You can’t train a horse out of spooking completely. I was hiking one day and a deer jumped out about 20ft in front of me and I “spooked”. That is probably what a horse does too-in their own horsey way. You just learn to be in tune with your horse. You can feel the panic and the fear in the horse coming right through you. Acknowledge it and just move on. Nowadays if my mare is looking at something real hard I just laugh and tell her to move on and give a cue . Usually by myself I catch the spook before she does it-but if I am not paying attention and she does a spook-just go with it and relax. No horse in the wild is going to spin and bolt a hundred miles. If you learn to be calm and relaxed and ease on the pressure on the horse when they are panicking-they learn it is ok and stop pretty soon. They can feel your calmness and your lack of fear. Just push them a little at a time-half the time it is you panicking too-if you know your limit-the limit at which you panic and loose your rational self and the horse’s limit-it is much easier to plan. Your limit could be just a canter -start cantering and you freeze out and just ball up. You have to figure out where you are in your riding and where your horse is and then try and push a little at a time-out on trail there will always be the unexpected so just take it slow.
There is nothing worse and more dangerous than a horse and a human that have lost it completely and nobody in charge-this I can say from experience!:winkgrin::lol:
If you are fortunate enough to be able to ride with a dog it helps alot in training spooks. Before long the horse gets use to the dog suddenly jumping out of the bush and learns to relax with every starting russel of the bush.
I completely agree about the dogs. I take my 2 with me as much as I can. After a few rides of them darting in and out of the brush, the horse doesn’t react much to stuff jumping out of the brush.
What’s cool also is that my Weimaraner will hang behind, sniffing something, and then TAKE OFF to catch up with us. She’ll run right up behind the horse’s heels, skid on the brakes and throw sand and leaves up everywhere. I grab mane everytime I hear her coming, but my horse doesn’t really react anymore. Ocassionally she’ll scoot forward a step or two but it’s not bad.
I like that because I’ve been on organized rides and had people come galloping up from behind and the horse is like - yeah whatever.
Yesterday my friend and I took out our two “babies” (my arab - her 4 yr old) for a 2 hour trail. Up until now we have been very careful to only take one baby plus one old granny, but Sweets has been doing SO great that we gave it a shot. They were perfect together! I had maybe 3 body flinches during the ride but other than that, no spooks, loose rein, big flat footed walk from both horses. Whenever her gelding spooked at logs of culverts, Sweets just stood like a rock. It was just heavenly! 
You CAN get there but boy, it takes some time and work sometimes.
I can guarantee that any time you are on a really relaxing trail ride, and almost home, and someone in the group says “wow, can you believe we just did three miles and they haven’t spooked at anything, not even that scary xyz we walked by” all the horses will spook within the next 30 seconds!!
Being old and fragile, I tend to keep one hand lightly on the grab strap when we are walking on a loose rein, just in case some random spook happens. I rarely lose my seat anyway, but it is a nice extra security.
I completely agree about the dogs. I take my 2 with me as much as I can. After a few rides of them darting in and out of the brush, the horse doesn’t react much to stuff jumping out of the brush.
I used to take my Rottweiler with me on trail rides. Our trails were bordered by thick bamboo. He’d run in and out of the bamboo making a horrific amount of noise. My sweet horse spooked initially but eventually got used to my dog. Having a dog accompany you is a very good sack out experience for your horse. My horse and dog even became good friends. After she hurled him out of the ring once during a turn-out, (I thought the silly dog was dead as he layed there for a minute.) he was very respectful of her. I think she looked forward to watching what he’d do out on trail. We once followed him at a gallop while he chased a coyote up the hill. Super fun times. Both of them are gone now and I miss them all the time.
::All verklempt now:: 
Awww FF, I am sorry to hear about your dog, and horse. That is sad. But at least you have all those wonderful memories. 
My horses always want to keep pace with the dogs. The Weim I take with me mostly because she’s fast. The poor old Beagle is a dud. But anyway, if Sophia takes off running, the horse wants to trot or canter to keep up. If she darts into the brush, the horse tries to turn into the same spot the dog went. :lol: If Sophia is out of sight for more than a second, the horse gets nervous - where did my dog go?! Animals are so goofy.
If Sophia is out of sight for more than a second, the horse gets nervous - where did my dog go?! Animals are so goofy.
My horse was like that too. She’d get so concerned if her dog got out of sight or got too far ahead. Funny.
We’re getting a GSD puppy. Hopefully it will be a super trail dog too. I think I like riding out with my dog more than most anything else.
My QH spooks as well. My trainer will sometimes have me ride with my outside hand (If we are in the arena) with my knuckles on his withers. Then if he spooks to the inside it acts like a break.
Of course, when we were riding outside the deer popping out of the cornfield were fine.
Now when I am nervous I put my hand on his withers and take a hold of my grab strap. (English saddle.) Works wonders for me and him.
Work your horse in the arena for a while and get her tired. Then go out and make investigations of your own surroundings. Call them mini-trail rides.
You are always in much better control when you are on the horses back in the command position. Slowly but surely you will get there! Start your trail riding the same way, and be patient.
Happy Trails!
Thanks again
Thanks again everyone for your great advice and experiences. I recognize that a lot of the problem is ME. I am the spooky one!!! I’m working really hard on calming myself down in situations and trying not to anticipate problems that don’t even exist. I have to continue to earn my mare’s trust in me, so that she’s feels I can take care of her in scary situations. My trainer has been a great help in all of this, helping me develop a stronger seat and methods to get my girl’s attention back on me instead of outside stimuli that could be scary. And, like many of you said, no horse is spook-proof–it’s how she and I handle the spooks that counts. My girl is young (it’s easy to forget that because she has such a good brain) and I’m a rather timid middle-aged rider–maybe not the best combination, but we’re working it out one baby step at a time!!! Thanks again everyone.
P.S. I’m putting my grab strap back on my saddle!!
Yep, the bombproofing clinics teach the rider as well as the horse.
Even though I’m not a Parelli fan, one concept of theirs I like is the “herd of two”. I want my horse to see me as his herd leader who keeps him company, protects, and directs. One good way to do this is to intetionally add stress where you and your horse have to work together. In my opinion, this is the real benefit of a bombproofing clinic.
As an aside, my OTTB and I accidentally came across such a clinic when they were shooting guns. We were out out sight in the woods when we heard the gunshots and close enough for it to be LOUD. My horse had been a on pistol up until then (he bucks when he sees other horses). He got real still after the gunshots and did everything I asked without question. It was funny–made me think I should carry a gun to get his attention! Once he got over the fear he went back to testing me again. But when the chips were down, he trusted me to get us out of the situation.
I was reading this thread because I have a suddenly spooky horse. I was reading the comment about “does anyone know someone who can teach a horse never to spook”
Then I remembered when I kept my Arab at a barn in the Colorado Mts. One women owned and ran the operation almost entirely by herself. She had probably 30 Arab mares and a few stallions. She made her living breeding and used the mares for trail rides in the Mts.
I know its hard to believe but I rode there for two years and NEVER did any of her mares
spook not even when quail flew out from under their feet or a bear showed up on the trail. I was new to trail riding so it was only later that I realized what a great trainer she had to have been to have all those dead ,broke,completely safe , horses. I frequently rode her horses and they all behaved perfectly.
Some of the mares were only 4 or 5 years old but none of them ever spooked, kicked, bit another horse or did anything but behave perfectly. They lived outside most of the year and worked regularly. I wish I had paid more attention to see how she did it. She handled those 35 horses all by herself " I can’t afford to have a acting up horse" . Now these were old time Arabs, short,powerful, beautiful and well bred but never pampered.
I wish I knew her methods.
I agree. Phinneas, I have a similar situation. My horse will follow my friend’s mare with really no worries. Head down, relaxed - we can ride for hours. When I try to ride alone, I know the problem is ME. He is different and so am I. My trainer and I trained on this yesterday - I explained to her that I feel tense outside of the ring and I want to tackle it now before it gets bigger. We took our lesson out of the ring and into the field where I often start to tense and where he starts to also…before we even get to the trails. It used to be our major area of “barn sour” tantrums.
She pointed out that I was the one who changed in the field. I felt tense, worried about every little thing (the road! the grass! oh, he sees this over there…) and I lost control of controlling his FEET. He took full advantage. Stepping off or walking off when I didn’t ask. Turning back toward the barn. All little things - simple changes of directions etc. but somewhere on the way I get worried about “stuff” and I stop being the leader. The lesson was great and I highly recommend taking your lessons to the field or trails. We did alot of backing up until he softened, relaxed and we made him STAND until I told him to move. He was still much “lookier” than he is when his nose is on my friend’s mare’s butt (LOL!) but my trainer pointed out he was not spooky, scared or anxious. He was just alert like a horse should be. The key was for me to hustle his feet and keep him busy. We use alot of Clinton A. methods and btw, his trail training DVD is excellent.
Of course the best training I think is experience, LOTS of rides, wet saddle blankets. But I completely agree on the herd of TWO. We’re working hard on that and I know before long, we’ll be out meandering just the two of us, nice and relaxed. Good luck w/your training.
tpup, that’s ironic because I ride better out on the trail than in an arena. I used to enjoy arena work, but now I’m allergic. The horses seem to know I’m not happy in an arena and act accordingly. :lol:
As far as I’m concerned, all horses have it within them to spook, and to assert otherwise is sheer madness. You CAN and SHOULD desensitise a nervous horse, but you need to do it with tact and sensitivity, because what you’re trying to do is make your horse CONFIDENT, not make him ‘switched off’ through exposure to scary things - that’s downright cruel.
Generally, you can ride through a spook if you keep your horse in front of your leg at all times. That’s probably the gist of why many horses do more violent spooks on trail - riders are relaxed and not paying attention to what is happening underneath them. If you keep the horse in front of the leg, they’re unlikely to spook out from underneath you.
I always encourage my horses to look at whatever it is that spooks them. My TB will often “stomp” on something which alarms him - I guess he’s teaching it a lesson. It’s got to the point where, if he is startled (he also does the “spook in place”, he will, of his own accord, march up to the scary object and give it a good stomp. My WB is starting to do the same thing.
Dublin does too. After walking her over a tarp and having her wear it and be pulled over her head, I hang it over her stall guard and she pulls it in the stall and gives it a true tromping.
Whistle
Don’t laugh–but if it is an “annoying spooky day” on my 5 year old, I start to whistle. I read from one of the trainers that it prevents you from being tense in the muscles.
Its either that, or my horse thinks “Peter and the Wolf” is a lullaby.
Good luck!
Went out on a hack yesterday - it was windy and the horses hadn’t done any work in four days, so they were full of beans.
We had an interesting result on the last 1/4 mile, where we have to pass through a very distracting dairy farm. Usually they find something to shy at there, with all the machinery and flapping plastic and cows and turkeys running around.
So we picked up a brisk trot, and we rode side by side, my husband and I, calling out inspiring silly slogans, like “side by side we are invincible! nothing can scare us now! onward steeds!” Just being goofy, but it made us laugh, and it kept the horses focused and forward, and they trotted right on through all the way past the farm without a single spook or shy, although you could see their ears and eyes looking side to side a bit!
So the whistling, singing, joking, etc. is always useful, I think.
I do sing sometimes when I ride, and find it helps me to breath better. I’m not very good at whistling, unfortunately!!! But anything that helps the breathing and calms me down has to be good for my girl. We have come a long way, and all of you have given me some wonderful tips to help in our continued journey to become a happy team and herd of two! I can’t wait to get out in the field and trails!
LOL I need to print this out and paste it to a 3x5 card to keep in my pocket. What you said is very, very true, but hard to remember when you habitually look for signs of nervousness. I’m guilty!
