Some people believe that punishing a spooking horse will
help him overcome his spooking habits.In my case, I found this is just not true, and I learned a valuable
lesson about my horsemanship.My
first young horse, Shatta, a big, strong arab, spooked like there was no tomorrow.
He would spook at phantoms,
shadows, and stuff I never saw. His
spooks were so big I would tell people he would change time zones.I fell off the first few times, but
realized this wasn’t going to work if I was going to ride this
horse.An “expert” told
me, “Oh, yeah, you have to get after him, hard, just after he spooks, and
he will learn that you are not happy.Smack him in the neck when he spooks.” Okay, I tried that for a while, but what
happened next made me feel terrible.I’m riding along, he does a giant, leaping spook, and then he
glances back and ducks his head to avoid my hand, because he knew I was going
to come after him.Boy, that made me feel like a fool.He was smart enough to learn that
he equated a spook with a slap, but that wasn’t going to stop him from
spooking.All I was doing was
damaging my relationship with him.
And no, sometimes they never grow out of spooking.Yes, it can get better with time and
experience, but it does not go away.Zayante STILL spooks, shies, and sometimes refuses to go by things even
after 12,000 miles.He gets in moods- he will go along for 10
miles in front without a hiccup, then it’s like
riding a pogo stick for the remainder of the ride.He was so good at the three days of Wild
West, but at Oakland
hills he was spooking more than he wasn’t. I suggest you stay relaxed and
balanced, and just ride it out, even though it takes patience.I do know that if you hang on tight,
squeeze the horse, and are tense or frightened, it will just get worse.
The only good thing about a spooking horse is it makes you a
better rider.After learning to
deal with Shatta, Zayante’s
spooks are a minor annoyance.
