Spookie Mare

Bendihorse

Anyone got any tips on how to desensitize an irrationally spookie young mare?

The slightest gust of wind blowing at her and shes ducking and diving, and she spooks at things on the floor of the arean that she may have passed unnoticed 5 times before in the same schooling session - shes driving me nuts!!

She is quite highly strung so im wondering should i keep introducing her to new things slowly and hope that she gets sense eventually (shes just gone 4) or should i try her on some herbal calming products?

Im not the most confident rider myself so im also taking a bit of a shaking during these mini episodes!

fits

Does she have much turnout? Do you feed her much?

I had a filly like this myself, but she was sold as she'd need a much more confident rider than I.

Perhaps look to some of the natural horsemanship books? Clinton Anderson is supposed to be quite good..

togster

Hi Bendihorse.

I know what its like to have an irrationally spooky horse. When i was younger i too suffered with a spooky horse. The one thing i learned is that you need to be a very confident experienced rider to handle such horses. What starts out as an irrational fear soon develops into a habit if the mare feels she is getting the upper hand. I would suggest getting someone to ride her for you for a while. Someone confident and gentle to get her through this "learning phase". Its difficult to develop your own skills if you are having to guide her past a plastic bag in the arena. Believe me it soon becomes a very habbit to break when the fear is replaced by stubborness and "bitchiness".

However if this option is not plausible try really sitting down into the saddle. Let your legs wrap around her and SIT BACK. ALWAYS keep your weigth behind her and drive her forward maybe using a long dressage whip as an aid.
I know its a daunting experience when a horse is shying at everything but by sitting back your problems will be halved and you will be safer.

There is no magic cure except perseverence (spell?) and positive reinforcement. Good luck!!

ps. Has she started napping?? or just shying??

Bendihorse

Thanks for the advice guys...

I had her with a great trainer up until yesterday (Togster - you may know him, Damien Griffin from Lissyegan Stables) and his opinion was that shes not a bad sort and has loads of ability jump wise but needs good positive riding.

When he saw me riding her he said that she was comfortable and relaxed with me -even moreso than she was with him or his work riders (who she had off once or twice) but she had the tendancy to be silly and needed riding on (he has legs like i dont know what and its difficult for me to ride her on as much as she has grown used to when being ridden by him)

When she makes to spook, she plunges forward or shies away to the side but pulls up again quite suddenly so its not a blind bolt (thank god or id be finished with her long ago!)

She seems to be particularaly nervous about whats going on 'behind' her or whats happening on her back - if shes fresh she spends quite a while 'Eyeballing' you in the saddle with her head up before she relaxes into work.

Damien had her Sire and some offspring at his yard for some time and says that all his prodegny are REALLY spooky and nappy and that she seems to be a lot better than most!

Im moving her to a new livery yard in Sligo where i hope to work on some of these issues, damien brought her to some shows while he had her which seemed to improve her no end so maybe it is just babyish behaviour... none the less, i may try her on some slow release energy foods or even something with calming properties - theres no harm in trying them anyway!

fits

Also, if she has a comfort zone, try and keep her in that as much as possible, and stretch the boundaries a little every day (before she blows).
So if she's comfortable hacking down a lane, do that every day for a week, hopefully without incident building up your confidence in each other, and try go a little further every day.
It is also a good idea to keep her mind working. Vary the paces, do lots of transitions. Lateral work if you can... Work work work, so she has no time to think about what to spook at next.

fits

Bendihorse wrote:

T
She seems to be particularaly nervous about whats going on 'behind' her or whats happening on her back - if shes fresh she spends quite a while 'Eyeballing' you in the saddle with her head up before she relaxes into work.

I know its not done much here, but have you a good idea of whether her saddle fits her well? I changed saddles on my old mare, and it completely changed her way of going (and she stopped bucking altogether).
Her old saddle was far too narrow, resulting in pressure points (and all my weight) just below her withers on each side. There would have been better weight distribution if I'd been riding bareback...:(

Bendihorse

They are both Pieces of basic and Fundamental advice:- i.e the only way of riding through/solving the problem.

The 'Sit deep in the saddle' thing was never a really a strong point with me as as soon as i get nervous i start creeping up the neck - however when i concentrate i can MAKE myself sit deep i just have to remember to do it in that little moment of panic!

Im sure though lots of varied work as suggested by Fitz, both of us will improve to a stage where shes spooking less and that when she does spook im able to stay on and ride her out of them.

Now all i need to do is get geared up for the challenge! I am looking forward to it to be honest, iv had Bold ben for so long and he poses no challenge at all really... now i want to see what im capable of

fits

Its very easy for me to give advice sitting in front of a computer and not having ridden in a year... It sounds like you've a good attitude and help at hand, so hopefully your youngster will gain confidence, and grow out of this behaviour..

togster

Hey bendihorse. I know damien pretty well. Great horseman. Your mare will have had a great start in life. The one thing i would suggest is sticking with it. I have had a couple of mares in my day and some have been crazy, stubborn and silly. However i also had one who was my best horse. When a mare finally trusts you you will have a great horse. If she acts up or spooks, shying away from something just ride past it. Dont make a deal of it and ride past it again. I saw a video by Monty Roberts once. In it he uses plastic bags to help break in young wild horses. His thinking was is that if a horse is exposed to a hazard enough it will eventually become desenthysized. However if your mare shows any notion to nap. Get someone to sort her out. Napping can develop into a serious problem rendering your horse invaluable and dangerous. ¨
Bendihorse you sound really aware of your horse so you will be fine

otwb

Hi there,

I have a TB who gets pretty uptight, found that the best thing to do is to try to stay relaxed yourself (easier said than done I know - try singing to yourself!). They then figure out that there is really nothing to be worried about. If she's really bad when you are out on her then why not take her a few places in hand for a while? This is what we did with youngstock...I did have a problem with one pony going through a phase of following anything in a white coat but he got over that!

togster

otwb wrote:

Hi there,

I have a TB who gets pretty uptight, found that the best thing to do is to try to stay relaxed yourself (easier said than done I know - try singing to yourself!). They then figure out that there is really nothing to be worried about. If she's really bad when you are out on her then why not take her a few places in hand for a while? This is what we did with youngstock...I did have a problem with one pony going through a phase of following anything in a white coat but he got over that!

I would highly disagree with this suggestion. It doesn't work. The horse learns to rely on the person leading it instead pf the person on it. And the fear isn't conquered. Riding forward is the only solution. A horses natural instinct is to follow and this instinct must be removed from an early age. Young horses should be hacked out with other horses but be made go in front at times. I live in Sweden and they do this leading malarky. It doesnt work. When i try to teach riders the horses are drawn to me in the centre of the arena for re-assurance. A horse must face the fear on its own four feet with direction from the rider. If you expect to complete a round of showjumps the horse must trust its own ability to go on its own.

fits

togster wrote:

I would highly disagree with this suggestion. It doesn't work. The horse learns to rely on the person leading it instead pf the person on it. And the fear isn't conquered. Riding forward is the only solution. A horses natural instinct is to follow and this instinct must be removed from an early age. Young horses should be hacked out with other horses but be made go in front at times. I live in Sweden and they do this leading malarky. It doesnt work. When i try to teach riders the horses are drawn to me in the centre of the arena for re-assurance. A horse must face the fear on its own four feet with direction from the rider. If you expect to complete a round of showjumps the horse must trust its own ability to go on its own.

Hmm.. I'm not sure I agree with you there. I know where you're coming from, but isnt it a good idea to introduce youngstock to new things on foot if both you and the horse are more comfortable? Long reining is a great way to do this too... It just gets them used to being out and about without having to deal with the new experience of a rider on their back as well...
Nothing wrong with walking horses out in hand... as long as they're taught to hack out alone as well...

togster

Long-reining is great. However my argument isn't with the on-foot thing. Long reigning still involves the horse going forward on its own. Where as leading the horse is just that... the horse follows you. I have broken many horses and long-reining is invaluable. The horse gains confidence going on its own. I have also seen people try to do this leading the horse if the horse spooks etc. The horse doesn't conquer its fear on its own. These are just my opinions. Everyone to their own!!!

Borderfox

Horse take a lot of leadership from their riders and if you have a good relationship with your horse from the moment you come into contact with them to when you are on their back it will lead to a more relaxed and confident rider and horse. If a horse reacts to something they see and you dont it tends to calm their fear and they can move on, personally I wouldnt see it as negative to get down off my horse and lead them somewhere, I would see that as win/win of course care has to be taken when judging the strenght of the reaction to an obstacle. Maybe it might be prudent to go out with a well established horse to help you horse.