# When, on our trail rides, should we introduce scary objects?



## Sponge (Oct 13, 2021)

You'll get different answers about what to do.

I think it just depends? No horse is going to be 100% spook-less.
Different way, different side, different horse. Even if you pass [x] object going [y] direction on [z] side, the horse still may spook at from a different approach. Pass a rock on the horse's left side going out on a trail and the horse is fine. Pass a rock on the horse's right side going back to the barn and the horse spooks. Not all that uncommon, I think.

You can pass the same exact object 1,000 times and have the horse spook on the 1,001 time. Maybe it's a trick of the light or something that made them forget that it was something they've safely passed before? Maybe they were half-asleep and they caught it out of the corner of their eye? Don't know.

Desensitizing is like trailer loading. What people think is the problem isn't actually the problem.
People focus a lot on getting the horse in the trailer. Sure, you can acclimate the horse to smaller, darker spaces. In the end, though, it's about the horse going where you ask it to. It's not unheard of the horse loading fine in your trailer but flat out refuses in your [BO's, friend's, whoever's] trailer. I've trailer-loaded my horse about four times (due to moving) in nines years (I don't have a trailer.) The first time was when I just got her (so that doesn't really count). I worked her a lot on the ground. Sending her basically every preposition (up, down, over, through) every obstacle I could find. She trailered up fine despite not having really worked on trailer loading.
You can't recreate every little scenario of what a horse might spook at, so I think desensitizing is a little over-rated. I show my horse something once or twice just so she knows what it looks like, but then after that, it's "because I said so." She can look around as much as she wants, but I'm not going to go up to every little potentially "scary" object to show her it's "okay" (that's going to take forever). I'm not an advocate for blind, robotic-like obedience, but if I say that it is safe, she should trust me. She can be scared and I won't get mad and we can work through it, but she can't "nope-out" on me. No kind or amount of training will take away that flight instinct, but I can help lessen the effects - from bolting to spooking to startling.
I think it depends on the horse, too. Their personality and training, I mean. My horse is confident and I have trained her solely to be a trail horse. She's good at it. I ride "on the buckle" and she is basically on her own. I tell her the speed and the general trail/direction, but I don't really "talk" to her all that much. She is responsible for watching out for herself, where she puts her feet, and what is and is not scary. I don't go somewhere expecting her to be scared of something. If something is scary to her, she'll tell me and we'll work through it. I have found that things that I thought she would be scared of - she wasn't (i.e. heavy machinery). And things I thought she wound't be scared of - she was (i.e. the neighbor's potbelly pig or a turtle). I have also found out that the more I thought/anticipated she was going to spook, the more nervous she was and likely to spook. Like, "Why are you neverous? Should I be nervous? Is something going to happen? Is something wrong?"
Horses that are more insecure or horses that are more dependant on the rider (usually through training), sometimes will spook more if their rider is, well, more of a rider. Think of how many well-trained dresage horses get nervous when ridden out on the trail on a loose rein. Well, maybe partly it's because they don't get trail ridden very often. But I also see it as a horse that "needs" or "likes" to be told what to do or isnt used to thinking for itself. My horse, in the beginning stages of dressage, thinks I'm micromanaging her. I'm not really, but she isn't used to being told exactly what to do, where to put her feet, etc. Not bad horses, just trained differently. But, regardless of what the bulk of their taining is, I want a nervous horse to look at me or ask me what to do.
There are two types of spooking - the scared spook and the 0-100 spook. Scared spooking maybe avoidable by listening to the horse's "I'm scared" cue. Some horses whisper with a high head, blowing or getting real looky. Some horses yell it by balking, bucking, or rearing. What calms a horse varies from horse to horse. Some horses like a kind word. Some horse like some direction about what to do. Some horses need to be led first. (Another can of worms, but I find no shame in leading a horse if you must).
A 0-100 spook is kind of harder to avoid. You're just crusing along, living your best life, and all of a sudden you teleported. Not much can be done, really. Go back and work through it to see if it was because of something out of the ordinary (i.e. a dog randomly popped out of the bush and started barking at your horse who isn't afraid of dogs or barking), if it was bad visual rendering (bad lighting, weird lighting, horse not paying attention, etc.), or if they were really scared of object. If it was the first two, then I guess cut the horse some slack. If your friend jumped out to scare you, you don't need desensitizing to your friend. If a fur clump in the middle of the night looked like a giant spider, you dont need desensitizing to fur. If it was the last one - if they were really scared of that object, work through it.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

No idea how to do that since I've never been able to predict what scares a horse. Rode today with winds at 20G30. Bandit was...elevated. At the halfway mark, we came upon a woman jogging down a street with a baby stroller. We were in the desert 50 feet to one side of her. Bandit didn't lose his mind but we did a little dancing. And no, the woman had no idea we were there. 50 feet away, a horse dancing in figure 8s, me on top...and she had no idea. I tried shouting hello thinking her reply would let Bandit know she was human, but I guess the wind prevented her from hearing.

Turned him home and he did fifty yards of crow-hopping canter before I got him to slow. Near the end, I dismounted to walk him thru the neighborhood since spooks on paved road are not my thing. He acted pretty calm, but then...a minute from the house, he leaped sideways with his eyes bulging out. And there was...nothing. Not that I could see. The wind was too strong to hear much. I called him stupid and his look suggested he thought something that had M & F in it. A minute from home.

I think horses are slightly more likely to spook in the first half of the ride, but it isn't a rule I'd count on.

Your daughter might want to try one of these:






Butt Velcro, aka sheepskin, really does make it easier to stay on. If I really anticipate trouble, I dismount and lead. And yes, when things get tense I tend to hold the horn with one hand. Happily Bandit steers and slows (if he slows) with one hand on the reins.

BTW: Bandit is an independent thinker and he KNOWS he has a better sense of smell and hearing than I do. *He will NEVER just trust me since, from his perspective, I'm functionally blind in 2 of the 3 senses* - taste and feel being worthless for detecting threats. He's usually pretty good now if he knows I SEE something. But it took a long time to get him to that point even. And a minute from home today? I have no clue at all....


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

I think when you’re hacking out you assume that the horse will give _something _the hairy eyeball, and more often than not it will not be something you’d expect them to ever notice 

I’m not much into “desensitizing” because how could you ever cover everything that might worry a horse? I’m no trainer, but my approach has been doing a lot of short rides to build confidence in a horse newer to riding out. As their comfort and confidence increase, their world expands with longer rides. I also do a lot of handwalking at the beginning, which some people are vehemently opposed to. Has worked well for me.

As you and your horses go on more rides you’ll probably notice patterns of things that worry them and then maybe it’s worth spending some specific training on those things. Our issue is cows, my mare is really frightened of them. We generally try the “boomerang” approach, trying to find a safe (in her opinion) distance where we can see them without her being tense, and try to get a bit closer every time. I only go on rides where I know we’re likely to pass the cows when I also know I have time to work on it. And I’m never unwilling to get off and walk her by them if we see them in a new place.

I think I’m probably lucky that I’ve had a couple of good minded, agreeable and generally brave mares that just needed miles to become great trail horses. Doesn’t mean we never have things that are surprising or worrying, or end up in spooks or leaps or shying. I don’t see any way you can plan for every possibility when hacking out-which I think is the fun of it!

Happy trails!


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

Sure... but I think the more lurking objects we see and work through, whether they are stumps, or rocks, or rubbish piles, the better. I understand that even if I desensitize someone to one particular rock, that doesn't mean they won't freak out at another rock. I do, however, believe that horses can generalize (I know a lot of people don't). So if we walk around five scary rocks, two stumps, and one random pile of junk and nothing actually attacks them and they stay relatively calm, eventually they will start to become less worried about all kinds of similar objects.

I'm just wondering if there is a better time to do this. Maybe we'll still try at the end. Because at the end, if it comes down to it, I'm more willing to get off and do it on the ground. I think horses also understand the concept of "it will eat you first because you are closer," and I've found at least my guys will walk past anything if I walk next to them and closer to the scary thing.

I don't think we'll invest in the seat thing just yet, as like I said this is the first time in 3.5 years that she's done this. We got her from a trail riding place, and she likes being out in the field, so I was really surprised she did it. I guess we'll see how they do next time.


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

ACinATX said:


> Sure... but I think the more lurking objects we see and work through, whether they are stumps, or rocks, or rubbish piles, the better....So if we walk around five scary rocks, two stumps, and one random pile of junk and nothing actually attacks them and they stay relatively calm, eventually they will start to become less worried about all kinds of similar objects.


I don't know how literal you're being, but I don't exactly think it's that formulaic (although if you plan to ride the same trail every time, maybe it is that straightforward). I don't think it's about "the scary thing," but more about helping your horse look to you when something worrying happens. When you're in a new environment with your horse and they are worried about something, if you help them get through it, they believe you in the future when you tell them it's ok to go past, through, or over something scary. Overall, I agree that lots of short, positive experiences eventually translate to a good, solid trail horse because it builds their confidence in going new places, and also their confidence in your good judgement. 

I tend to think of this in terms someone on HF shared years ago: Think about a new experience with your horse like a bank account. Every good experience is a "deposit" topping up your account. Inevitably there will be negative experiences that are withdrawals from the account. The goal is to have enough in the account that even when things go south on a ride, you still have something in the bank for the next day. I think that's aligned with what you're saying.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

I think a certain amount of desensitizing is a good thing but I’ve never really focused too much on it.

To give one simple example, if I throw my jacket over the stable door or even over the horses back, they won’t give it a second glance - I wear the thing so they’re used to it.
If I took that jacket and draped it over the riding arena fence or over a bush on the trail, you can bet your life at least one of the little equine darlings would throw a fit about it.

A lot of the trail spooking is down to tension, something new, rider feeling anxious, so things that likely wouldn’t normally bother them, suddenly become horse eating dragons.

Rather than focusing on specific potential scary objects, I would focus on riding the horse through the spooks in a calm and capable way, to give the horse a direct message that you’re there to protect him.

I can remember falling off my pony when I was 12 when she spooked at a bus and we ended up in a ditch.
It took me a long time to not be afraid of buses but the better my riding got, the less scary those buses became for both of us!


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## MeditativeRider (Feb 5, 2019)

I think you have got a lot of really good advice from people way more experienced than me. From my experiences trail riding, I agree with them.

I would be more working directly on your riding/your daughter's riding then working directly on trying to get the horse exposed in an artificial way. So things like getting your daughter to work on being relaxed but aware so she is not making the horse anxious but she is also not so relaxed that she is not aware of her horse's signals, what is going on ahead, or potential spooky things on the trail. If she does not feel relaxed, work on ways to relax like talking or humming or singing a song. Also, focusing on being in balance and having a good seat so she can move with the horse if they spook. And learning some things to do when a horse ahead spooks or her horse shows signs of being worried about something, and what to do if they really won't go forward.

Over time and with lots of good trail riding experiences, it will all get better.


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## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

If you go out for another trail ride and are in the same area and coming back past THE ROCK on the way home, perhaps have your daughter ride beside you but on the opposite side of the rock. Your daughter may be a little apprehensive remembering the first ride but if she can be relaxed but still riding the horse forward it may all go better.
I don't know how long you rode or if you did mostly walking but a good ride first will have the horses more settled down on the way home and hopefully not feeling so fresh by then.
If the horses are still pretty fresh and feeling good, in my opinion there is nothing wrong with her getting off and leading the horse past, then go back and get on and ride past. I have done that in the past, no sense in getting in over your head if you don't have to.


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## TrainedByMares (Jun 5, 2021)

I believe horses have a very sensitive nose for smells and odors. Something in the breeze could set them off, the smell of death from a dead animal for example. Odors from urine on a tree or rock left there by a predator perhaps. They are prey animals hardwired to sense danger in many forms. May not have been 100 percent Rock's fault. That said, I once saw a parade of firetrucks with full lights and sirens blaring, followed by crazy-loud open pipe revving Harley Davidson motorcycles meet up with an Amish horse and buggy on a two-lane street. The horse got slightly jiggy but that is understandable. They can be trained to do just about anything. Some of us just have to work longer or harder at it. Riding out a spook is easier if the rider is relaxed and balanced. Have your daughter improve her balance while in the saddle. Good luck, AC!


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## gottatrot (Jan 9, 2011)

ACinATX said:


> ...I do, however, believe that horses can generalize (I know a lot of people don't). So if we walk around five scary rocks, two stumps, and one random pile of junk and nothing actually attacks them and they stay relatively calm, eventually they will start to become less worried about all kinds of similar objects...


It's helpful to know your own horses. Some horses can generalize and some can't. My TB generalizes very well. He thinks ahead and rationalizes about objects. For example, if he sees a deer, any deer he knows that is a deer and he understands the type of jumping around deer might do, and nothing the deer does will scare him. Of course if a deer jumped out in front of his nose before he saw it, he'd still get startled. 

Other horses I've ridden (especially my mare Amore) are very poor at generalizing. Amore saw every single thing as new and different. The same rock at different times of day and from different angles would be an entirely new object. Even if she saw a deer, she'd be startled when it moved, and every deer was it's own entity. She was an extreme case, but I think horses have a range of how well they can generalize or not. 

If your horse can generalize, showing them objects can help. If your horse cannot generalize well, it's best to just focus on teaching them basic confidence by experiencing new things and new places.

Also individualized is how you deal with the horse's worry. Some horses do better if you look at the object, other horses do better if you pretend the object isn't there. I've had horses wait to spook until I looked at an object directly. Then it was like, "She sees it too!" Others relaxed if I kept my focus on the object until we were past it. I'd suggest trying both to see how your horses react. If a horse spooks when I look at something, I avoid looking at it. 

Some horses feel better if you let them rush past, others if you have them approach and look at it. I've tried the wrong approach with horses, having a horse approach an object and that blew them up, because they did better giving it space and keeping their feet moving. Or having a horse rush past when they didn't understand the object, and then they were freaked out that it was behind them for a long time. 
One thing I've adopted that really works is that horses stay calmer if you audibly breathe as you go by something that worries them. I open my mouth and breathe loudly and slowly, and I read that this helps horses understand that you aren't worried, because a worried horse will hold their breath. They have great hearing, and if you have been breathing regularly and suddenly hold your breath, it can worry the horse and make them more likely to spook.

If your daughter feels worried about the situation, it might help her to continue talking as you go by the rock or even sing a song. If I think my horse could be nervous sometimes I sing because it keeps my breathing even and gives the horse the idea that I'm not concerned. If it's a very silly song, it can help keep the mood light.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

I don't spend a lot of time letting horses think, or ponder, scary objects. They look. I encourage them to continue on. And they do.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

For real trail rides, i.e. going out in the desert or the forest, vs just riding in the neighborhood, I've always pushed them going out to get them focused on me and then let them relax going back to the trailer, once we've worn some of the energy off. That mostly works unless you meet a big booger on the way out. You come across a hog or cat or something, all bets are off. But a tired horse is less likely to levitate, though there are no guarantees. And some horses just like to spook for the fun of it, ahem, Cloney my Arab, I don't know if you could get him tired enough to just waddle home.


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## JCnGrace (Apr 28, 2013)

The very first time I take a horse out on the trail I'll baby them. They are allowed to step around mud puddles, give horse eating rocks a wide of berth as possible, etc... I want them to finish the ride with no major blow ups. Next trail ride they have to start facing that which scares them and learn it's no big deal. That's not to say that if they are being all bug eyed staring in the distance at something I can't see that we go looking for it, I usually talk them down in those instances, but the right there things like rocks or tree stumps or mud puddles they have to walk near or through so they can figure out nothing bad is going to happen to them.


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## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

This was extremely helpful advice when I was riding Mia...who did NOT generalize well. It works well with Bandit, who is very good at generalizing. FWIW:






My experience has been that at first, Bandit needed a LOT of room for any given scary thing. Then gradually less. As time has gone by, he has needed far less room and he needs far less repetition. His background was being whipped past stuff - which I was told worked with him if you could ride out the bucking. I prefer the approach of Tom Roberts in the image above. Passing a Common Kingsnake in the wash a few days ago - no detour room - was a no go. So I turned him around, found a place to climb out, went past the spot with the snake and found another place to return to the wash. Once in the wash, he looked back at where the snake was, sighed, and we continued our ride. We do encounter rattlers, coyotes and javelina along trails and in washes, so when he says no way, I tend to honor it.


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## Woodhaven (Jan 21, 2014)

bsms I had a kind of similar experience with my ultra spooky Arab Appy, I was crossing a plowed field and put him in the dead furrow where the walking was much easier, The only thing wrong with this, according to him, was we had to walk along beside a woods that he did not want to do, you don't know what horrible things could be in there, maybe a SQUIRREL , he kept trying to move away and I would correct him,
Finally I thought what the heck if he wants to slog through the deep field, let him. He moved away and slogged along for a few minutes then decided the walking was much easier in the dead furrow and moved back. Funny no beasties in the woods now that it was his decision


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## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

I didn’t read all of the responses, I will when I get a bit. I have to go saddle in a minute, but I’m happy because our start time is two hours later than usual and I had no idea!

Anyways, I wanted to say that yes, I desensitize colts, but after that I don’t go looking for scary objects. Our horses go to work fairly consistently, and still Lucy spooks of rocks and Cash spooks of antelope. Lol. Every horse will occasionally spook over a random rock on the mountain.

I think you don’t intentionally go desensitize to rocks, but they just come along. If there are rocks at the beginning or end of the ride, it just is something to ignore. I am sorry your daughter fell off, but she’ll get stickier and the horses will get more broke. I wouldn’t ever expect something to not catch them off guard randomly.

The more they go the less often those things will bother them.

I think we are always desensitizing our horses by doing dumb things. lol. We don’t intentionally desensitize older horses, but we do stupid silly things like play basketball on them or catch. We climb things we shouldn’t and goof off sometimes. Some of our horses are naturally very hot horses, and even they roll their eyes at our nonsense and go along at this point.

I guess what I am saying is that I would just go ride them on trails, and not overthink it. Respond to situations as they come up, but try to not make a big deal of it. Sometimes, on a particularly hot colt, who is spooking of everything in sight, I remind myself to have a sense of humor. It helps me to bring my own anxiety about the situation down. I’ll tease out loud about how scary that rock or brush or rabbit is.


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## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

Something random and funny for you- Cash is lazy and he’ll fall asleep when we stand around for too long. I think he has bad dreams often. We’ll be sitting there, he’s asleep and I’m half asleep, and he does those jumps you do in your sleep when you are falling. It kind of makes me laugh. I feel kinda bad for him too, that he’s always having bad dreams, but the response always catches me off guard. Lol


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## knightrider (Jun 27, 2014)

Yay! @bsms , my very favorite all time FAVORITE wonderful story about the Bullock Cart! Thank you for sharing that.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

bsms said:


> This was extremely helpful advice when I was riding Mia...who did NOT generalize well. It works well with Bandit, who is very good at generalizing. FWIW:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I like this approach. It lets them think for themselves and work themselves past the big hairy whatever. I think that kind of self training lasts longer with them than "whipping past it" or other force.

Never mind the rattlers & coyotes, those $_$_ Javelinas will kill you. I got 'treed' by one when we lived in Tucson. She put me right at the top of my alfalfa bales and didn't let me come down for A WHILE. She had her piglets with her and was ferocious as all get out. I learned to keep eyes, ears and nose all working hard when I was out and about.

*Why is it that when I'm typing or proofing I don't catch my typos but they jump out and SLAP me when I read the post again? Asking for a friend.....*


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

ACinATX said:


> Some of you may recall that on our last trail ride, we were almost done (literally 30 feet away from our trailer in the parking lot) when a giant, horse-eating rock jumped out of the tall grass where it was hiding and attacked our horses. Pony spooked twice, and Moonshine spooked once, but that was enough to unseat my daughter, who isn't used to sitting out spooks since Moonshine has never spooked under saddle in the 3.5 years we've had her.
> 
> .....
> 
> Next time we're out there, I've found some very nice large scary rocks to ride them around, but I'm not sure when we should do it. Certainly the beginning of the ride would be a bad idea, if they're already up, right? But the end of the ride didn't seem to be a good time either LOL. Any thoughts? They both need to get over this rock thing.


The spook has nothing to do with the rock, so don't bother with "finding rocks" on your next trail ride. 

Horses can and do spook at things. Very random things. And sometimes out of the blue (like Moonshine). Calm yourself, calm your horse, do what you can to end on a good note, and then forget about it.




ACinATX said:


> Sure... but I think the more lurking objects we see and work through, whether they are stumps, or rocks, or rubbish piles, the better. I understand that even if I desensitize someone to one particular rock, that doesn't mean they won't freak out at another rock. I do, however, believe that horses can generalize (I know a lot of people don't). So if we walk around five scary rocks, two stumps, and one random pile of junk and nothing actually attacks them and they stay relatively calm, eventually they will start to become less worried about all kinds of similar objects.


You need to change your train of thought. The spooking has nothing to do with the object. It has to do with YOU the rider, and your horse's confidence. 
You can ride around 100 rocks, but if you are tense, if you are unsure, if you are letting your horse be afraid, then you are going to continue to have spooking problems. 
Now instead, if you ride around 2 rocks and the whole time you are calm and relaxed, and you are asking your horse to focus on you (lateral movements, leg yield, stop, back, pivot, soft in the face, etc etc etc), you have now shifted your horse's attention to you and taken their attention away from being scared, and away from the rock, and now the rock is not an issue. 

For trail riding, you absolutely cannot desensitive your horse to everything. It is just impossible. So instead, focusing on training your horse how to respond when they are afraid or unsure. This isn't as easy to do for a sudden thing, like a bird flying up suddenly. But very easy to do if you notice your horse's head go up in the air, they slow their gate, they start to balk up, etc. That is the exact time that you need to immediately take over when you recognize those first signs, and get the horse's THINKING side of their brain working again, and get it switched off the FLIGHT side of their brain.


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## tim62988 (Aug 30, 2012)

just gotta ride more. as beau159 said a lot comes back to the rider. one person told me that if your horse likes to spook at something and you know it, you will look at it and wait for the spook so the horse gives you what you're asking. next time the rock is on the right, focus just a bit on the left not paying attention to the rock, mentally being aware but not focused on "we are 10' from the rock, we are 5' from the rock"

for me the best thing was miles


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

I second the sheepskin! They flatten down eventually so I don't think they do a lot for comfort but they make a big difference in a slick-seated saddle as far as grip goes. I never used to ride with one until I got a young horse. Now I put them in EVERY saddle I own. I feel naked without a sheepskin in my saddle. 



bsms said:


> Your daughter might want to try one of these:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Kalraii (Jul 28, 2015)

There's enough spooky stuff without adding to it. As you know this last year has been me getting my confidence and going out. Katie used to shake visibly beneath me, very frightened. Entire rides, even in solid company, were like this with multiple splats and jumps. When staff at old yard rode her what comments I did get were about how she was doing worse in traffic (was great first yard) especially around buses, so with that in mind I was also nervous because they are regular features on our roads including big trucks and trains beneath 3 bridges. For the record these rides I was also anxious and sometimes terrified. I'm NOT a fantastic rider - when I see the ice cream van with its music on coming towards us, two buses both directions, cars slamming their horn behind us, trains underneath which broke her mind as she thought they were really going under her feet, ambulances to the nearby hospital, skip trucks clanging along. I will admit all the rides to get me where I am was a matter of having faith. You could feel _both_ of us thinking "I'm terrified, but I trust you to look after me". And each ride we conquered we both got braver and more comfortable. Things that REALLY helped:

- being an active rider, tied with mentally aware. Always a work in progress but Katie needs me THERE unless we're near home of course. She needs to know I'm paying attention to MY body and talking to her. This is a huge challenge as I've spent most my riding being quite passive _physically_. It's her preferred language I've learned and so I've had to adjust. I leg yield her onto the pavement and off it. We circle a tree and try keep it nice and soft. Practice halt/walk/trot transitions off seat alone.

- encouraging curiosity. Is she snorting or spooked at something stationary? In-hand as well I always encourage her to explore with lots of praise and treats. While she might still be wary her reactions are very tame, she learns at least that if she keeps her distance nothing dramatic will happen. If it was something like a bad driver I yell some profanity and then let her know its OK. In time I like to think she's learned I'm "pinning my ears" at those idiots on our behalf and doesn't get worried anymore.

- acknowledging things. This is something I saw off Warwick Schiller specifically and I've been doing on the ground and in the saddle. I look where she looks and then let her know "its ok" and give her a scritch. I investigate something WITH her to check together, as partners. 9/10 it IS OK so when I give my opinion on something now she's quicker to relax. It is often only a glance though and a shrug.

- getting off if its really challenging, fantastic for Mocha who has a history of blowing up that I don't want to ever see. I only have to get off once and after that she'll go past it OK. But she needs me there the first time and I am happy to show her its safe. She's becoming the most amazing horse out.


Spooks are gonna happen. I ride with some people that are terrified whenever their horse splats, even after decades of riding and even if its a reasonably tame spook and for good reason. They will also discipline their horse or get angry (out of fear ofc). Katie isn't spooky necessarily but every ride we'll have a few. But she recovers so quickly I barely blink these days. When I reacted to the spooks it was worse of course. First spook in an arena I wanted to vomit and it took all my will power to ask her to trot past the same corner and I just forced myself really. Reading journals on here of other peoples experiences hacking out and alone or working "problem" horses gave me courage, genuinely, solely because of people on here. They deal with it, even with all their experience they STILL have to deal with the same common issues we have. You and I want to trail ride and tbh we have to suck it up and just DO IT. I understand its hard because you also have your daughter with you. Take measures so she is less likely to be unseated. Maybe ask a professional to accompany you on the first few hacks out on Moonshine to get it out her system.

Do your very best not to ride out an expect or WAIT for the spooks. I have/had (?) the same fear about letting Katie trot in open spaces and then canter. It's taken the better part of a year to feel comfortable to trot and recently canter. Just gotta do it. So sorry for the essay! 😅


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## Kalraii (Jul 28, 2015)

Also I really like the analogy of depositing money in the bank - each ride and horse have different rates. As we progressed our deposits got bigger and bigger, for both mine. We have a pretty good buffer now. You need to continue the trend


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## carshon (Apr 7, 2015)

I have followed your posts @ACinATX and have looked forward to your trail ride updates. I am sorry your daughter fell off, I have a daughter this is my riding companion and have helped her grow to be a kid on a small pony to an excellent trail rider today. Unlike the arena the trail has a lot of new things. They are so used to spending their lives going in circles that the trail offers a lot of unique sights and smells. I am not a believer in a horse generalizing items as scary or not scary. I ride a lot of different trails and my horse has spooked at some really odd things. Tillie is ridden hundreds of miles each year on many different kinds of trails and a gopher running across the trail recently had her spin the other direction. She has seen gopher before and never spooked. My guess is that your daughters horse saw the trailer or felt that the ride was about to end and was focused on something else and then the rock "jumped" out at her scaring her. It had nothing to do with the rock - it had everything to do with the horses focus. You had mentioned that your daugther was more nervous or scared at that time and her horse may have sensed it and then when something came into its sight line unexpectedly it spooked. I am not a fan of micro managing a horse. Trying to manipulate every aspect of how it reacts. This causes resentment and deadness in the animal. I want a safe mount but I want an inquisitive brave mount as well. Personally I would assure your daughter that she can do this and remind her that while riding she can divert the horses attention away from the trailer or parking that she should "ride" and not sit. I think that was the biggest difference on your first trail ride. Your horse was inquisitive and excited to be out while your daughters was just busy worrying about what the person on its back was worrying about.

Enjoy the ride but let your horse be a horse - you cannot control every interaction or reaction you can just control how you react to those things.


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

I wouldn't bother, just see what happens & encourage them. If it's not the rock, it could be something they smell, or something we cannot see that they can, etc. Just encourage as much as you can. I found talking to my mare helps when we're out & she's unsure about something.


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