Hi everyone! I have a 19 y/o paint/thoroughbred mare who I use for trailriding, dressage, and working equitation. She’s always been higher energy, buddy sour and prone to spooking. When I first got her she used to bolt. Since then, I have taken her really far in training with groundwork, desensitization, and even dabbled in some liberty work. Our issue is that she habitually spooks at least once at our back door in the arena. This door butts up against a nature preserve and occasionally there are deer, coyotes etc…that frequent the area…even if I close the door, she still acts like something is always there. I have always been able to refocus her and get her back to work after the spook, but now it has become a bit of a habit that she has to spook there once and then she’s over it for the day. When I go into the arena with her, I never think about the door, nor do I tense up subconsciously or the fact that she is going to spook and she still does it. It’s out of nowhere too…for example we could be calmly walking around with her relaxed with head down, floppy ears, softly blowing but then we are just about to pass the door and she takes off or spooks in place. I’m just baffled about how to help her…out ground work is solid. She will go over, through, under, around anything I ask no matter the sound, color change, shape etc. anyone have any suggestions?
Try starting at the near end of the arena and make a small enough circle so that she’s not close enough to the door to be worried about it. Ride her on the circle w/t/c until she’s dead calm, and then just very gradually make the circle/oval bigger until she’s going by the door.
If she’s anything like my horse see’ll need to see The Other End (where we store the hay and stuff) many times before she’ll be sure there’s nothing down there that’s going to get her. I have to change direction frequently too, because my horse can be dead calm at The Other End going one way, and then when I turn around it’s a whole new world.
How long (how many passes) it takes before my horse is calm at the other end depends on how long it’s been since we were last in the indoor, whether anything has been moved, the quality of the light, and who knows what else?
He’s been working in this same indoor for 14 years now and is still worried about The Other End, and my prediction is that he’ll still be worried about it for another 14 years. None of my horses like the other end, but the one I like to ride the most is of course, the one who is the most worried about it.
I’d try B1 and Magnesium supplementation. They do help w/ the spooky ones. both are vital for good nerves and
B Complex vitamins as well as the mineral Magnesium affect the nervous system and muscles.
When did you last have her eyesight checked?
And don’t forget that horses’ vision is not like ours and that what they see going in one direction is not what they see going in the other direction.
If a mouse or rat or barn cat ever zipped out of that hay and other stored stuff, @kande04 , then it could happen again. Every. single. time, there could be another spooky critter just ready to come zipping out. And shadows! Hay shadows!
Oh that happens too, although I have gotten somewhat more careful about making sure that the chickens are locked out before I get on. 
One thing to try – always make her “do something” when you go by that back door. Whether it’s asking her to collect, asking for a sidepass, pivot, turn, etc etc etc — just as long as it’s something that she has to think about and listen to you. Basically, NEVER give her the chance to think about the door when she’s by the door. Idea being, that you’ll always keep her “busy” by that door, and so she may “forget” that she needs to spook at it.
Or… that might just be her quirk. She’s got to do her spook and then she’s good. Some are like that.
