fresh and spooky - any tips?

[insecure123]

Exercising my friends gorgeous ex racer. he is an absolute sweetheart - on the ground

He hasn't been worked much in a while and is a little fresh! He is also very spooky. I only started riding him less than a month ago so we are still getting to know each other but lo and behold I am besotted with him! However in the field at one end of the school there are a couple of cows and the field at the other end donkeys/other horses.....this gives him the perfect excuse to spook at each end! He doesn't do anything too drastic - a little spin and a few fast steps. But then it's a challenge to get him walking by again!

It isn't helped by the fact that just now we can only ride at night - the floodlit school must create some very scary coo shaped moving shadows - and the one day I managed to get there during the day - it was mega windy so everything was heightened.

I have been trying to do a fair bit of groundwork in the school - when I am beside him he barely bats an eyelid at any of the monsters - as soon as I am on his back its a different story.

I have been working in walk and trot only and plan to continue this for now until we get the fundamentals right with each other and have been doing plenty of circling, movements etc past all the scary things - they are not going away so he really needs to be getting some confidence around him.

It doesn't feel to me like he is taking the pe - he seems to really need to get his confidence from his rider (walks out the stable with eyes on stalks just looking for scary stuff)

Does anyone have any other tips? I do get regular lessons on another yard and am thinking of booking my (fabulous) instructor to come to the yard and give us some lessons together - but I really would like to get the spooking in hand first?

Getting your instructor to come out sounds like an excellent plan as without knowing the horse it's hard to advise. How is he for his owner and does she have any useful tips on how she rides him through it?

In general I would say the best solution to spookyness is a firm but fair approach and making the horse work hard and concentrate on you rather than on scary things- sounds like you are already trying this but if it isn't working then you may need to change things - possibly by getting a bit firmer and less tolerant of him, or you may need to back off a bit, it all depends on the horse.

With my old boy who was the spook king (we're talking full spins, sideways leaps, nostrils flaring at imaginary dragons in the bushes, total drama king stuff) he responded best to an immediate sharp growl the split second I felt him look at something, firm boot forwards backed up with a flick of the whip if necessary and by being kept working hard, well up into the bridle on a strong-ish contact for at least the first 20 mins of a session until his freshness was worked out. That approach absolutely would not work with my current mare who can also be spooky and tense, being told off stresses her out more and things then escalate - so with her as I feel her start to tense I give her a scratch down the neck, encourage her to stretch and move forward, really focusing on loosening the tension which she carries in her neck. With her I am not ashamed to move away from the scary part of the school and work somewhere else until she's forgotten it (which she usually does quite quickly) whereas that was not a good idea with old boy who would then refuse to go back down that end/into that corner without a huge argument. Neither horse I would say was un-genuine or taking the piss (old boy perhaps a bit at first but he would also regularly genuinely scare himself with his antics if not stopped and re-focused quickly!) but very different approaches needed to stopping it.

Sorry if that's not much help but good luck in sorting it! Hopefully your instructor can help...

Getting someone on the ground to help is the best idea as they can assess the horse and what is happening.

Depending on his character one of two approaches might work: either be businesslike and expect him to just get in with things or give him time to think things through by avoiding the spooky area and working in the middle of the school until he chills. A bit of distraction works sometimes so pop some poles on the ground in different shapes and work going over and round them, if he focuses on that he may forget to spook.

Get the instructor ASAP - having an experienced pair of eyes on the ground will help you know exactly what your best course of action is. He /She will give you the confidence to know that the horse either needs re-assurance, more to keep his brain occupied, a bit of a hooley on the lunge first, a more determined rider etc etc etc..... choosing the wrong method will not help either of you! He sounds like a sweetie and as an ex racer is probably not used to doing much ridden work alone so I would guess at boosting his confidence would be the most likely method. You could working on a circle in the non scary bit of the arena, lots of transitions, leg yield in and out, stretching out etc etc and when you have his attention just sneak circle into an oval towards scary bits with loads of praise. Try making his ‘stop, drop the reins and get a great big pat’ bit as close to the scary end as poss and sneak a bit closer each time. I find reward much more positive and effective than firm riding. Think happy and positive and go over the top with praise for every single improvement and he will trust you to look after him. Good luck.