Horses that spook Ideas to calm them down

[2468herdsrgr8]

Okay as most of you know in another horse thread I just bought my first horse at the age of 40 somethin'....Great horse,I have a trainer,took lessons and still taking lessons with this horse...
I know to to" de spook " a horse he has to be introduced to it(fly spray,blankets,plastic bags etc.) repeatedly ...slowly....gentley ....and it takes time..and to work on it....For our lessons once a week we ride our horses (3 of us) about a mile away from our place to my girlfriends outdoor arena and theres a home that we pass that had broodmares for harness racing ...you cannot see them from the road because of liliac trees but everytime we pass there ....my guy spooks .he can hear /smell the horse.....like going side ways ...he's a retired barrel horse...luckily my saddle is very deep !!...and then the other two horses spook....
My question ...I hope this is okay but I have started holding the reins in both hands and scratching his withers/neck on each side ..when I see him starting to breath funny or look around...and on the way home I was singing ...Alan Jackson...because thats the C.D they had on at the barn ..."Dont Rock the Jutebox"....My horse likes my singing I am really sure he does.....ha ha ha !!!..I dont know about my family and neighbours thou ...but I found my horses ears listening to me and I think in a way it was relaxing me...But I still have contact with the horse...
I think he does this because he has only been here three weeks and he has to adjust ...plus he has had only one owner before me...he's 10 yrs old....but on the other hand he has been all over the States/Canada in shows....so he should be use to things...so am I doing this right..He was also the babysitter of all the weanlings in his previous place....do you have any other ideas to get him to calm down before we reach the scary part of the road...or would it just take time and patience...Thanks

 

[valmom]

Really sounds like you are on the right track! Singing is great- it not only calms the horse down, but it calms YOU down from anticipating a problem, forces you to breathe, and you relax, the horse relaxes more. You are telling him that there is nothing that eats horses on the other side of that hedge, no matter what he thinks.

The worst thing you can do is tense up in anticipation and get tight with the reins or your seat/legs.

 

[2468herdsrgr8]

Thanks so much ! Singing has always calmed me down ...even when my babies were crying at 3am....and i tell you I am not a singer....ha ha ha !! What do you think about scratching his withers....I ask that because my daughter now takes english lessons and one of the girls in her class rides a QH who's very fast and LOVES to jump the coach is always saying give him a scratch after or before a jump to calm him down...have you ever heard of that?...I have tried it and it seems to work ....

 

[big brown horse]

I agree with not tencing up. Spooky horses need confident riders. They need you to be the leader so they can relax. I have one of the most spooky horses alive, I'm convinced.

I have raised and trained many, many horses and I needed to ask for help with this one. I was told to work him through with confidence. Duh!! I didn't realize it but when I thought something that was going to spook him I would tence up, so I was really sending him the message "you better watch out something up there is liable to jump out at us." I also just tell him, with my voice and my body language, when he gets spooky-ish "Come on boy, you can DO it!"

Now when I see a problem ahead I start to sit more confidently, get his mind off of it by making him circle a tree for no reason etc and pat his neck with confidence and pass the object (holding the saddle horn!). If he spooks, well we turn around and pass it again and again until he is sick of spooking..and learns you were right, nothing to fear!

 

[valmom]

Scratching their withers is a calming thing for them, too. Ever watched a herd of horses grooming each other with blissful expressions on their faces? And, besides, what could go wrong when you're being scritched?

 

[2468herdsrgr8]

I know what you mean by the saddle horn !!!

Thats the same things our trainer is telling me also...I am confident to some degree until he (the trainer) throughs something new at me...Like last night he asked me to jog around a circle of pilons and I would tense up and he was telling me I kept putting my legs up way behind the girth and heels in....and then I was going forward...he said it looked like I was getting ready to jump off and I was making my horse go faster...but he said it all comes with practise practise and more practise and I only had him for 3 weeks...but my trainer road him and he has a bumpy jog and a smooth lope.....

 

[2468herdsrgr8]

Scratching their withers is a calming thing for them, too. Ever watched a herd of horses grooming each other with blissful expressions on their faces? And, besides, what could go wrong when you're being scritched?

Yes thats true when you really think about it...I really need someone to scratch my back...thanks so much ...

 

[Countrymom]

Keeping calm, being confident and breathing relaxed yourself will help your horse see you as his leader. I would suggest making him work a bit in the area he is spooky at and do not let him turn his butt to the area he is spooking at. Keeping him facing or turning at all times and get him to realize that spooking means work. Horses are generally lazy and if he has to work in order to spook he will soon relax and forget about it. Many horse spook or run off easily when presented with loose horses in a pasture within their eyesight. Teaching yourself to be calm in other environments will help you when the situation arrives. Don't panic, always think.

And remember.....

NEVER EVER EVER PULL ON THE SADDLE HORN! ....ALWAYS PUSH.

If you pull yourself up to the horn or grip it in a clutching way you are putting your weight forward over the shoulders and neck. If you were going over fences that may be fine, but if he goes sideways you are going head first down. Pushing on the horn will push your seat deep in the saddle and keep you in that saddle better than pulling. Push down in the heals will keep you from gripping also.

 

[big brown horse]

NEVER EVER EVER PULL ON THE SADDLE HORN! ....ALWAYS PUSH.

If you pull yourself up to the horn or grip it in a clutching way you are putting your weight forward over the shoulders and neck. If you were going over fences that may be fine, but if he goes sideways you are going head first down. Pushing on the horn will push your seat deep in the saddle and keep you in that saddle better than pulling. Push down in the heals will keep you from gripping also.

In all of my years with horses no one ever explained that to me. It makes perfect sence!! Thanks for sharing!

Always learning, always learning!

 

[Countrymom]

NEVER EVER EVER PULL ON THE SADDLE HORN! ....ALWAYS PUSH.

If you pull yourself up to the horn or grip it in a clutching way you are putting your weight forward over the shoulders and neck. If you were going over fences that may be fine, but if he goes sideways you are going head first down. Pushing on the horn will push your seat deep in the saddle and keep you in that saddle better than pulling. Push down in the heals will keep you from gripping also.

In all of my years with horses no one ever explained that to me. It makes perfect sence!! Thanks for sharing!

Always learning, always learning!

LOL How do you think a rider stays on a cutting horse? Next time any of you ride, just as the horse stands still, pull on the horn and notice where your body and legs are in the saddle. Then push on the horn and see where your body and legs are. You will be amazed at how stable you become in a rough situation when you are pushing. I teach all my new riders to push and when I finally ask them to take their hand off the horn while they are loping it is amazing how they seem to know how to sit a lope.

Glad I could help!