Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Help with Spooks

I don't agree that smacking a horse does no good, or that you shouldn't stop 
and let them look at things.   The type of discipline used should be tailored 
to the reason the horse is spooking.  My mare isn't AFRAID of anything.  But 
she does like to spook at the beginning of a ride sometimes.  Sometimes it's 
just being playful, or a sign that she's not really in the mood to work yet.  
She will look for things to spook at along the same trail that we travel on 
an average of twice a week.  This is not the sudden movement of an animal in 
the sagebrush spook, it's the "that sagebrush looks different today than it 
did last time, I think I'll see if your awake" spook.  I kind of growl at her 
"aah-aah" and some days she gives it up and settles down to business.  Other 
days, she will try a really big spook, then a slap on the neck tells her that 
such behavior is NOT acceptable, and quit it RIGHT NOW!  It's true that 
horses are herd animals, but within the herd the alpha mare will use 
everything from laid-back ears to outright physical aggression to get the 
point across to another herd member that is stepping out of line.  The degree 
of aggression escalates with the degree of misbehavior.  

I f a horse is spooking because it is truly afraid, which I believe is a 
small part of a HABITUAL spooker's problem, then smacking them will not 
convince them not to spook, it just adds to their fear.

On the other hand, since horses' vision is quite different from peoples' 
sometimes a horse NEEDS to walk up to something and take a good look at it, 
to figure out what it is.  My mare likes to look at stuff the first time she 
sees it, and I encourage her to do that.  The next time she sees it though, 
she better walk on past.  She may be allowed to do the "ears one way, body 
the opposite" thing a little, but that's about the extent of the misbehavior 
I will tolerate.  And yes I do require her to circle stuff if she has seen it 
before, and is just being silly.  Usually one time around is all she needs to 
get over it.  I found that allowing a horse to look at a strange object from 
all angles, i.e. walking all the way around it facing it, will allow them to 
identify it for themselves as a "NOT-MONSTER"  

Again, how you handle spooks depends to a great extent on WHY the horse is 
spooking.  Some horses spook because they are playful or don't want to settle 
down to work.  Some horses spook because they are truly afraid.  

Some horses spook because their riders are timid, and they feel the fear of 
the rider.  Unfortunately, the rider is afraid the horse will spook at some 
object, so the horse thinks the rider is afraid of the object and spooks at 
it.  The best way to handle this type of spook is just to look past the 
object as if it didn't exist, and therefore couldn't possibly be scary.  
Also, the rider needs to learn to have confidence in their ability to ride 
through a misbehavior.  A horse with a timid rider will be much more spooky 
than a horse with a confident rider.  If the horse is uncertain, it will be 
looking to the rider for leadership.  If the rider doesn't provide that 
leadership, the horse is left to make decisions on its own about what to do 
about scary situations.  Lots of times the horse's answer will be "Let's get 
the heck out of here!"  

One thing that really helped me was riding lessons that improved my ability 
to keep a horse moving in the direction I chose.  Learning to control the 
horse's shoulder with the reins so it couldn't duck out to the side helped me 
get more confidence,  enabled me to be a better rider, and taught my horse 
that she could relax and rely on my judgment.  

jeri

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