Training Tip: Don’t Ignore Your Horse’s Spooky Behavior

Whenever you’re with your horse—no matter whether you’re on the ground or under saddle—anytime a training opportunity presents itself, don’t ignore it. If your horse uses the reactive side of his brain and spooks at an object, get him back to using the thinking side of his brain and build his confidence about the object.

When I can tell that an object has caught my horse’s attention—he keeps eyeing it or he tenses underneath me—I put his feet to work. If there is room to move around the object, I canter the horse in a circle around it. You can also trot your horse, but it’s important to make his feet hustle. He needs to have a sense of urgency. If you let him dilly dally around, you’re defeating the purpose of this exercise. If your horse is really scared of the object, just start circling as close to it as you can. As you move through the exercise, he’ll eventually get closer to it.

After cantering a time and a half around the spooky object, ask the horse to turn into it and go in the opposite direction. Directing the horse’s feet gets him to tune in to you. Your horse is either thinking about what you’re asking him to do or what he’s scared of. But he’s not concentrating on both things at the same time.

Each time you ask your horse to turn in toward the spooky object and canter off in the opposite direction, he’ll get closer to it. Eventually, he’ll be right next to it.

When you feel that your horse is using the thinking side of his brain and is tuned in to you and relaxed, let him drop down to a walk. Then stop him right next to the spooky object and let him rest on a big, loose rein.

Letting the horse rest next to the scary object just reinforces to him the idea that it’s nothing to be scared of. Plus, if he wants to investigate it—sniff it or touch it—he’s able to. Anytime your horse wants to investigate something, encourage him to do so, especially if it’s an object you’re going to ask him to step on or cross. If he hasn’t done his own safety check and assured himself that it’s nothing to be worried about, getting him to cross it will be next to impossible.

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