# Help! My horse has started spooking...



## elt77 (Aug 10, 2016)

Hi everyone, I wanted to ask for some advice aroundde-spooking my nine year old paint. I've had her for about 5 months now, shewas previously used for trail and arena riding (english). When I first got hershe was really good out on trail on her own, even though she had onlybeen ridden in groups by her prior owner. She is generally a forward, alert, very responsive horse. However in the last 3-4 weeks she hasstarted spooking more while out on trail. The good news is she does not try tobolt, but she is constantly jumping at nothing and she has several times nowput in a huge sideways leap whilst cantering/galloping. She spooked soviolently at a walk recently that I fell off and she galloped home (although to befair I was leaning the opposite way to duck under a branch, LOL). 

What is so strange is that she was absolutely fine forthe first few months and this is a recent development. She is turned out 24/7 and gets no extra hay - I did start her on SmartViteThrive vit/min supplement about 6 weeks ago but surely that would not make her hot? She is no different in the round pen, just on trail. I trail ride her 2-3 times a week for an hour and lunge/ride her in the round pen once a week. She is well mannered on the groundand is sweet and easy to handle. 

So, my question to you is how should I handle her spooking?I don't want to discipline her if she is genuinely scared but her excessivereactions to deer, tree stumps etc. are dangerous and they are impacting myconfidence with her. My plan for now is to get in some more basic groundwork totry and improve her trust in me and our bond, do some desensitization workaround the barn, and continue to put more trail miles on her as she isstill relatively green in that sense. Is there anything I am missing that Ineed to be working on with her here, or any suggestions you may have for whatmight be causing the change in her behavior? Maybe the timing suggests its the supplement but I've not heard of simple vits/mins having that effect before.


----------



## BlindHorseEnthusiast4582 (Apr 11, 2016)

I don't have any idea about the supplement, but I would definitely consider an eye issue. I doubt such a calm and well behaved horse would suddenly start spooking at things for no reason. 

I can't help you with the handling spooking, as my guy is blind and spooking at things he sees isn't a problem.


----------



## ApuetsoT (Aug 22, 2014)

My first thought is she is not confident on the trail alone anymore. Who was her previous owner? A beginner or advanced rider? I imagine you got by the first few months on her previous training and now she is realizing she more on her own out there.


----------



## horseluvr2524 (Sep 17, 2013)

Many possibilities and its hard to say which one without seeing it happen or riding the horse myself.

Excepting physical ailment, some horses spook to get out of work. Just like they will balk or bolt or buck or other manner of misbehavior to avoid work _and_ because they know they have your number, or in other words, know they can get away with it. This kind of horse usually also knows which rider will allow them to get away with it and will do it with some and not all.

Some horses sincerely need an experienced rider that exudes confidence, has a firm hand, and pushes them through their fears. Others, like many Arabians, some Thoroughbreds, etc. simply are nervous horses and the spook is just part of riding them.

If not a physical problem, I suspect that your horse has become barn sour. If this is the case, you need to be calm and confident and have a firm hand. You also need to be able to ride through her spooks and "diffuse the situation"/calm the horse as quickly as possible. If you are not able to do this, you should get a trainer/coach to help you.

God Bless, be safe


----------



## EpicApple (Oct 19, 2014)

horseluvr2524 said:


> Many possibilities and its hard to say which one without seeing it happen or riding the horse myself.
> 
> Excepting physical ailment, some horses spook to get out of work. Just like they will balk or bolt or buck or other manner of misbehavior to avoid work _and_ because they know they have your number, or in other words, know they can get away with it. This kind of horse usually also knows which rider will allow them to get away with it and will do it with some and not all.


This^ 

Horses are lazy creatures by nature, believe it or not. They are wired to preserve energy in case they have to flee a predator. In the wild they might play and run around, but it's only for brief moments, when they have excess energy. Even very hot horses whom seem to go for hours on end do have a limit when asked to work correctly i.e using their back, engaging their hind end, working through etc. 

Once you make sure that your horse isn't reacting out of pain or some eye problem you may start with some form of more assertive correction. It's normal for horses to look at things and be wary of them, I tolerate that. What I don't tolerate is dangerous behavior and I am extremely firm about it. They can react to things, but it's how they react to it that really makes a difference. I never correct dangerous spooking with pain, but rather, with added pressure. I will make my horse work extra hard right on the spot. They spook, I send them right into a small circle at an active trot with lots of changes of directions, keeping their mind busy. I'll add small eight figures. I force them to cross their hind legs to tire them out quicker, stop, give them a pat and then continue as if nothing happened. If my horse spooks again I send him back into work right there. They need to learn that it is not ok to crow hop, jump or spook in a wild manner and if that happens they will have to work twice as hard. They need to know that they have to be polite when they have someone on them. Their reward will be to continue at a nice, relaxed pace on the lovely trails, where all is good. 

By this you are forcing them to use the "thinking" side of their brain over the "reactive" side. Trust me, they get the hint real quick. Next time they encounter something "spooky" they will think twice about how they react to it because they will associate their nasty behavior with extra work. Again, it's ok, they are prey animals, so a lot of it is left to your own judgement. But be firm, patient and stick to your plan. Horses needs that to gain confidence. If you are unsure ask someone who is a bit more experienced to help you out.

But all in all that is usually how I correct most negative behaviors in general. Bad behavior = extra hard work. Good behavior = easy, happy life, full of joy. 

Make sure you start out correcting the problem in areas where you have lots of room to work at, then gradually work your way into spookier trails. Also make sure you lunge your horse a few extra minutes before you go out and always let someone know you are going riding by yourself. Ground work helps, but it seems your horse has your number on the saddle.



hope this helps and your problem resolves quick.


----------



## bsms (Dec 31, 2010)

http://www.horseforum.com/horse-training/willing-compliance-aversive-reflex-727450/

Long, heated thread. Some of it might pertain to your issue. With my horses, correcting for spooking made it much worse. Works well for some. Depends on the horse's nature.


----------



## elt77 (Aug 10, 2016)

ApuetsoT said:


> My first thought is she is not confident on the trail alone anymore. Who was her previous owner? A beginner or advanced rider? I imagine you got by the first few months on her previous training and now she is realizing she more on her own out there.


Her previous owner was very experienced but didn't ride her much and didn't take her out on trail alone, she was mostly ridden by kids messing around in the arena and some group trail rides, which is why I was pleasantly surprised that she was so good at first on trail alone, and we seemed to be building a nice bond. I have ridden on and off all my life and would class myself as intermediate. My gut is that she is not misbehaving, and she is not a lazy horse at all in comparison to most - she has lots of energy and always wants to go. I think she is genuinely feeling nervous so clearly we have to work more on our bond and our confidence in each other. I definitely want to try working her hard when she spooks and see how that approach goes down, I have not really tried that as it can be a little tricky out on a narrow trail, and she doesn't spook at all in the round pen, but I'll find a way to apply the principle.


I'll stay aware of the potential eye issue and see if I can spot any trends on the direction she spooks etc. Thanks everyone!


----------



## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Keep in mind it could be a bear in the woods or something and she smells something "off" that is making her nervous, which is perfectly valid.

Could be something physical, but that seems odd to me as she is young and you bought her recently and she was fine.

Could be a training issue.

If she is genuinely scared I would not "punish" the spook. I may work hard in a "redirect" way (she needs to focus on you), but not in a "punish" way if that makes sense. It's all so dependent.

A supplement shouldn't make her hot but a nutritional imbalance could. I wouldn't think that's the case for her, but it may be good to check with a nutritionist to make sure her diet is balanced.


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I'm surprised that you are cantering and galloping a spooky horse on the trails. but, if you have the confidence, more power to you.

sometimes it helps, because the hrose is really committed to going forward, so can't stop ad spook when they have the impulse to. there's just too much forward momentum. other times, they still manage to spook, and when they do, it's gigantic.

maybe do long walks out on the trails. get off periodically and let her graze (wear halter under bridle), so that being out has perks to her.


----------



## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Good point that it may be her way of being barn sour, but I would expect to see other signs as well.

Also wanted to add- it's fall. I don't know about where you are but here a mouse in the leaves sounds like a herd of elephants, very scary when you aren't used to it!


----------



## Jan1975 (Sep 7, 2015)

ApuetsoT said:


> My first thought is she is not confident on the trail alone anymore. Who was her previous owner? A beginner or advanced rider? I imagine you got by the first few months on her previous training and now she is realizing she more on her own out there.


That was exactly my thought. Something similar happened to me w/ the first horse we leased...he was fine for the first 2-3 weeks and then he got really spooky when I rode him. I think he just did not have confidence in me (and understandably so). I read Clinton Anderson's Down Under Horsemanship (I think that is the title?) and one of the profiles in there was a woman who had a spooky horse that was "cured" by doing all of the groundwork and other exercises. I intended to work through them & see if they'd help but then we bought a different horse. It made sense though...even if you're not a CA fan, it makes sense that building a relationship would help the horse trust you.


----------



## Chasin Ponies (Dec 25, 2013)

BlindHorseEnthusiast4582 said:


> I don't have any idea about the supplement, but I would definitely consider an eye issue. I doubt such a calm and well behaved horse would suddenly start spooking at things for no reason.
> 
> I can't help you with the handling spooking, as my guy is blind and spooking at things he sees isn't a problem.


I agree about an eye issue. If she was mine, the first thing I would do is have the vet check both eyes. Even a young horse can lose sight and if even one eye is effected, it will make a difference in how she perceives danger. Perceiving danger is the whole reason why a horse spooks.


----------



## EpicApple (Oct 19, 2014)

I got to work with a cremello 3 year old horse once. The owner had tried him out and the horse had been really saintly, didn't spook, was quiet, not fidgety etc. He bought it right there on the spot and closed the deal with the trainer that had him. One week into his new home, no one could go near him without the poor thing going into a frenzy, even less, they couldn't get on him. Take a wild guess, but it was very likely drugged when the buyer tried him out. 

I was called because no one could get on him, no one could tack him up and the owner really wanted to start riding him. The owner wanted me to start riding him asap, I refused and did about 3 weeks of constant ground work to stop all the constant spooking. I thought it was so odd that despite all the ground work, he'd still be acting all surprised at everything. I am sure there was a degree of abuse and rough handling when they started him, but things just seemed off. I've just done this with so many horses with all sorts of backgrounds and everything was just strange. This horse didn't have a bad bone in him, he was really sweet and tried his best every time, so why was he so over reactive out of no where? We would finish our sessions on great notes, he'd be mellow, quiet, responsive, but as soon as I came back the next day, he'd start out all fidgety and over reactive. 

For example I would desensitize him to something, like a plastic bag. He'd be perfect, the next day he'd be all surprised and scared of the bag when initially approached by it, but would quickly mellow down to where we had left off the previous day. This would happen every single day for the next 3 weeks. I also realize he would tense up when someone new approached and the footsteps resonated on the barn hall. 

I had switched his diet to very low energy supplements, and had increased forage intake thinking it was an energy problem. Just a youngster with a lot of "butterflies" in his belly. Also more turn out time and lots of grooming throughout the day so he'd relax more into the new place. Well I was free lunging him in a big round pen one day, he was happy, playful, but he kept on bumping into the pen panels and then it clicked. He was blind or had very limited sight. So he wasn't really spooking at the items, rather more to the noise and probably anticipating someone to jump on him or toss something on his back. He was just surprised when things just came out of the blue. 

I did a few tests and he would not blink when something approached his eyes. You could be centimeters away from his eye and he would not blink at all. I asked the owner to call another vet and verify it, he called the vet who had done an initial vet check instead of calling a different one, and when the vet was asked to check the eyes, he completely dismissed it and said I probably was training the horse wrong for that matter. I had asked the owner to use a different vet, but he refused to listen because that vet was cheaper. This was the same vet that gave the owner the ok to buy, of course he will say the horse is not blind. The lack of common sense. 

So show season started, I had left the horse on a good note, you could tack him up, ride him, mount from anywhere and he'd be perfect. No more over reacting and was more trusting of his surroundings. I had to work on other horses and show season was in full swing, the owner wasn't really listening to my training program, started listening to other peoples advice and switched the feed, so I just stopped working with him. One or two weeks later horse was back on square one. Who knows what happened to him. All I know is that they were not able to get back on him. 


But yeah, sight problems can be tricky to spot. Some breeds and certain color genes might have some degree of blindness added to them.


----------



## Knave (Dec 16, 2015)

I haven't seen the horse so they may be right about the eyes, but my gut would also be that you were getting by on prior training. Sometimes we say a horse is looking for an excuse, lol, and she may be doing that. Or she may be losing confidence in you. I, like others, would make her work when she spooked. I like to use it as a chance to work on roll backs. Some horses may get a little hotter for a bit, but usually I've experienced horses going, "oh nevermind, I don't really care to work on rollbacks and that wasn't so scary." Either way I think you have to get her thinking about you again. It is frustrating for a bit, but it usually works. 

If you can't get her back to what you like maybe you should talk with the person who rode her prior. They may be willing to put 30 days on her or even just help you a few times for a price.


----------



## Dustbunny (Oct 22, 2012)

I have to go along with having her eyesight checked. Does she trip at all out on the trail? 
Good saddle fit? For you and the horse. I have never been opposed to getting off and leading for a while out on the trail either.
Keep us posted. This is interesting.


----------



## Horsef (May 1, 2014)

Did you, by any chance, change the time of the day you ride out? My mare is a saint in the morning and gradually goes gate sour as it gets later in the day (I know, it's weird but my trainer confirmed it).

Also, I second both eyesitght and autumn as possible reasons. 

Since the cold weather has set in we have had some...let's call them interesting lessons. My mare not so much as other horses. There's an epidemic of spooking in this bunch of lazy nags.


----------



## Horsef (May 1, 2014)

Talking about eyesight, an incredibly spooky mare was fixed by placing a single blinker on the side on which her sight was going. She went from unriddable to an angel practically overnight. I made the suggestion, I was so proud that me, a lowly novice, sorted a horse out which stumped a few very experienced horsemen


----------



## equinesmitten (Sep 5, 2010)

This could be so many things. You don't want to be the rider that ALWAYS assumes a mental issue and you don't want to be the rider that ALWAYS assumes it's a physical problem.  If the horse has not been ridden out alone before you, I would guess it's just insecurity. That will just take time and patience. Personally, I don't discipline horses for spooking and I have yet to not have the problem clear up on it's own with consistency and work. 

That being said, there are also physical reasons that a horse will become spooky. EPM, tick born illnesses, ulcers, higher than needed sugar in the diet, can cause horses to get jumpy. 

When I got my OTTB he was not spooky. About 5 months later, he got ridiculous. He was jumpy in the stall, jumpy on the trail, jumpy being lead. Jumped when the trees blew, jumped when the dog stepped out from behind a bush, trembled at the sight of chickens in a coup. Of course, everyone had an opinion ranging from "you're too hard on him" to "you're too easy on him".  Long story short, I changed his diet, and treated him for EPM which causes neurological issues. His titer showed the lowest percentage of possible infection at 33% but darn if that didn't clear up the spooking. He rarely spooks now but if he does....hold on cause it's go big or go home! He had other symptoms besides spooking though. He was super sensitive to grooming combs and being touched, down right ****y under saddle, a hind leg shiver, weight loss, etc. 

I hope you find each day to be better than the last on this! Riding a spooky horse is always a challenge. It's hard to stay relaxed for them when you don't know what they are going to do next.


----------



## elt77 (Aug 10, 2016)

Hi everyone - thanks again for all your great advice! Taffy has no other changes or symptoms that I can spot - she doesn't trip - in fact she is very surefooted, overall she's very healthy (as far as I can see - obviously could be something underlying and I'll watch out for any other signs). She does seem more restless at the hitching post than before. I'm working on getting the vet out to look at her eyes and do a general check-up. In the meantime I have been focusing on short trail rides at walk and trot until I can get her over the spookiness, she's still jumping a little and I've been working her hard on the spot, will keep doing that and see if she slowly improves. Trying to be patient and just put calm trail miles on her while we continue to get used to one another. Sunday was such a beautiful day here we went further out, rode for about 1.5 hours and she was really good - a couple small jumps but nothing major, plus I had the dog with me running about in the trees and leaves, and she was fine with that (figured it might help desensitize her some more). I'm praising her if she looks at something/starts and keeps walking, to keep reinforcing the right kind of reaction. She will cross wooden bridges with no problem other than a little tensing up. Then we get back to the barn and she jumps out of her skin at a dog bed lying on the ground that was there when we rode out. Its odd, there just seems to be no pattern to her spooking! Anyway will keep at it and let you know how it goes, thanks guys!


----------

