SPOOKING IN PLACE...OR LEARNING

[DVeritas@aol.com]

    I train horses.  That's all I do.
    Heidi Smith gave some "sage" advice on spooking (pardon the pun, Heidi).
    What follows is a method that has worked on 99.5 percent of horses I've
started ON THE TRAIL and are MY OPINIONS ABOUT "SPOOKING."
        Horses don't spook.  They "stay alive," get confused, play games, get
barn-soured, have been handled with heavy and unfeeling hands, and the list
goes on.
    As riders we must learn to hear the things horses tell us.  No, they don't
use the same language as us (and NO I'm not going into Monty Roberts, et.al.
stuff here, this is about horses).
    Horses have ACUTE THREAT ASSESSMENT CAPABILITIES.  To engage them while in
unfamiliar (uncomfortable) situations they really tune into and rely on
HEARING (all the way on 10), SIGHT (all the way on 10) and SMELL (all the way
on 10).
    Now, which gaits most closely resemble those used in priority of FLIGHT
RESPONSE?  Running, Cantering, Trotting and Walking.
    When our horses "spook" with us, which gaits are we usually in?
    I am fortunate enough to live next to a private, quiet area (sod farm)
with a nice two track through it (an area of about only one mile in length).
But the size is perfect for this method.
    My young horses have taught me over years of work that they are
comfortable around the barn, in the round pen, in the arena.  Some revelation,
huh?  So, to me it made sense to "extend" that comfort zone so, as young
horses, they could learn to "grow" and learn about the world.  It needs to be
introduced at the WALK, preferably alone, with me as the only "reminder" of
the comfortable area from which we just departed.
    I'm using an endurance saddle, a martingale/breast collar combination
(only for security, not to influence locomotion), a properly fitting full-
cheek snaffle (for lateral influence) and am sitting "deep."  We leave the
property, the horse is okay, we go maybe two hundred yards at the walk and
stop.  The horse is dropping an ear behind us, to the left of us, to the right
of us which signifies that he's "with me" but actively playing a role in
safeguarding us.  That's a GOOD thing.  I like that in a horse.
    I turn, the horse, his acute threat assessment capabilities throttle back
a bit and he relaxes as we walk "home."  I ask him not to rush, but I
UNDERSTAND why he wants to.
    We repeat the same thing later that day, or the next.  We just review what
we did previous, then "extend" his comfort zone.  (While we are busy
"extending" his comfort zone, the horse is unaware that he is "learning," he,
at this point is just "hanging with me" cause he trusts me and I'm part of his
comfort zone.)  
    On the second trip we come to a RAILROAD CROSSING, wooden ties and iron
rails.  First real test of the trust.  As we get closer to the crossing, he
tells me he's nervous and could I help him with this new thing.  We have to do
whatever works without hurting or endangering either one of us, dependent on
our skill level...but, once introduced, we must succeed or we have taught our
buddy that he dictates where we go or don't.  That lesson, once taught, is a
hard one to undo.  Takes a hand.  Quietly, with confidence, we insist that we
cross.  If after, maybe five refusals, he still won't cross.  I dismount.  I
know, I know, there are many who think this is unthinkable, but hey, it works
for me.  I forget about the crossing, and take one minute to remind him who I
am and where I from (stroking, soft whispering, reassuring), then I
immediately turn and start across the crossing expecting, no "knowing" he's
right behind me.  I reach the end of the reins as he stops and sniffs the
wooden tie.  I relax the rein and GIVE HIM TIME TO LEARN.  Don't pull, don't
cluck just tell him to go ahead and figure it out, that you have time.  If I
see that he wants to cross but needs a little "push," I give him one in the
form of "Here, smell my hand" and tickle his muzzle and turn to cross and then
he follows me across the crossing...a little nervously, but under control.  If
he hurrays across, just give him room and turn to face it again.  As we return
across the crossing, he follows without a question.  I repeat it one more time
on the ground, across and back across.  I mount and we quietly, calmly and
with confidence walk across the crossing.  I know this is a bit dangerous, but
no more than getting on the back of a horse we don't help "learn."  I walk
forward about twenty yards or so and he'd forgotten about the crossing and is
"looking for the next thing to learn" (some folks call this step, "looking for
something to spook at").  I turn and proceed home at the walk.
    This is getting "long," but I think you get the gist.  HORSES LEARN BEST
WHEN NOT IN THE MIDDLE OF FLIGHT RESPONSE.  Walk to learn about stuff on the
trail.  They have to deal with it then, not "run" from it.  
    Remember when we were young and found ourselves walking in a part of town
in which we were uncomfortable.  DID WE WALK?  NO, WE GOT THROUGH THAT AREA,
at a quick walk, or a full-fledged run...but we hurried through it.  Walk,
learn.
THE SLOWER I GO, THE FASTER THE HORSE LEARNS.  This is not about conditioning,
this is about learning.  Once the horse learns it, he files it away and can
always draw from that knowledge.  It never fails ME.  
    I don't get off the horse on the trail at this stage, EXCEPT for that
railroad crossing.  Water crossings I teach from the saddle.  And By The Way,
the sprinklers on that sod farm always seem to pop up on my horses first trip
through it, just another learning opportunity.  
    Once the horse has been across the sod farm and back (on the two track
only) he has learned to deal with ducks rising from the pod (just a foot from
us), sprinklers popping up unannounced, maybe a sodfarm employee driving by in
his truck waving a "Good Morning," a crop duster buzzing us at five hundred
decibels, and various other things. 
    Remember, this was only the start.  To introduce this horse, who is
growing with confidence in leaps and bounds and dealing with the new world
around him, to traffic on the gravel county roads we have to employ even more
"tuned in" methods.  I have built quiet and happy horses this way, eager to go
anywhere with me to learn some more.
    I could be wrong about all this stuff, I just try to do what my horse
tells me to.
Frank.