Does your horse tense up when he sees something scary on the trail? Or does he jump and run when faced with a scary object in the arena? If your horse does either of these behaviors often he may need some training to get him through these frightening experiences, and help him to become calmer and think about a situation before reacting.
The Symptoms
There are two main types of horses introverted and extroverted horses. Introverted horses are naturally more quiet, laid back, confident, don’t like to move their feet a lot. They do well in disciplines such as western pleasure, halter classes, hunters and reining. These kinds of horses often do well with young or novice riders as they tend to think before they react to stimulus.
Extroverted horses on the other hand have more energy, can be nervous, and like to move their feet. These kind of horses do well in endurance, eventing, gymkhana events, saddle seat, and jumping. Extroverted horses normally don’t do well with beginners unless the rider is very confident. Horses like this want to run first and ask questions later. These horses are high strung and more reactive, easily getting worried by movement and noise. Both kinds of horses will spook, although extroverted horses will react more often and usually more violently than introverts. Through these riding techniques and consistent desensitizing you can balance you horse to become a better partner.
How to Ride Through A Spook
Before you begin re-schooling, make sure that you are not making the problem worse either by being distracted while riding or unsure of yourself. Riders can easily be distracted on the trail when gazing at the scenery or chatting with riding buddies. Both are ok in moderation, but your horse should be your main priority when riding. Riders also become worried after they experience a spook on horseback and stay frighted for many rides afterward. If this sounds familiar it is probably a good idea to take some lessons on a quiet safe horse to boost your confidence, or ask a friend or trainer to ride your horse for a while. There are a few ways to teach the horse to become more confident while being ridden, this is only one of the lessons that you can use when your horse spooks.
- When your horse spooks at something such as an odd shaped rock or mailbox immediately get his feet moving. The trot works great for this lesson as the pace makes your horse hustle without moving too quickly. Make a big circle or half circle if you cannot make a full one around the object, as close as your horse will get. Do one lap then change directions by turning toward the object. To cue your horse, sit down in your saddle and use your inside rein and outside leg to turn your horse in the opposite direction.
- Continue circling and changing directions in this way until your horse gradually gets closer to the object. Once you notice that your horse is relaxing, allow him to walk as he circles. The more he moves the more relaxed he will become until you can walk your horse all the way up to the object and let him rest by it.
- Trotting the horse will make spooking hard work and he will eventually catch on that he rather calmly walk by the scary object instead. If at any point he becomes frightened again just ride him back out on a circle until he calms down again.
Helpful Tips
Horses react to danger by flight or fight. Horses will want to run away from whatever is scaring them, and then stop and see what is was. By doing this exercise you allow your horse to move as nature tells him to do, but you condition him to use more of the thinking part of his brain and less of the reactive part.
When teaching the horse this lesson, make sure that you make his feet hustle. You want your horse to think that spooking equals working. Horses are lazy by nature and rather take a nap then hustle their feet, so if done correctly your horse will understand quickly. It is also important that you reward the behavior that you want. When your horse is relaxed he gets to rest and get a rub by the object. The resting and petting are his reward for becoming calm.
If you pet your horse when he is nervous and spooking you are rewarding an unwanted behavior. You are also rewarding it when you remove your horse from the situation, or even worse bring him back to the barn. You are telling him that when he spooks he gets to go home and rest. The most important thing to remember when working with your horse is to stay calm and focused. Horses can feel the energy that you are putting out.