anyone else got a spooky horse

O

oxowoman

New Member
Apr 3, 2005
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hi all, i'm in a real dillema. i've had my horse rudi for 2 years and i can't seem to get him to stop spooking, violently. I've had to move to a new yard recently and now he seems 10 times worse. he's faily nervous on the ground as well and spooks easily at little things which is ok we can live with that.
over the past few weeks his spooking has become quite violent and i've had several bad falls (breaking some ribs). You can ride him past things in the arena for ages and then poof he's off at a hundred miles an hour or slams on the brakes and charges backwards. Does anyone have some suggestions i really need some help before my nerve goes?
 
Do ou know why he is scared? Has he had a bad past, is he just green?

How about bombproofing, you can do it in the school/field/in hand, whatever you want,just to get used to different things.
 
i would do lots of groundwork with him to establish a really good bond, most horses spook because they do not believe that you are protecting them from scary things, if the horse trusts you enough, they should go past anything as they will know that you would not take them past anything dangerous, either that or they are taking the complete p;)
 
Ditto SM - your horse doesnt trust you to be his leader.
Do some serious ground work and then progress to desensitzation. Makes sure he TRUSTS you first....

You can start with

www.iceryder.net/games

Then progress to plastic bags, tarps etc.
Remember tho' a horses vision is not like ours and they cannot reason, so when introducing the 'spooky' things you must do it from EVERY angle. eg They may not shy at a bag along side but might if its in front they might as they are seeing it differently.
 
Yep! Fine one minute! The next I'm spitting out dust wondering what the hell happened and Skips is pratting about at the other end of the svhool!! :D:rolleyes: He even spooked at his own shadow the other day! It's ery frustrating cos he is a good dressage horse but you never know what he's going to do!!
I find that if you feel him tense up then try and breather deeply and relax and talk to him. Try patting/stroking his neck and reassuring him. If he is staring at something then maybe go into shoulder-in just as you pass it as usually this helps stop massive spooks and keeps them occupied. Also, if he is tense, do lots and lots to keep him busy. Don't give him a spare moment to think about spooking. If Skippy is tense he has a walk to loosen up etc. then a trot in his 'comfort zone'-20m circle at A in his case! And then we do loads of leg yielding and shoulder-in, spirals in off the track when we're circling and then back out etc. This loosens them up and gets them working nicely whilst keeping them busy! Stay in the 'comfort zone' until you're both relaxed and happy to go large (I once had a whole lesson in our 'comfort zone' because he had chucked me off 3 times in a row the previous ride and I was really nervous and was transmitting tension to him! At the end I was way more relaxed and he did some good work because I wasn't tense!
Also, if he is good with poles then set them up at 4 points of the circle so when you are circling he has to go over them and concentrate on them, this means he's not looking for things to spook at quite so much! You could also try setting them up in a 'fan' shape and go over them at different points of the 'fan' so one time he is shortening his stride and the next he is lengtheneing! It does really work to keep them occupied!
Basically, always be there, riding him. Never just sit there ad let him get on with it. Sharp horses tend to need to know you are there all the time. If he spooks to the inside then always have your outside rein in a good contact (this also helps with outline). Try to relax and breathe and if he tenses the don't tense up yourself. Just talk or even sing and pat him to let him know you're there!
Anyway, hope this helps! If I can help in any other way then feel free to PM me! My horse is a really, really, really sharp, quirky, spooky TB ex-racehorse so I know exactly what you are going through! :)
 
What are you feeding him? Is he getting enough turnout? Has anything changed about the time he started spooking more? Other than moving yard that is, that could be enough change to take some settling in by itself.

Groundwork getting to trust you more with the horse eating monsters when you say is isn't bitey is a good idea. Then progress to doing similar things while riding.
 
just to mention PJ's spooking got ridiulous adn it turned out he was 1/10 lame on his front legs. ....prob not the same as in your case but might me worth a check over?

i did find magnacalm supplement helped a tiny bit as well.
 
I hate to say it but some horses are just spooky by nature and you just have to learn how best to ride that particular horse through it.

Is he worked regularly? I've found they usually improve a lot with regular work, Alps has to be worked at least 6 days a week to keep him in check. He's just had 3 days off as I've been away and when I got back on him tonight he was horribly spooky, trying to spook and bolt every few strides, whereas when he's in proper work he's much better.

What are you feeding him? Alps is a lot spookier when he's on a higher energy feed.
 
Both of my horses (well one is a friends), went spooky at the sound of leaves going through trees, on the ground or on the saddle, but, if you are calm and totally ignore it, they will very quickly get over it, you have to start with small things, and on the ground.
 
Pete! He was the ultimate spooker. He would spook at his own shadow, a leaf rustling, anything he could spook at. I think it was his way of testing me.
I was fine on little spooks, jsut remain calm and they get over it quickly, or like my trainer says, ignore what they are spooking at and pretty soon they will ignore it too.
 
Thats right WL, it is so true, if you react, I know when I was first working with Jack he was crazy, but I now don't think he was actually crazy because he does it with any one new, he is just testing out what I like to call "There Spook point, or what makes you spook". But the more he ignores it the better he is, and now he can endure almost anything.
 
skewbald-mad said:
i would do lots of groundwork with him to establish a really good bond, most horses spook because they do not believe that you are protecting them from scary things, if the horse trusts you enough, they should go past anything as they will know that you would not take them past anything dangerous, either that or they are taking the complete p;)
Click to expand...

This is so true. Misty used to spook like mad, although she'd only jump in the air rather than tanking off with me. Now that my confidence has grown I can actually feel that she trusts me to look after her!
 
Pinnochio will spook at anything, yesterday it was a rug on the sandschool fence, tomorrow it will be something else again. It is less frequent now, but when he does it hes so sharp. Hes a plod most of the time, but has mega spooks. Someone said they thought it was when he sees something, he sees it late and panics.
 
thanx guys. i just hope things work out with my boy. don't mind his "normal spooking" but lately he's tanking off in the opposite direction and invariably i fall off and he's 17'2. i'll try some groundwork with him and let you all know how we get on :)
 
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