on the
oo Horse ‘‘
The Sp ky
Palm Partnership Training™ Building a Partnership with Your Horse
When dealing with a spooky horse, go back to the routine we suggested
in previous articles before to prepare him for his first trail ride.
If he is spooky on a trail, it is better to work on overcoming spookiness
issues there rather than moving on to a different trail.
If he has been on a trail before and he has spooked or resisted, stop
and figure out the reason why this happened. Was he reacting to
something permanent that cannot be changed along the trail like a tree
stump or a water crossing? Or did he spooked at something temporary,
like a gush of wind, a grouse that flushed in front of him, or a
sound in the bushes?
If it was something permanent, to improve his training on the next
ride get off his back and on the ground before reaching the object he
spooked at. One key to controlling a spooky horse is that you must stop
him before he decides to stop and spook. In this way you keep control
so the horse can address the offending obstacle before he stops and
spooks in fright.
How do you do that? By being alert to the horse’s body language.
Watch for these cues that tell you he is getting ready to spook. His ears
are alert. His eyes get bigger. His breathing gets stronger. As soon as
you hear stronger breathing than normal, this is the point where you
want to stop and dismount.
While on the ground be sure to give the horse his head to let him
study the obstacle and swing his head to see it with both his left and
right eye. After he studies it and seems to ignore the obstacle, take a
few steps toward it. Stop and let the horse study it again. When he
appears to ignore it again, continue the process until you reach the
spooky spot. Allow him to smell it. This will really give him confidence.
Once he seems to accept it, the lesson is not over yet. He must learn
to accept the obstacle when 1) it is behind him, and 2) when approaching
it from the opposite direction. In the first situation the scary obstacle
that he accepted and walked past is now behind him. Horses sometimes
show more spookiness when an obstacle is behind him. This is
because a horse is a flight animal. His reaction once he has passed a
spooky spot may be to flee or overreact to spook away from it.
In the second situation, a horse may be spooky approaching an obstacle
Health
he has already accepted when he comes at it from the opposite
direction. This is because a horse sees things differently from each
direction. If you get him accustomed to the scary obstacle coming at it
EQUINE only from one direction, when he approaches it from the opposite direction
he may ignore it, spook with the same level of concern as before,
or spook even worse. Be sure to accustom the horse to obstacles from
both directions!
64 www.EliteEquestrianMagazine.com As you start to leave spooky spot, such as walking past a scary stump,
take a step or two and stop. Let him look and swing his head and let
him look at the spot with each eye. If he moves and does not stand still,
reposition him exactly where he was standing. Do not circle to reposition
him. If he moves to the right, reposition him to the left. If he moves
left, reposition him to the right. If he moves forward, back him and vice
versa until he is positioned right back to where he was originally standing.
This is very important to do to keep his respect and keep you in
charge of the situation. Get him accustomed to approaching the scary
spot from the opposite direction.
Remember, when on the ground, be ready to use the “move away from
me” commands. The horse’s first instinct will be to herd or get close to
you. This is dangerous, and puts him in control of the situation. Do not
let him move on top of you! Make him move away and respect your
space as he learns to accept the obstacle.
When you are between 15 to 20 feet away from the obstacle you can
remount and move on to whatever you were doing prior to the spookiness.
Continue with the same short segments if his spookiness returns.
Take a few steps, stop, study the obstacle, etc. The more time you
take time to let him study an obstacle, the shorter time it will take him to
accept it. On the other hand, if you rush this process or force him, it will
take you longer to get him to accept it.
The way to handle spooky behavior while mounted is basically the
same as on the ground. Stop before getting to the spooky object and
allow the horse his head so he can see it with both eyes. Once he
seems to ignore it, take a few steps towards it, stop, and let him look
again. If he does not stop, but starts “dancing” around, reposition him
to the exact point where you asked him to stop. Instead of using the
“move away from me” command, use your seat, leg, and hand aids to
put him back in position. If he goes to the right, use your aids to make
him come back to the left and vice versa. If he backs up, send him
forward to the spot where you asked him to stop.
What to do when a horse spooks? Turn him with the inside rein quickly
and just as quickly loosen the outside rein. Keep him turning in as tight
a circle as possible until you get control. Be very careful not to keep a
tight outside rein. The horse may react to this by rearing. Do not pull on
both reins either. The horse will only “run” through the reins. Don’t look
down at whatever the horse is reacting to, instead look up and away
from it. Hold the saddle horn with the same hand that is holding the
outside rein.
Training Trail:
We are continuing our series on “training outside the box.” To review, we have important steps to prepare for
training on the trail, including reading the horse to recognize his inner energy level and working with him to release
it, preparing the rider through warm up and stretching exercises, and building safety and confidence on the
trail. We covered training tips for dealing with two of three common trail training issues: the horse that wants to
always be in the lead and the horse that wants to run up from behind.
More...
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