@TWH Girl The trainer does ride him and she has worked out a lot of his issues but honestly there is no excuse for me not to be able to properly handle his spooks. As others have posted, it’s fairly mild behavior compared to what other horses do when they spook, I just need to become a better rider.
I believe he’s 13 years old and between me and the trainer, he gets plenty of activity. I’m unsure of his diet but I trust that my trainer knows what she’s doing with respect to his feed.
Watch his ears. In dressage you want the ears listening to you. They can swivel around and come back to you. 2 ears forward. Just think of them as fingers and the horse is giving you the forks.
@centaursam if you live in the LA area, lack of turnout is probably a large part of why your horse is spooky. Does your horse have more than 2 hours of turnout? On grass? Access to trails? A walker?
Also, “I’m unsure of his diet but I trust that my trainer knows what she’s doing with respect to his feed” sums up horsemanship in California perfectly.
I have worked with horses in 3 different places.
The first a trail ride place the owners could not see that the horses were too skinny for the amount of work required. I had to fight for the horses tooth and nail and after I left the RSPCA was called in.
The second place the management could not see that the horses were too fat. Horses spooking because a chair moved on the arena.
Third place the feed is weighed individually for each horse. Perfect weight and temperament for a riding school.
@SuzieQNutter @marginall It’s hard for me to really assess the quality of his diet as I know nothing about it nor am I versed in the nuances of horse diet with respect to their behavior. I guess that’s another area I need to get educated on but my current trainer has been riding for well over 20 years, her parents their whole lives, and the facility the horses are in is well taken care of so given all of that one would assume the horses are being maintained properly unless I’m missing something 
He does get turnout although I’m not sure for how long but it is not on grass, I know that for sure.
You will know when the feed is out of whack. Too much and he will spin and bolt for home while bucking instead of just walking and trotting home when you don’t want. Too little and you will see his ribs and the backbone sticking out in the rump. Like dogs a greyhound will not look the same as a St Benard fatness ways, a thoroughbred will not look the same as a warmblood which is different to a shetland pony or a Clydesdale.
But to put the absolute basics. Oats and corn are heating feeds, they go to their heads and make them silly. This can mean bolting for a forward horse and bucking for a non forward horse. Barley is a feed that fattens without going to the head. It needs to be boiled if you buy it whole. It can be steam flaked but starts losing its nutrients when done and you don’t know long ago it was flattened and nowadays you can buy extruded feeds and feeds from all sorts of things like coconuts and sugar beet pulp and soy which horses would never usually eat in the wild! As well as oil which is another thing they don’t usually get in the wild and does affect eyesight but most people don’t care as horses do not live as long as us. Then there is the supplements that is like you taking vitamins and minerals. You can also get lick block for salt and minerals. Look for a feed without mollasses, which is the same as you eating sugar.
Horses need grass or a substitute is hay. This should not be equal but be more hay than feed for their systems. You feed little and often as they should always have feed going through their system. It is better to let them drink before feed and if you are not working the horse hard and there is enough grass you may not need to feed at all. The feed you give changes with how much grass is available. You can’t just start feeding a horse something. It needs to be changed over slowly so just half a scoop to start with until they have the stuff in their system to break down that particular feed to get the goodness out of it. For this reason it is better to feed every day and not once a week and the more feeds a day are better than one feed.
What do you do when he starts walking and trotting home?
He can no longer turn to trot home because of the concrete walls that you won’t let him touch. Do not let him turn his head for home. If he does get away with it you turn him back. If that means sliding your hand down to the rein near the bit and pulling from there with a kick to make it happen, then so be it. Make it happen. He is no longer allowed to head for home but must face the other way.
It is harder to retrain a horse than it is to train a horse. Every time you interact with him you are training him. So you drawing a line in the sand and saying - you will not face for home - can end in two ways, depending on how amenable he is. He will either say, Okay now Centaursam means it, so I will be good… Or he will say up Yours I am the boss. I am going home no matter what you say and things will escalate. This boils down that you do not start a fight that you cannot win. You only start a fight that you know you will win. If you 2 fight it out and he wins and takes you home, bad. If you turn him around and go the other way, good. If he goes for home that is a point to him. If you manage to turn him around and continue on your way that is a point to you and believe me he is keeping score. Eventually you will have the all the points and he will have none and you will marvel at how good a horse you have and I will see your smile from here.
@SuzieQNutter Thank you for all the info on the feed. I know he’s most certainly not malnourished, I think I can spot an underfed animal. Nor do I believe he is fat as I’ve seen fattened horses.
I’ve been riding him for a few months. The first few times I rode him I was unaware of his spooks so he stopped, turned, and started walking back but he didn’t get far. When I learned this was a recurring behavior, he doesn’t get farther than stopping, no turning allowed. But I’m told that even the stop should not occur so I’ve got work to do. It was only recently that he had a much more prominent spook where he spun around quickly and started trotting which caught me off guard, hence my original post.
I’m riding him today and will implement what I’ve learned throughout this thread. I suppose I could take him back to the area where the last spook happened but I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be pushing things deliberately or to just be more vigilant when they naturally happen.
As far as returning to a spooky spot use your good sense.
Often they will not spook at the same thing twice.
If I have a horse that is getting calmer as I ride I absolutely will circle round and round past the object riding alert but relaxed. That could be round and round a trail loop in both directions or around and around the 'scary" end of the arena or past the door or whatever.
If I feel like my horse is getting more wound up and there is a real thing continuing nearby I will get out of the area or end the ride for the day. That might be equipment working near the arena, a high wind with falling branches, rats in the roof of the arena, or a giant bird dying in the bushes, or just the presence of idiot yahoo riders I consider a safety risk.
If I had a horse that decided they were afraid of one corner of the arena on an ongoing basis I would definitely longe them in that corner every day before I rode.
Anyhow this is where tact and feel and good horse sense are so important. You need to feel if whatever you are doing is having the intended effect or if it’s making the horse more wound up.
For instance with the older mare, her spooking got less extreme when she realized I was not going to really get after her when she spooked or even hit her. We would just stand and let her look and I would sit upright and apply gentle leg pressure until she got up her nerve to continue. The first couple times I rode her on the trail she actually ran backwards when she didn’t spin.
I feel it’s important if the horse is anxious not to add fear of the rider onto fear of the object. Some horses start to spook and then really buck and bolt because they anticipate pain from the rider. I feel it’s ok to let them stand and stare as long as they like, but not to turn around or run backwards.
When my good trail mare oggles a new fallen branch or maintenance equipment on a familiar trail I actually say out loud, yup you’re right that wasn’t there yesterday thanks for pointing it out. But it’s just a branch.
As Scribbler does I talk to the horses. They know my voice. Also it helps with breathing down into your diaphragm.
He knows more about you times 1000 than you know about him. He knew by the time you first sat in the saddle. He can feel your breathing. Shallow breaths mean you are scared. Down into the diaphragm mean you are not. The easiest way to do this is to sing!
Returning to the same spot comes under the heading of if you know you are up to it and going to win. If the answer is yes then yes. If you think the same thing is going to happen and he is going to win and you are going to end up scared then no don’t go that way. If it is on the way to going where you want you don’t have a choice.
if there is something scary for my boy. I just stand him. Tell him it is okay. Walk around it and wait until he goes up and touches it with his muzzle. He know this so it doesn’t take long
.
Horses investigate things with their muzzle which is why they usually get bitten by a snake on the muzzle rather than a leg. I do not trim the muzzle, which is now illegal in some countries. I also do not trim the hair inside their ears.
Everything comes into play with horses. They act differently for each rider. This depends on your stance, your ambience and your breathing.
A school horse in a school is not the same as your own horse. You can teach a horse to do anything. At the moment you want him to stay straight and forward on the trail.
My horse can have a rather big, teleportation-style spook that still puts me on the ground occasionally. What works for me on trail rides is making sure he is 1000% in front of my leg. I always have a crop riding outside the ring (90% of the time spurs as well) and the SECOND I feel him drop behind my leg he gets smacked. It seems like a bit of an extreme reaction to other people but I can’t let things escalate with this horse at all – he will completely tune me out and it has ended up in some hairy situations. It has gotten much better as he’s gotten older and more confident.
I put him to work if he starts these shenanigans. Sometimes that’s lateral work, sometimes it’s a big forward trot, sometimes transitions. It depends on what type of space there is. Honestly the best thing I did to build his confidence outside of the ring was working cattle. He thrives on having a job and that was maybe his favorite career so far.
I also have to be very careful not to ride in anticipation of a spook but at the same time be aware of anything that might be problematic. And not tense up at all. This is hard when your horse spooks at a bale of hay on the side of the road but tries to say hi to someone while they’re in their garage using a circular saw…I still don’t know quite how to mentally prepare for those days lol.
ETA posted at the same time as @SuzieQNutter . I’ve been known to sing on trails when I’m nervous. It helps a lot!
Hmmm, you’ve all given me much to think about.
Odds are he’ll give a mild spook at something on our way to the arena which I can use to comfortably and confidently practice. The last spook he had which was the worst I’ve experienced with him happened on a new route I took to the arena. While he may not spook during that route again, perhaps it’s best I avoid it until I know I can correctly counter his more mild spooks. I’ll try my best not to anticipate the spooks, I’m sure that isn’t helping the situation. I do occasionally talk whilst I’m riding, I’ll give that a try.
If you are struggling not to get tense in anticipation of a spook, I find it helpful to think instead about making my position is as stable, balanced, and supple as possible so I feel prepared for a spook. Also can review/ visualize your ideal “perfect” reaction that you want to have if he does spin.
Today was much better. He had one very sudden spin and this time it was actually in the arena but he had a legitimate thing to spook about: there was an outdoor party in the building adjacent to the arena complete with a crowd, balloons (some of which popped), and loud music. The spook ended at the spin (I know, even the spin should not have happened) but I was definitely more on him throughout the ride and a firm shoulder-in for the rest of the ride when we neared the building kept him from any further spooks even though I could feel he thought about it.
He does always spin to the left which makes it easier on me to telegraph, I now just have to work on my reaction time. It’s usually stop then spin which is easier to see coming and easier to prevent the spin but his sudden spin happens really quickly.
@TBKite that actually helped today as I was definitely anticipating a spook when I saw the party happening even though we were in the arena, but focusing on the shoulder-in and the placement/positioning of my legs/hands kept my mind more occupied on how to handle the spook rather than get tense in anticipation.
Great it sounds like you are more a rider than just a passenger. Well done.
Agreed! Good to hear!
Really ?!?!?! All my life I’ve been able to catch things I drop, sometimes things other people drop, before the thing comes near the floor. And things knocked off a table, anything near me that falls. People have always remarked on it, but I always wondered why they couldn’t, since I’m not an extraordinary athlete or anything like that.
So it was the horses all along … :lol: :winkgrin:
Glad it helped, always worked for me!
The thing that really makes us question whether or not horses can conceptualize “drama” and enjoy it, is what so many have called “the planned spook”. While riding, you can feel and see the horse looking ahead at The Thing that will be the cause of the spook, which they are anticipating as the approach it. Horse: "I’m gonna spook right up there when we pass the fence post. Here it comes, here I go … " This seems to mostly be more educated horses who seem to know better.
There is another way of de-spooking that doesn’t involve punishing the horse with a bat. It takes some time but it does help develop a more relaxed horse, that is gradually less likely to find spooky things. At a small distance from the spooky object, work in circles, figure 8’s, at a walk, trot, canter or all three, but mostly just work for several minutes. Then go to the spooky thing and let him rest, praise and pet him, let that be a wonderful and peaceful place. Park there until his head lowers naturally and his breathing becomes more normal. The spooky thing is the rest spot. It’s a great spot to be. It takes some repetition and you do have to be able to ride a reluctant horse up to the spooky spot, but it works. The more spooky objects are de-spooked, the less interested the horse becomes in discovering spooky objects.
One that I’m currently riding is pretty spooky. She gets spooked more by things at home not being where they were previously. Ex trash can was in x location and now it’s in y location and her mind is blown. At shows she almost never spooks at anything because she doesn’t really have an expectation. Lots of very skeptical looks but nothing that requires me to do much. So it’s not really trash cans she’s afraid of it’s just when things change it makes her nervous. Now if I were to sit there and let her snort and fixate on the trash can for awhile and not do anything about it she would probably spin around and bolt the other way but usually if I put her on the bit and keep moving she forgets about it. Horses have different reasons for spooking, you know some horses really feel better if they can just have a closer look at the trash can, but I feel like 9/10 times if you keep your horse going forward with contact (doesn’t necessarily have to be on the bit) and you also don’t fixate on the spooky object they’ll let it go. But try not to worry about it too much lol don’t be a spooky rider.
That’s my current horse! :winkgrin:
Lordamighty all the dressage letters were collected and stacked, multiple stacks, in multiple locations.
Thus signaling the beginning of the zombie apocalypse, everyone run for your lives !!! or so my horse alerted the planet to the limit of his ability.
:eek: :eek: :eek:
I was insisting mightily that he had to stay on track with his rider (my attempt at my “mind your own business and let the zombie apocalypse carry on without you” program). I swear he was counting the dressage letters in each stack, while I tried to keep him from looking that way at all. Riding horses is so much fun … so much fun … so much fun … :o
But at this point in his training I have to say the spooking has become much more rare, and he seems embarrassed afterward. He’s trying not to spook, I’m trying not to overreact. Now he just sucks back a little. We’re working on that, too. Bless him, he does try, and he’s getting there by steps. 
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