Super stressy horse

[Britestar]

Not sure if this is the right place, but here goes.

7yr old homebred, 3/4tb, 16.2 ish.

Always been super stressy, about everything. As long as all his friends are with him he's fine. Change anything at all, and he stresses out. Can't be hacked alone, needs a chum and even then, everything sets him off. He's hates cows - well tough they are everywhere - but still spooks every single time. Birds - bain of our lives - wretched thing fly out from bushes etc, jumps every time. Cars - mostly ok, but has taken to chasing them down the road once they've passed - very un-nerving! His 'go to' reaction is to charge off, trot/canter away for 30 metres, and then stop and go back to walking. Once its done, its done.

Still I hack him out all the time, he's not given any cut for his attitude.

You can feel his stress levels rising as you ride. Leaving home, maybe a 1-2, soon as the first cow/bird moment rises to 4/5 and then gradually increases to 8/9 - although may drop to a 1/2 randomly in the middle of the ride. As soon as you turn up the drive for home, they drop back down and he's happy.

I school him on the hacks to try and distract him from all the things he perceives as terrifying. Sometimes that works, other times it just winds him up more.

Occasionally, we'll have a 'normal' hack, but few and far between.

I dont have a school, and currently he doesn't travel ( a whole different story), but even when we are able to go to hire somewhere it can be pretty much the same. God forbid something would have changed in the school since the last visit!

He's on no sugar diet, access to haylage all night, reasonable grazing in the field, out all day. Has magnesium in his food, tried other supplements, but see no difference.

He's getting scoped in 3 weeks time, as I do wonder that he's ulcery, can be snappy grooming/tacking up.

Any suggestions?

 

[BBP]

I was going to suggest ulcers. Mine is much the same stress wise, can hack the same route every day and every day it's terrifying. Finally I've now found he has a muscle disease (RER) and glandular ulcers. Can't tell you yet if treatment helps as I'm waiting for the drugs to turn up but I'm really hopeful.

 

[RosieJM]

You don't say how you handle it when he does spook? Sometimes, I think 'serial spookers' have fallen into a pattern of spooking so much and holding onto all that tension. A good way to break the pattern is to get them really thoroughly fine with some of the stuff they will come cross, you say he relaxes as soon sa he is on the driveway for home, so if we could extend his boundary of what counts as safe, home territory, that would help. So, with this in mind, I would try taking him on a very very short hack, but aiming to have him totally settled and accepting of the things you come across on it before moving on. A couple of techniques could be taking a steady neddy lead and asking them to stand by the spooky thing while you walk back and forward past it until he really doesnt care about it at all, rather than just getting past. Or spending some time letting him investigate if you feel safe on the ground by leading him out.


Bending him slightly away from the spooky things can be a good way to get past the first time, but he isn't actually going to learn to listen to you AND accept the other thing until he can do it straight and on a more relaxed contact, so then come back past again, and see if you can gradually get him to investigate and then relax. Curiosity is a good step in overcoming fear.

Sometimes it can help to do the same very short hack two or even three times in a row, a circular hack is ideal and when you get home just ride straight by and go round again. Most people worry the horse will nap, but actually, horses are less likely to nap second time around as they are braver about where they are going, and can at least get some practise in dealing with things bravely because they have already seen it all that day.

Also, head and neck position can play a part in spookiness, a neck strap can help the rider to stay safe without feeling like they need to keep too shorter contact, you want a relaxed, low head set if possible. The compromise is between a short enough length of rein to keep you safe and quick to react, and a long enough rein to encourage a longer neck if possible - I know some horses take confidence from more of a working contact, but the point is you dont want too shorter neck, with most horses, this seems to set them up to spook as they hold on to tension.

I'd also second checking things out physically, as horses with some sort of underlying pain or stress are more likely to be spooky anyway, so its a good idea to check nothing is going on.

 

[paddi22]

i've an exracer who used to be a monster spooking - whenever he head went up he got tense and the messing would start. i found hacking him out in an elastic bungee really helped him. once his head stayed down his stress levels stayed down as well. and the bungee didn't restrict him, it just used to reassure him and he'd settle back down.

 

[Britestar]

All his hacks are from home. The tension starts as soon as we get to the bottom of the drive. Maybe the neighbour has put their bins out, or the shhep in the field across the road are near the gate.

I totally ignore him when he spooks. I don't grab the reins, I just sit there impassionately. I have a 'jesus' handle that I grab if I think he's going to shoot off, and I never get on him without an air jacket either! all his hacks he's done since he was 5, so nothing ever changes, apart from which fields cows may be in. I don't pander to his neurosis at all. My friends are used to me either suddenly stopping or shooting off, and just carry on regardless.

In between spooks he has a nice long and low outline, and I can ask for more or less flexion as I please.

He's just very frustrating. It will be interesting to see what the scope reveals. Almost as interesting as it will be watching the Vet trying to sedate him! (He's going to get domosedan gel before the vet arrives :/)

 

[Pigeon]

If he's been in the same home since he was born, and always hacks the same rides and doesn't travel, could he just be a little sheltered, so minor changes (ie birds) shock him? If nothing medical is revealed I would think about sending him for pro schooling at a different yard. Find somewhere that will work on an all-round education (so loading and hacking as well as arena work).