Spooks vs trying it on!

[squidsin]

Roxy seems to have got spookier over the last few months. The YO who brings her in on week nights says she always spooks and spins at the tractor we have to walk past - weirdly though, she never does this when I bring her in or out. She will sometimes 'spook' in an attempt to get me to let her eat grass! She was a nightmare during our first dressage test when she had a massive spinning/running backwards fit at the flags flying over the warm-up arena, and on Thurs she bronked in the school rodeo-style (although that was because the YO saw fit to turn out a horse that had been on box rest for a month in the field next to the school while I was riding in it, which already contains colts, and they all promptly went nuts). Luckily I didn't come off but one more buck and I'd probably have gone flying. She had a full work up in Feb and had her hocks injected. I don't think she's in any pain. She does seem to be in season every 2 weeks, and she gets pretty hormonal. Is it normal for mareish mares to be spooky?! I'm moving to a different yard in a couple of weeks and hope removing her from the colts/stallions will help with the hormonal thing, plus there is offroad hacking there and I hope hacking her out more without having to deal with a busy main road will also help de-spook her. Does anyone have any other thoughts/suggestions? She's just really sharp at the moment! I'd like her not to be!

One more thought - will riding her more help? For various reasons - sick kids/ridiculous amounts of work - I've not had much riding time so have only been schooling 3 times a week on average. I should have more time to ride over the summer - will this improve the spooky factor?

 

[Kite_Rider]

Can't help sorry but I imagine the colts are not helping. I have the opposite problem just now, Belle is so laid back when the weather warms up it's like having two different horses, a summer Belle and a winter Belle.
Hope you get to the bottom of it soon

 

[Skib]

When my share became very spooky after time off, her owner altered her feed, cut it I think. I had thought it was my riding and asked about it here on NR. But it turned out to be diet. If you have been riding less than usual that figures.

 

[squidsin]

She only has a handful of chaff and her balancer - I've even cut the balancer in case it was that. It wasn't though. I think it's probably spring grass and hormones!

 

[MrA]

Ale is quite spooky at the moment too, schooling I just get him listening and he is fine. Hacking I give him some rescue remedy before we go and that seems to do the trick!

I'd say more work and more variety in her work if possible may help, and rescue rememdy may be worth a try

 

[horseandgoatmom]

Andi is not spooky but she is an opportunist if she wants to be a brat!.
A bomb could go off next to her one minute but if she wants to be bratty the next a leaf will do.
To me thats way harder than a truly spooky horse.
She is also very hormonal !

 

[Jessey]

Jess really isnt a spooky horse and work levels dont normally effect her, I can leave her for 3 or 4 weeks and shes her normal self when I get back on but this spring she is being a twit. Its not all real spooks either, I had the heart rate monitor on her and a couple her heart rate shot up but the rest her heart rate stayed even and she was just going through the motions I'm thinking its the grass as nothing else has changed, its like rocket fuel this year im sure.
Jess' hormones dont seem to play into it, she is in season constantly tho.

 

[Trewsers]

I went through a very frustrating stage with madam a long time ago. She got spookier and spookier. We moved yards - more spooking! Looking back, for me it was the fact that although we had known each other over a year - almost two, we had nowhere reached the "pipe and slippers stage" and were really still getting to know each other. Not saying this is the case with you and Roxy, but sometimes I think we are not quite so in tune and used to each other - and dare I whisper confident as we think. And I'm not suggesting for one moment you are not confident with her, but, I just think mares can take a looooooong time to get in the zone with. Age has chilled the madam a little, but she still has her moments - but I deal with them better and also they evaporate as quickly as they appeared nowadays. A drama is only short lived. Could be hormones? Maybe my girl is getting older and they don't wreak havoc quite so much?

 

[squidsin]

Jessey, I'd say this sounds like Roxy too, and it could be the grass, the spookiness has definitely been more noticeable since it started coming through. She's tested me just about every time I've got on her! The plus side is that my seat seems to be pretty stable! But it does put me off wanting to take her to competitions, and I do really want to do competitions on her! Oh well I am trying the Global Herbs Supercalm - maybe that'll work!

Trews - I don't even pretend to be particularly confident! I think me and Roxy do OK but if I was more confident, I wouldn't have the worries I do about hacking and competition environments. That said, she is the same with other people who've ridden her, including my instructor, so it's definitely not just a case of her testing me.

 

[Jessey]

Are roxy's spooks over as quick as they start? Jess will panic and spin and maybe tank a couple of strides at her worst, but normally as soon as I turn her back around she will walk straight up to said scary object and put her nose on it if asked, and normally I only get the spin if I try and rush her before shes had time to think about what ever it is. I started feeding EA magnitude to help jess' feet and it does seem to help her silly brain normally but at the mo shes spooking alomst every ride, mostly as long as I dont react she just has eyes on stalks and bananas past though.

 

[squidsin]

Yes, with her she spooks but isn't a tense wreck afterwards, she returns to normal very quickly. She may have quite a strong reaction but it's over quickly. When she bronked, we rode through it and she was fine afterwards. Likewise with the flags in the arena, as soon as I took her out of the arena, she calmed down and was fine to ride. We did two dressage tests and she didn't so much as spook once! I always carry on and ride her through it, but like I say, it does put me off doing anything outside the yard. So far, I've never come off her, whatever she's thrown at me, but my big worry is coming off and something happening to her or someone else as a result.