RE: [RC] Things that makes horses spooky - RHONDA LEVINSON
I do think that some owners/riders can train a horse to spook! I looked at lovely young Arabian mare to buy, knowing she had been ridden on the trails by the owner prior to her current owner. Her current owner only rode her in an arena because she was soooo spooky, the owner said. I went and looked at the mare and watched the owner ride and every time they went past the gate (or a dressage letter or a window), the mare would spook and the owner would rub her neck and say, "oh, good girl, it's okay." So, I asked her why she was praising the mare for spooking. She rolled her eyes and said with exaggerated patience, "I'm not rewaaaarding her, I'm reassuuuuuuring her." Okay, sure, whatever, it looks like rewarding her from here, and in her little equine mind, I'm pretty sure SHE thinks she's being rewarded for spooking.
So, I get on, we go by the gate, the mare spooks, I thump her really hard with my heels and say, "NO!" We go by the cone, she spooks, I thump her really hard with my heels and say, "NO!" We go by the window - no spooking. We go around again -- no spooking at the gate or the cone or anything. Went around the arena several times, and other than expressing a lot of boredom, the mare did very well with absolutely no spooking. However, the owner refused to sell me the horse. Said I was not experienced enough with horses and was "too rough" for this very sensitive mare.
Rhonda
> Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:39:23 -0700 > From: bnw_racing@xxxxxxxxx > Subject: [RC] Things that makes horses spooky > To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > > Boredom! > I have a girl friend who's horse spooks at rocks. Now we live in NW New Mexico where the entire country is made of rocks piled on rocks so there are lots of opportunities to spook. She thinks it is kind of funny and even contributes to it herself at times by pointing out a rock and saying "I know he is going to spook at that". > > So one day, my horse decided that he was bored on the ride - we were not going fast enough or something, so he decide to try that little trick. I was not amused. One or two good whacks with a crop made him decide that maybe that wasn't as much fun as he thought. I just don't want a horse who is going to spook at something stupid like that all the time. > Benedikte > > > > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > > Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. > Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp > Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp > > Ride Long and Ride Safe!! > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= >
