The spooky corner - what do you do?

Hornby

Hornby

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Every horse finds a spooky corner in the school....don't they? (Hope it's not just me!). Anyway, how do you deal with this?

School in a different area till they are more attentive?
Avoid it ?
Clamp on leg and hand and really work them into it or does this make it worse?
Give up and put them back in the stable (I'm kidding!)

Thanks
 
Oh yes - we had one at my old yard, at the top of the school.

I used to ride straight up to the end and deliberately work in it - anything to get a bit of forward momentum. I never avoided it, but plenty of people did. I came to the conclussion that it was just the horses napping really. There wasn't anything in the slightest spooky about the area - it was just away from the gate.

Give no quarter!!
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Doesn't happen often now with my boy but on the odd occasion that it does he stays on a 10mtr circle at trot in the offending corner until he settles. Then we move on.
 
I avoid it when warming up as horse is more sharp during warm-up & any excuse to gallop off... Once warmed up & settled (as much as can be
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), I start to use whole school. If horse spooks in corner, I immediately go onto very small circle in that area & work laterally, i.e. shoulder-in on small circle. This gets the control back, the lateral work backs her off & you can feel her think 'actually, this buggering about lark is quite hard work - not too sure if I can be arsed with it'. Once she's relaxed & back with me, I quickly ease off the pressure, say 'good girl' & carry on as if nothing has happened.
 
make sure the horse is in a long and deep outline, dont tense up and make a big deal about going past it ad ride circles in that corner keeping your inside leg on so hes into the outside rein.

this is what my trainer gets me to do with Archie when hes having a funny turn! also the words of Carl Hester (just been reading about it in one of his books)
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As he sayds just stay relaxed and ride in a long and deep outline, then the horse will soon forget about it.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Every horse finds a spooky corner in the school....don't they? (Hope it's not just me!). Anyway, how do you deal with this?

School in a different area till they are more attentive?
Avoid it ?
Clamp on leg and hand and really work them into it or does this make it worse?
Give up and put them back in the stable (I'm kidding!)

Thanks

[/ QUOTE ]

None of those, just don't make an issue out of it!!!
The first time i rode Sula for her owner, i was told she wouldn't go up the other end of the school, and certainly wouldn't go past the stack of jumps.. within 5mins she was going brill all around the school!!

Keep the inside bend going past whatever is scary, and don't insist they walk up really close to it and/or face it!!
on a circle, keeping the inside bend,(looking away from what is scary) gradually move them over with your inside leg towards what's scary, (but keeping the inside bend).. rewarding them by relaxing your hands and legs when they do as you say!!
 
I wouldn't avoid it, just keep looking up and as far ahead and away from the corner as possible so the horse does feel you looking at it as that just encourages them.
If the spooking involves increased momentum or speed don't pull up but instead push forward and use that new found momentum, they soon learn that spooking equals harder work!
 
Im lucky enough that my boys will school anywhere however in the past i have found that the most sucessful method is to ignor it and continue useing all of the school, including "the spooky corner"

your horse will normally be doing it because:
*they are scared of something in which case clamping your legs on and forcing them into it mak make the situation worse as now you are giving them a reason to be worried
lunging just poops them out so they dont have the energy to spook anymore and i can vurtually garentee that they will spook in the same place the very next day
*they are taking the wee wee in which case rising to the challange is giving them exactally what they want, sitting calmly just means that they will soon get bored

im not saying that this is the same in every case but 99.9% of the time it works.

one of my boys is an arab stallion (who are obviously known for being flighty and intellegent) and my boy will go any where at anytime, he is now 8 and up untill a year ago was a breeding race horse who had never been asked to walk on a road, stand to be got on or carry his own head two months later he is doing all of the above and more.
 
Depends on the horse - some horses I'd be more proactive and work more in the spooky corner until they settled but with more sensitive horses I don't see the point in starting a battle, so I would work in another part of the school until my horse was settled and listening to my aids. Only once I was happy with him would I work nearer and nearer to the spooky corner.
 
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