Spooky Arabs (long)

[Lynette Helgeson <helgeson@lansford.ndak.net>]

Bob & Amber Roberts wrote:
> 
> I'm curious - are Arabs spookier than other breeds?  I have my first full Arabian
> and he is terribly spooky.  I can "sit" the spooks of the other horses I've
> ridden, but this Arab has flung me off twice.  (I've written RideCamp about that
> before.)  If Arabs are spookier, why?  Do most of them get over it with more
> miles?

No I don't believe that Arabs are spookier then other breeds but I do
believe they are very intelligent, sensitive to stimulus and love to
play games. For instance, I am training an Arab mare right now who loves
to go out riding but loves even more to go home. She will go anywhere I
want and is not scared until we get close to the barn and then she will
spook and bolt, that gets her closer to the barn. When she does that I
calmly turn and go the other direction and we take more time getting to
the barn. Eventually she will learn that spooking is counterproductive
and will stop. 

We bought an beautiful, big Arab gelding once that was cheap, cheap,
cheap! His problem was he would shy, spook, bolt, run and rear. And when
he wasn't doing that he was prancing and dancing, HOT. No one wanted to
ride him. He was 10 years old. We retrained him and now my 8 year old
twins ride him. He is a love to ride, my favorite riding horse. Just had
to get past all the pain and games, plus they had the wrong equipment on
him. My point being that you have to understand the horse that you are
working with and then, you need to communicate with him on what you
want. If you don't get what you want, you need to study and figure out
why and then try communicating again. That is what training is all
about. Understanding and communicating with your horse. If you want your
horse to go down the trail and not spook and he is, then you are not
communicating with him. He is not understanding what you want. Or maybe
he understands what you want and doesn't care because he is going to do
what he wants. Maybe some part of your equipment is bothering him and he
is trying to tell you that. Maybe you are communicating your fear to him
that you are afraid he is going to spook at something and he senses your
fear, and then figures that if your are afraid, he had better be. Maybe
he does not trust you or see you as an leader. Maybe he has vision
problems, or other physical problems that have him worried. Do you see
where I am coming from? Just riding out the spooks is not communicating,
you have to figure out why he is spooking and work to correct that.
Otherwise you could get hurt. And if you don't think that you can do
that, you need to find a trainer who can. But be careful, do not use a
trainer who is not use to working with Arabs. I would never take an Arab
to a trainer who does not like them. They are a sensitive horse and some
trainers heavy handed methods can just about ruin any good arab. 

I hope this helps
Lynette


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