# Afraid of Own Shadow??



## jeddah31 (Jun 11, 2008)

the only suggestions that I have, would be to feed him under scaring moving trees that have shadows, so he can get used to them and know they won't touch him


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## TurnNBurn17 (Jun 26, 2008)

okay thanks i will try that!


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## Bitless (Jan 11, 2008)

Purhaps getting a vet out to check his eyes might be worth concidering. And purhaps his ears/ hearing aswell.
Something has deffiently gone wrong somewere in his life to create such a fear otherwise. Im not sure what else to suggest.....if it isnt a health issue? Maby wearing heaps of black to kinda imitate a shadow :roll:


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## Rachluvshorses4eva (Apr 11, 2007)

I agree with what people suggested. Make sure your with him though when he feeds so you know what's wrong. Maybe next time he spooks keep a log on what he and you did before and after, that way, you can identify what is making him spook, as I don't think it's just the shadows itsself...


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## boonesar (Dec 3, 2007)

*a few post back there was a bombproofing post*

Bomb proofing, sacking out or densitizing to many things should help. 

I also agree with feeding under tree. 

Also you could hang some plastic bags, balloon, tarp and streamer on the fence all that make noise and move around.


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

All great suggestions. In particular I would rule out the physical first by a good vet exam.

Couple of questions, Has this been going on for as long as you've owned him? Do you know if he was like this with his previous owner? What feed are you giving him, and how much? Is he turned out 24/7 or always stalled or somewhere inbetween? Is he better sometimes or always like that?


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## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

TurnNBurn17 said:


> how do you train a horse to not be scared of his own shadow. my horse is DEATHLY afraid of his own shadow and like if a tree sways in the wind and he sees it in the shadow he freaks out. how to i train him to be okay with his shadow "following" him?


Have you ever gotten him vet checked? I have seen some horses "randomly" start being afraid of their shadow- as it happened to be, had him checked by the vet. He was having some vision problems which affected how he saw things.


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## TurnNBurn17 (Jun 26, 2008)

iridehorses said:


> All great suggestions. In particular I would rule out the physical first by a good vet exam.
> 
> Couple of questions, Has this been going on for as long as you've owned him? Do you know if he was like this with his previous owner? What feed are you giving him, and how much? Is he turned out 24/7 or always stalled or somewhere inbetween? Is he better sometimes or always like that?


well i have only had him a little over a year. i got him as my hs rodeo prospect but he hasnt worked out with taht so i have to use my mare...i am not sure he has always been kinda spooky but i thought it was just him still being so young. in all honesty i have just recently started noticing this.....at least with his own shadow..he has always been kinda unsure about the trailer shadow 

i do not know if he was like this with his previous owner. i got him when he turned 4 and he was just being used as a ranch and roping horse ...so im gonna assume there are lots of shadows on a cattle ranch lol

um i am not sure what type of feed we are feeding..it is a grain corn oats type thing mix....just a genaric brand from the feed store..might be called evergreen?? i dk
and he just gets one scoop of those horse feed scoopers twice a day

he is in the pasture all the time and only comes in in the morning and afternoon to eat and then goes right back out. or if there is a storm with lots of lightning we might bring them in

well i am going to sound like im talking about a mental patient but he has good days and bad. somedays he has really bad behavior and bucks and kicks other days he is an angel....sometimes i bring him out of the pasture and he is spooking at a fan...you never know with him he is very irregular and inconsistent

hope this helps to answer some things

by the way i had a friend i run barrels with tell me to get his eyes checked. i didnt know that they could get problems with their eyes to make them see different!


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## TurnNBurn17 (Jun 26, 2008)

My2Geldings said:


> TurnNBurn17 said:
> 
> 
> > how do you train a horse to not be scared of his own shadow. my horse is DEATHLY afraid of his own shadow and like if a tree sways in the wind and he sees it in the shadow he freaks out. how to i train him to be okay with his shadow "following" him?
> ...


no i havent had him vet checked...i will tho if he keeps this up lol
i didnt know they could get those problems!


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