# HELP! Calming An Excitable Horse



## gigem88 (May 10, 2011)

Tiring him out will just make him more fit! You need to keep his mind busy and feet moving. Sidepass, circles, etc. make him work the whole time, it's not about tiring them out as to make think start thinking about what you're gonna ask them to do next.


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## jamesqf (Oct 5, 2009)

You could try working him on a lunge line before you go. That's what we do with my horse, who likewise wasn't trail-ridden nearly as much as the seller implied. We don't work her enough to tire her out, by any means, just enough to take a bit of the edge off, and remind her that the human's in charge.

Typically she gets about 10-15 minutes of work at home, then we trailer out, tack up, and then do another few minutes before mounting.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

Does your horse have good brakes? If so, don't worry. Worst case, just stop him and wait.

If he doesn't have good brakes, you'll need to install some. This is a video that helped me when I needed to teach my mare that stop means stop:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7r82sjmFIA

When I did it, I also transitioned my horse to a western curb bit like the one below:










Some people don't like them, but my mare transitioned easily. There is a good video on transitioning a horse here. It is by a fellow forum member and it is the best video I've seen on curb bits:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTyM22UU6CY&list=UUU7PYYaPkTOE2D5kF7OxdRA

But snaffle or curb, in the end it is training the horse to stop. A hundred good stops at a walk before trying a stop at a trot. A hundred or more good ones at a trot before trying one at a canter. My mare has an excellent memory, but that makes her slow to unlearn a bad habit. In her case, we have over the last 1.5 years done uncounted thousands of practice stops - but she'll now stop without thinking if asked, and that is what having "Good Brakes" means! It is a habit pattern so strong that it will kick in even if the horse is scared!

Having good brakes won't stop a horse from feeling jumpy or a bit spooky...but it will prevent any dangerous, mindless bolting that can kill you both. If you can stop your horse and they are a bit jumpy but staying in one place...then they will eventually figure out that standing still is often the best way to make the scary thing go away. Once they realize that YOU know if something is worth being scared about, they will check with you before panicking.

Apart from that, a saddle that helps you ride out a spook, a helmet, maybe a grab strap or "nightlatch"...it is not wrong to use tack that helps you stay healthy! I found an Aussie-style saddle with a horn mighty easy to stay in, and that helped my confidence.










Good luck! It has taken a lot of time, but my mare is finally calming down and relaxing on a trail. We spent an AWFUL lot of time working on good stops, but it has been well worth it.

Oh...and at this point, if my horse wants to prance along a trail, I just let her. She'll relax eventually, and trying to hold her back just makes it worse. If she gets too excited, we stop and back up. Otherwise, we prance - but I choose the gait we prance around at. If anyone looks at me odd, I just tell them we're practicing western dressage.  Either that, or I tell them she has to do this sometimes to keep her registry with the Arabian Horse Association!


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

A horse can be excitable, peppy and spooky and still be extensively trail ridden. I've owned my Fox Trotter mare going on 5 years and done nothing but trail ride her several times a week and she is still peppy and excitable (only mildly spooky).

Her 4 yr old son has been nothing but trail ridden consistently for over a year (several times a week for 2-4 hours at a time) and he is still excitable and spooky (luckily not overly peppy). I guess what I'm saying is, that doesn't mean the horse didn't get any trail miles. Some of them are just like that. Hopefully they get better the more you ride them.


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

My mare has been ridden hundreds of miles on trails. Sometimes she is good; sometimes she is psycho. Some of it may just be the horse's temperament.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Plan out a day and get that horse out for an all day trail ride and make him work. If his head comes up, immediately turn him in a tight circle then again the other way then allow him to straighten and keep going. Don't look at what he looks at but look away and begin your circles. The reason for this is if you look it's confirming in his mind that there's something to be concerned about. People don't ride horses long enough or make them work enough. If he comes home dog tired with a wet saddle pad he won't be spooking at anything.


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

http://www.horseforum.com/horse-training/how-we-train-fearless-trail-horse-99776/

Cherie's excellent thread (it's a sticky under training)


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

Do you have access to rough terrain? Are there trails available that do not hang off of cliffs? If you can answer "Yes!" to these questions, simply just go off trail and let this horse take his big motor out through the brush and the boon-docks. 

Teach him a very good 'one rein stop' so that you can take his head away from him any time you need to. A good one rein stop (without disengaging his hind quarters) is like installing and 'off switch' to use any time it is necessary to completely stop and start all over.

Get him very 'broke'. This means being able to use 'leg yielding' exercises any time you need them. This means having absolutely perfect 'forward impulsion' every single time you need it and ask for it. You cannot have a safe trail horse that 'stalls out' or worse -- like backs up or spins around -- when he perceives something as spooky or dangerous. 

When I lived in the mountains of Colorado, I did not take these horses on the wilderness trails above Ouray or Telluride where a 1000' cliff alongside of the trail was one of the smaller ones. I headed for the cedars and sagebrush country and let the dummy stumble through the sage until he was picking his way carefully through the rocks and brush.

If I have one now, I go to the Arbuckle Mountains (5 miles south of the ranch) and let them pick their way up and down canyons steep enough that their feet and the rocks keep sliding down when they stop moving. The rocks are rough enough that we wear through SX8 shoes (these are the thick, heavy ones). 

I have not seen one that acts 'hot and silly' when he has learned that he MUST pay attention to where he is going. Personally, I have always preferred riding a horse with a big motor. I just want that horse trained enough (or broke enough) to be very sensible and controllable. You do not need a lazy horse are a 'laid back' horse to have a good trail horse. He just needs to be broke, broke, broke..


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## Left Hand Percherons (Feb 1, 2011)

And ride with another confident horse and rider.


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## Dustbunny (Oct 22, 2012)

bsms said:


> ..Oh...and at this point, if my horse wants to prance along a trail, I just let her. She'll relax eventually, and trying to hold her back just makes it worse. If she gets too excited, we stop and back up. Otherwise, we prance - but I choose the gait we prance around at. If anyone looks at me odd, I just tell them we're practicing western dressage.  Either that, or I tell them she has to do this sometimes to keep her registry with the Arabian Horse Association!


 Boy, can I relate to this!!!! My "sports model" is now retired but I wish I had used the western dressage come-back when we were out riding.
Thanks bsms for the chuckle!

Welcome to the forum, OP, and don't give up on your guy!


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