulders in.
Unfortunately, he is a pig for it out competeing and it really frustrates me then. My dressage comments without fail are "very patiently ridden" .. well I couldn't do much else as he'd freak if I admonished him for spooking.
Guess I'll just have to accept that is the way he is.

So do you lot fancy meeting up for a hack?????????
 
I know the competing problem - it took a long time to get my horse to jump fillers and even now if he comes across a new one I may have to kick and growl to get over it! (as long as its not a black and white one - he can't stand them!) And he still spooks slightly at white dressage boards and heaven forbid if a judge is sitting at a table
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I'm up for a hack as long as we don't come across plastic bags, wheelie bins, traffic cones, white writing on roads (e.g. slow), roadworks, shadows, white vans with writing on etc etc etc
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George isn't really spooky at all, but once in a while he decides something is scary and stops dead and then spins round and trys to shoot off. Under my instructors advice I am trying to laugh when he does this to relax me and him, reassurance seems to work best but it's not easy, especially as he does it so occassionaly it really takes me by surprise.
 
My boy is pretty spooky unless in competition, when nothing seems to bother him (funny, that). But I can usually tell when a spook is coming as his head comes up and his stride shortens. The spooks-without-warning are huge leaps to the side. I only use my voice - and occasionally a tap with the stick - to encourage him past, as I think a pat is a reward for the behaviour he's showing - ie, the spooking. I pat him after he's got safely past it.
 
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