Reacrion to gun shots/ crow scarers

Sophieandbella

New Member
Jan 11, 2022
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So I've had my mare 3 years now. She wasn't great to hack alone to start with, she was quite anxious and going faster was her go-to reaction. We dealt with this though, and as we bonded more she got really good, and we did some quite long hacks alone no issues.
We moved yards last summer, friend moved too so she still has the same field mates. She settled OK, she'd always be fairly keen to get back home from hacking alone, one particular route she'd always be a bit on her toes but not a major problem.
Anyway, recently there's been a fair amount of shoots near by or possibly crow scarers, or a bit of both. If she hears them when she's out in the field she's not overly bothered. But if she hears it out when we're riding she goes into full on panic mode. This has happened twice recently. Was on the road friday when it happened ended up getting off and leading her because she wasn't listening to me asking to slow down and it seemed the safest option.
So I don't really know how to work on this. Do I try a sound deadening ear bonnet? Do I somehow try and desensitise her to loud bangs? Do I try and work on her confidence/ anxiety levels more generally? Any suggestions gratefully received
 
I'm sure some people will disagree with me, but my view is if she's not particularly bothered by them in the field then she most likely isn't that bothered by them when she's out and instead is using them as an excuse.

You say full on panic mode, what exactly do you mean by that?

Do the shots bother you? Do you tense up and expect her to react, maybe change how you ride or your tone of voice if you talk to her?

She clearly listened to you when you got off because if she hadn't then you'd never have held her from the ground, and that alone suggests to me she isn't really panicked by my definition. I also find if a horse is really on the point of losing it then the action of a rider dismounting is enough to tip it over the edge. It may well be you felt far more confident on the ground though and that can make a huge difference.

Do you have somewhere off road you can ride her so you can work something out more safely than on the roads? Ideally with someone on the ground who can see what's happening with both of you and give advice on how to deal with it. You say you're asking her to slow down, but I often find putting them into a controlled active trot that you ride every step of is a far better approach and will also get you off the busy road faster. Talk to her in a calm slow voice, if needs be recite a poem so you have a rhythm - your voice will reasure her and also make you breathe. I find voice very useful so personally wouldn't go for sound deadening bonnets.

The other thing to consider is do you know a calm, capable, and confident rider who'd hack her out a few times and see what response they get?

I have to say that I'm used to quite forward and reactive horses and so my response tends to be a bored "really? why?" which often deflates them quite quickly. If needs be a quick squeeze and release to get attention then send forward in a gathered up (I hesitate to say collected since we'd probably have a dressage judge in hysterics lol) trot. The exception is the horse that freezes as they can get explosive if there's too much rider input to move them on, in that case I'll talk quietly, maybe scratch the wither, and let them think it through - often when they have they'll move on of their own accord and be fairly settled.

Above all you need to stay calm and relaxed othrewise she'll feed off your anxiety. That doesn't mean being a passenger, far from it, but you have to be the rider she knows and trusts.
 
I’d tend to agree, it’s probably a cherry on the cake situation and if she’s generally anxious alone the bangs are just an excuse to tip her over the edge so I’d work on her general self confidence when alone.

You don’t say what she does or how you are reacting so it’s difficult to suggest what to try practically.

If you feel happier getting off to walk the roads then do that, she may take confidence having someone on foot and walking with them (before things start going wrong) can definitely help build their confidence.
 
I dont think she's using it as an excuse as such, but possibly she's already feeling a bit tense and keen to get home and this noise then pushes her over the edge. I think she's not bothered by them in the field as they are further away and not so loud, and also as she's out grazing, with friends who don't react to the noise.

In terms of her reaction, she runs! Tucks her head to avoid the bit, and just goes. If I'm somewhere safe I've had some success circling her but on the road that's not really an option. Previously when it happened I let her trot until we were far enough away and then regained control but on Friday I knew we'd have to go closer to the noise in order to get home and I didn't want her to hammer all the way down the road to get there which is why I got off. She was genuinely scared, her eyes were wide, she was breathing hard etc. I think me getting off surprised her which enabled me to keep hold of her. She did still want to tank off but settled slightly and was marching home with me walking alongside.

The shots probably did make me jump too, they were pretty loud and I wasn't expecting them. The unpredictability is part of the problem. I could do this ride again today, hear nothing and she'd be fine. I mean she's probably never as relaxed alone as she is in company but I think that's only natural for a herd animal.
 
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My young horse is very prone to anxiety, it can be tough! but building their general confidence def helps, even with the unpredictable things, as you can reduce the stacking effect.

Do you have an emergency handbrake trained in, like a 1 rein stop, or cue to stop in a hurry? My guy is very food orientated so I have a stand cue where I tap him on the shoulder, even when he is at boiling point he will stop everything, stand rock still and wait for that to be rewarded - this isn't bribery, I am only rewarding the response to my cue to stand, not trying to lure him into it with food.
 
It sounds like your solo hacking isn't as secure as you thought it was then and you need to work on her confidence and being a rider she can trust so she doesn't feel alone. That way she won't be teetering on the edge so that any change or problem becomes more than she can handle.

Like @Jessey I build in a stand cue that I reward, it's surprisingly useful. On one particularly tricky hacker I would build in "safe spots" on every hack route we did regularly where we would always stop, have a treat, and breathe. If the 💩 hit the fan big time I "only" had to get him to one of those spots for the conditioning to kick in and while he probably wouldn't calm down completely it did give me a chance to deal with things and get through to him.

If you can circle then the good news is she isn't really switched off or bolting, and it sounds like you're saying she stays in trot. This is good! So maybe rethink how you ride her on the roads and maybe reassess her tack too to stack the odds in your favour. How long s the stretch of roadwork you're doing? gut feeling would be when on the road to always have a functional contact and keep her moving forward into it, preferably in a rhythmical trot. No running, no dropping behind the contact, no fiddling from you - you own this trot, not her! The rhythm and security of being ridden positively will give her confidence and with her secure between hand and leg you'll have her if anything does startle her. If that feels very alien to you then best to get a few lessons on her where you can learn how to ride her like that - you aren't bullying her or being unfair, you're simply saying "I've got this so as long as you're with me it's all fine". Currently you're destroying each others confidence and being a danger to anyone else on the road so something needs to change, and unfortunately that's up to you not her.
 
Thanks both for your replies. Teaching a cue for stopping is a great idea, she is very food motivated so this should be fairly easy to teach her.
The stretch of road is about 1.5 miles, so unfortunately not possible to trot all of it! It's a loop of about 3 miles in total half is a bridleway, half road. Sadly we don't have any shorter loops and I try and avoid doing out and back too much as that isn't helpful!
I do generally ride her with a contact out hacking. I had already figured out some while ago that she doesn't really enjoy a loose rein. Coincidentally I do actually have a bit and bridle fitter coming out next week. For the time being I think I will avoid the roads and do use the arena, do a bit of groundwork etc
 
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