Re. Spooking

[Annette Gordon <agordon@worldofwonder.net>]

Dear person with spooking horse(didn't catch your name)

My horse spooks all the time. Can do it from a standstill, at a trot and
worse at canter and gallop. I have to be prepared for it at all times. I
cope by having now a very good seat, thanks to many lessons with my dressage
insructor. I have learnt to sit deep in the saddle with my body in balance
with my horse and I have learnt to read my horses movements quickly. It
helps enormously if you sit up straight and watch what your head is doing
since your head weighs a lot and can compromise your balance if it tips
forward etc. Think of when babies have no control over the head before their
necks strengthen their heads sort of flop and the rest of the body follows. 

I also wear jodpurs that have a fabulous sort of sticky fake suede effect on
the seat and legs, they help me stay in the saddle too. 

The other thing I have learnt to do recently is what we call over here - leg
on - that is I press with my legs around my horses body when I see or feel
she is likely to spook. I don't mean grip in terror I mean a firm pressing
encouragin forward movement. It works. It sort of feels like you are holding
them together with your legs, that's what I think of when I am doing it. I
am holding her together to get passed scary object. You can employ this
method at high speed to but requires that your leg muscle tone is good. 

Above all you have to remain calm. Not just for your horse but your own
sake. The above are things you can do to cope though, not things to stop
spooking. I think if you have a spooky horse you are always going to have
that problem to a greater or lesser degree. However with my mare, and she is
a mare (they ARE more security conscious than geldings) I find she improves
all the time on this front. As she gets more and more confident in what she
is doing and in me as her rider and guardian - she spooks less and less. But
I know that she will always spook sometime. 

Good luck. 

Annette