What does your horse spook out when hacking? How do you handle it?

[hessy12]

As per title! Sorry if this has been done before...

Mine spooks mostly at leaves... yes, he is silly!
Also occasional puddle spooks. And pigs.
I let him look and calm him down, praise him for not running away (spinning) and when he's calm, I walk him past with lots of pats and voice praise.

Would love to hear what your horses spook at.

 

[katie_southwest]

Most things that move
On a good day she looks at nothing, on a bad day she spooks at literally her own shadow on the floor

If shes just being stupid I just ride her forward and almost ignore the spooks, just keep her going forward the whole time.
If she is actually worried Ill let her stand and look so long as shes not trying to go backwards, then quietly ask her to go forward again.
I dont mind if she scoots forward a bit or goes sideways around it, so long as we get past in one piece

 

[JFTDWS]

Fergs spooks at birds and other stupid things. He gets tapped up with a schooling whip for it as he's not scared, he's being a knob. If he tries to spin or sod off, he gets rectified and made to walk past calmly and, if possible, walked back and forth past it.

The old lad doesn't spook at anything, certainly not these days.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Alpacas.

I walked her past them the other day and she huffed and puffed, scuttled away from them over a stony area (was quite pleased she coped with this as she's unshod/barefoot and she normally avoids stones). I just tell her to 'walk on'.

 

[Natz88]

My haffy is fairly good, but does seem to have a fear of drains , but I just tell him to stop being a girl & get on with it lol. My 5yr old isn't to bad either just the odd twig or big leave on the ground spooks, but I can't really fault him for his age

 

[hessy12]

Alpacas.

I walked her past them the other day and she huffed and puffed, scuttled away from them over a stony area (was quite pleased she coped with this as she's unshod/barefoot and she normally avoids stones). I just tell her to 'walk on'.

Ha ha! Yes I forgot the adorable furry alpacas! Once horse is used to them (mine is now) then hopefully she'll not fuss.

 

[Tammytoo]

Mine spooks at silly (to me) things. A new muddy rut on the verge, purple flowers (?) puddles and it takes at least 3 weeks to get used to new things like new water drains. Traffic, noisy machinery, cement mixers, etc. no probs!

She doesn't do a proper spook, but just hyperventilates, stops dead and then does a huge detour!

 

[meesha]

Love the alpacas !!! That would get Dex on his toes !! although there used to be some where we parked for schooling and he wasnt too bothered but the heads above bushes would be a problem - I am sure I would be laughing so much I wouldnt have a chance of holding him !!

 

[kerrieberry2]

leaves, flapping birds coming out from leaves, logs, butterflies and horse poo

 

[hessy12]

leaves, flapping birds coming out from leaves, logs, butterflies and horse poo

Butterflies is a new one to me!
Logs and horse poo I have experience of my old lad spooking at, in fact he spooked at both today. Aren't horses funny!

 

[Burnttoast]

Love that picture Faracat

Um, things that move, things that stay still, things that make a noise. Long grass that has flopped over in a threatening way. Squirrels and birds. Me clearing my throat. His own shadow (waves at Katie_SW). Puddles, the reflections on water troughs. His next door neighbour rattling her feed bucket (sorry, that's not out hacking, I've just realised). Hot air balloons (could see his point there). The signs around the farm walks that he's seen every week for the last two years, but especially the new ones, of course. And, possibly my current favourite, the skid marks that he made the day before while escaping from the sound of someone sanding noisily out of sight... There are others, but my list will get awfully long. Oddly, he's very good with traffic in general but I can barely take him on the road in case we land on someone's bonnet while shying at a leaf.

Generally, just ride forward through the little flinches and shies. The real spooks are so fast you just sit there and then get back on track. If he's obviously becoming progressively more frightened or has seen something and frozen it has to be a softly softly approach, step by step with a light but still there hand and definite contact with leg, ready to catch him if he spins. Once his adrenaline levels are high they take a long time to come down. Keeping his head low (if I can) helps his heart rate drop (he's a friesian, so ears up your nose is his first port of call...). But I can frequently feel his heart racing against my legs and do wonder if it's actually cruel to keep taking him out, tbh

 

[horsestar]

Cows!!! She puts her head really high and stares whilst still walking!!!! I just ignore her cos she does nothing more than that!!!

 

[MrsHutt]

Nothing, really! Sometimes the odd dear leaps out and makes us both jump, but not really spooking!

(The only thing he has ever spooked at really is some poles that were on the floor in the school - they had been there 100 times before )

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Ha ha! Yes I forgot the adorable furry alpacas! Once horse is used to them (mine is now) then hopefully she'll not fuss.

Well, she is better than she was two years ago.

Cows!!! She puts her head really high and stares whilst still walking!!!! I just ignore her cos she does nothing more than that!!!

She's not too keen on them either even though she used to live on a farm with lots of cows.

ETA. The all brown Alpaca is the worst as he 'meeps' at her (it must be some kind of swearword as she really takes offence ).

 

[thehorsephotographer]

Unexpected gateways/breaks in a hedge/fence, birds/ducks, village name signs with purple flowers, at one time the "SLOW" lettering painted on the road (got past that one now), logs, pooh, reflections in puddles and her own reflection in a greenhouse!

Usually she just jumps and goes sideways. Occasionally she plants herself and won't move (she used to do this a lot) when this happens I just urge her to go forward and talk to her a lot for reassurance. I only ask her to "walk on" three times in these circumstances if she's still planted after that I will turn her and as she moves her feet give her lots of praise and then repeat the "walk on" request with plenty of praise each time she takes a step. She's only just 4 yo however and was only broken just before March so we have a lot of learning to do. She's brilliant in traffic and with things you think would spook her and then spooks over the most trivial of things.

 

[WandaMare]

My girl doesn't spook at many things, she's quite a bold thing really. If anything upsets her its more likely to be an unexpected noise than something she can see. A sheep suddenly baaaing from behind a tree stump would do it or something scratching behind the hedge.

Her last bad spook was months ago and that was a concrete mixer on a driveway that is normally clear. It was in use and plopping concrete around which didn't go down well at all. She still looks for it now 3 months later

 

[Sussexbythesea]

Anything that wasn't there last time we went past - e.g. a new sign, some newly cut logs, digger parked in an unusual place and particularly bin bags put outside the cottages on a tuesday morning on the Park estate where I keep him. (I try to avoid going out until the bin-men have been).

On Monday a bloke had stopped in a landrover at the bottom of a dip on the forest road and he tried to spin around 3 times before I got him past - wtf!! - he is not traffic shy - if he had seen it driving along he would not have looked at it twice. I just stay still turn him back have to be careful he doesn't slip over on the made road and usually he goes past at the 3rd attempt but it does drive me insane sometimes because he just cannot be trusted not to totally overreact and sometimes he really loses it which is why he is hacked in a 2 ring so I have brakes. I've done tonnes of spook busting at home and he is not bothered but he just wouldn't have the same reaction on a hack - although he is a lot better it's still his instinctive reaction. He is the same on the yard if someone has put a bag down by the gate or moved the wheelie bin from where he would normally see it. he would notice it immediately and huff and puff over it.

I am thinking of having his eyes tested

 

[Stacy_W]

Hey Burnttoast, is it a friesian thing to be so spooky? My sister has had two and despite being ages apart (16 and 3) they have both been scared of silly things. Her 16 year suffered a fractured knee and was put to sleep and she bought the other one at 5 months old.

 

[evj]

Mines been known too spook at a dried up puddle and a stone. He also took a massive dislike to a burnt out sofa. His spooks involve growing a foot and possibly stepping to one side if he can be bothered The sofa sent him into rapid reverse/spin mode.

 

[Queenbee]

Alpacas.

I walked her past them the other day and she huffed and puffed, scuttled away from them over a stony area (was quite pleased she coped with this as she's unshod/barefoot and she normally avoids stones). I just tell her to 'walk on'.

Ha, Ha, Ha! I had that with ebony, she spooked on a busy main road when they peered over the hedge by the entrance to the bridleway, couldn't get her to go down there for love nor money (this was 10 yrs ago!) so we had to ride the long way home... they are some scary beasts

If my horse spooks as in jumps all four feet off the floor and plants because its just heard a bird fly off or something, I do nothing at all, just sit, when the horse has landed and taken a breath, I just ask for it to go forward and it does... then it gets praise.

If the horse is backing off from something it can see, arching its body and snorting, I will allow it to stand, keeping leg and rein contact so it can't turn or go back, sit and wait until I feel its relaxed, I give a wither scratch to praise for relaxing, and ask for forwards movement, sometimes this is enough, but occasionally if its really scary it may go forward a few steps and then start to arch and tense again, so I let it stop, look and relax. As the horse gets more streetwise and I get more used to the horse, I can gauge if its putting it on and I can just niggle it to get past, or if it genuinely needs a moment to process that it wont be eaten!

 

[claribella]

Everything lol! I find she is sooooooo much better if I sing my little heart out all the way and rhythm beads help too.had to laugh at the thread of the girl singing full pelt the other day. She went around a corner and someone was there lol. Cracked me right up. That's yet to happen to me.

 

[Queenbee]

Hey Burnttoast, is it a friesian thing to be so spooky? My sister has had two and despite being ages apart (16 and 3) they have both been scared of silly things. Her 16 year suffered a fractured knee and was put to sleep and she bought the other one at 5 months old.

nah, its a horse thing to be spooky

 

[Burnttoast]

Hey Burnttoast, is it a friesian thing to be so spooky? My sister has had two and despite being ages apart (16 and 3) they have both been scared of silly things. Her 16 year suffered a fractured knee and was put to sleep and she bought the other one at 5 months old.

Hmm, haven't met enough to know, really, though I have heard other Friesian owners mention silliness. The naturally high head carriage doesn't help, I think I'm speculating here, but might be to do with bloodlines or possibly because they are bred as carriage horses and thus work better with others... Tho it seems obvious that he would be better in company, the difference in him when you surround him with other horses is astonishing - a different horse, like he gives a big sigh and lets the other horses deal with the world for him. He doesn't care how stupid they are, never reacts if they play up or tank off, but is just immeasurably more relaxed. Wish I could hack in company more often.

 

[ha903070]

Anything new - like the post above - a parked car that isnt usually there, a new road sign etc... but most recently PEOPLE!!

I cant get her past people walking on the grass verge without us having to go backwards past them (her idea of them being scary is to run home backwards so my solution is to turn her round and walk past the scary people backwards then continue on our way). She clearly thinks the worst of them?? Its so annoying and ended with me hanging off whilst she galloped off up the road last time. To the shocked faces of a lady and her two children - oops.

She can be such a wimp.

 

[Burnttoast]

nah, its a horse thing to be spooky

Lol - yes, quite! But I'm so used to the spooky Friesian these days it's a shock when I ride a "normal" horse...

 

[meesha]

Luckily Dex is ok with cows !! went up crooks peak today and had to navigate a herd of about 20 led across and around the path - winding our way through and round them - we then had one coming towards us on path and had to move off to let it past (think it thought we were in india where they are sacred) then took slightly different route to avoid another bunch at top of path !!!!

Was very chuffed of horse and dog as they both were sooo well behaved - Dex had been spooking at the leaves but cows - nah ! not a problem !!

 

[Herpesas]

If he's in one of his moods:

Running water, water troughs, SLOW written on the road, white roadsigns, large stones in people's driveways, branches snapping, pheasants, traffic cones.

Seriously:

Cows, pigs, combine harvesters, hydraulic brakes.

If he's being daft, I ignore him unless he's putting himself in danger in which case I'll growl at him and give him a tap on the shoulder with my stick. If he's being serious he'll usually spin round so I either turn him back and shoulder-in past it or, if he won't turn around, I reinback past it.

 

[Queenbee]

Lol - yes, quite! But I'm so used to the spooky Friesian these days it's a shock when I ride a "normal" horse...

Lol, ebony could spook (friesian x TB) but then TBs are dip sticks anyway but I suppose I tend to ride 'hotter' horses and so generally spooky ones, its what I enjoy I did love ebony's verticle leap and plant followed by tremble and shake!

 

[vieshot]

I dont really do anything when mine does a normal spook. Tell him not to be a pratt and kick him on. I dont make a big deal about it.

The one thing he spooks big time about is pigs. Ive only ever come across them once out riding. It was about the third time he had ever been riden and as such his first time hacking on the forest. My friend was following in the car and as we came round the corner there were a group of pigs. He had never seen them before and as it was his first time out and we were on a road at that point I jumped off and my friend jumped out her car. We both held him either side and tried to walk him past. He is normally sooo quiet but he lost his head completely, dragged us to the closest fence, jumped over it and took off across a hotel car park....oops! We havnt seen a pig out riding since so who knows how next time will go! lol

 

[Burnttoast]

Lol, ebony could spook (friesian x TB) but then TBs are dip sticks anyway but I suppose I tend to ride 'hotter' horses and so generally spooky ones, its what I enjoy I did love ebony's verticle leap and plant followed by tremble and shake!

I've liked all the TBs I've ridden - their responses have always seemed somehow rational even when they were pratting about. Poor old Simple Horse is just so *odd*, I can't fathom him at all. Never met one like him...

Do like the idea of a FriesianxTB - the ones I've seen have looked very smart and capable.

But I just want a bombproof one now - my nerves are shredded these days! At least he's only my share...