How can I get my horse to stop spooking?

Question

I went on a trail ride yesterday and the horse I was riding goes out on trail rides a lot, and we did good when we started.

Ok lets see,,,, I took him out and we started off in a field then we crossed a road and ran up and down some hills and then we started to walk along a busy road, he was fine for the first mile or so then he began to spook worse on the cars that drove bye, and then about 4 hours into the ride a truck drove by and he reared straight up and did a roll back, I fell off and he ran. The people I was riding with galloped off after him and cought him. He was unmanageable on and off ground after that. I mean unmanageable, he almost killed my cousin and me.

What do you think went wrong? and how can i get him used to cars without getting killed?

ps. we ride trails this long and longer all the time so I know it wasnt the distance or that he was tired, oh yeah and his saddle was custom made for him, his last owner had it done becuase the horse has a wierd back

Answer 1

Cover his eyes

Answer 2

put some blinkers on your horse it keeps them from looking down if you have some if not go to a store.

Answer 3

First off, applause for conditioning your horse to long rides in all terrain and having a good fitting saddle too. It is also nice that you weren't alone!

Q:When your horse began to spook before the truck, what did the other horses do?

Stopping spooking begins right when it starts.. the very first step. Like a whining dog, it just gets worse. They get them self all wound up and it only goes worse from there.

To stop the spookies,take him out of the situation the second it starts, and do somthing easy,calming, and even if it is just walking alongside him,  Rebuild his confidence in you!

All horses gain thier absolute trust in us, and when it falls off.. somtimes literally, its back to step one. Some people love ground work.

How to get him used to cars again without getting you and your friends killed? One step at a time. Panic is an awful riding companion, and adreneline can kill. Are you OK with reconditioning him on short road rides with safe exits?With a solid friend ona calm steady horse?

The ammount a "bombproof " horse is truly spookless depends entirely on his trust in  you: fireworks, llamas,lightening,wild pigs,trailer wrecks....just another day !

Note: cars with "deer whistlers" emit a high lound whistle mostly heard by animals, and it terrorizes them beyond bolief, which supposedly deterrs deer but horses die from them.  In your case though, it sounds like he just worked  himself into a state.

Glad you are  alive today !

Answer 4

first never go on a trail alone (it's good that you were with others that time). teach him that cars are okay. first just walk him up to a car that isn't moving. let him get used to the sight so that it is familiar. then have the car drive by him (not too close) at the slowest speed possible. if he reacts badly, stop for the day and then try again later. slowly increase the speed of the car (slowly as in 1 or 2 mph). eventually he will get used to the cars. he is probably scared of the sound, so make sure that he hears the car and behaves how you want him to.

Answer 5

OK well he might have gotten nervous with all the cars being there and might have just freaked out. here are some tips for you  that might help. (i had a horse that would spook from a lot at first so i know what you are going through. PS he doesn't any more)

--Start back slowly, don't just rush into tryin to get him used to cars

--NEVER be alone when you are working with him even if you feel really comfortable

-start back by just riding out in the hills and on trails and don't go by the road for a little while

--Make sure YOU are the one in control don't let him do what he wants

-- when you are brushing him down, put a radio on or a CD or some load music or noise because it might be the sound that bothers him.

--also try just leading him near parked trucks and cars or have the car started and just SLOWLY let him know that it is not going to hurt him.

--also sometimes your horse is just having a bad day just let it go and try again another day.

-- somthing as little as a grass hopper could have spooked him or it might have been one of the other horses

with horses you have to realize the surrounding and you have to be ready for anything. you never know what a horse will do and never get totally relaxed and never be unprepared for anything.  always expect the unexpected

Answer 6

You can do many things first thing to do is if he starts spooking  on the trail calmly find a field away from the road and do some flat work and focusing excersises.  If he has any basic dressage training now is a good time to use it.  Asking him to round and come onto the bit and do some 30 meter circles keeping him bent.  Leg yields ect.  That will get his brain off the car and back on to you.  It will remind him that you are there with him to keep him safe.  If you feel him get so tense he is going to start to rear or bolt quickly snug your reins (as calmly as u can) and matter of factly turn his nose to touch the toe of ur boot.  This is an awkard postion for a horse and it's extremely hard for them to be able to bolt or buck like this.  I guess a rear might would be possible but it'll make it a lot harder for him to be naughty.  Also if he's starting to get upset near the road have one of your friends who has a quiet calm horse ride up beside u.  If they are an experience rider and the horses will allow it you can have them quietly loop a lead rein through the bit or headstall and pony the horse on the side of their horse that is away from the road.  This way the other calm horses acts as a bit of a buffer for ur horse and will help you maintain control and ur horse from getting loose beside a road.  Back home if you have a round pen do a join up with him and begin a course of desensation training, not unlike they do with police horses.  Get him used to standing beside u calmly with waving flags, loud noises, bikes riding past (as it may be the motion) after you've gotten him used to every sort of wierd thing you can think of (to build his confidence that you won't allow anything to hurt him) do it with you on his back and finally apply it to cars.  I like doing this training in a round pen or arena using something simliar to monty roberts thinking.  Being with you is the nice spot, it's where he wants to be.  If u wave a flag and he wants to rear or buck you chase him to the outside of the round pen and make him canter and trot for five mintues or until he is asking to be back near you.  Make being with you the best place in the world even if it means being near things.  It will be that working becomes worse than whatever he has to tolerate to stand quietly near you and rest.  De-spooking sessions should be 30 or 45 mintues at the most, and since your horse gets upset so easily you may need to start 10 to 15 mintues.  Just try to find good postive notes to end on.  You horse should be more quiet and calm than when you started or you've done something wrong to upset it and make it stay upset.  IM me if u have any questions.

Answer 7

First of all, you are lucky to be alive and in one piece after the horrific experience that you and your horse had.You need to stay off the road for a while with this horse- and I would recommend that you take your horse ( in a trailer or van, NOT by riding) to a place where there are either no roads with traffic, or the roads have very minimal traffic. When your horse spooked, it sounds like you were next to a state highway, or perhaps even an interstate!!! This is not only extremely dangerous for you and your horse, in many if not most states it is also ILLEGAL!!!. Once you are in a quiet place where there is no motor vehicle traffic, then you can ride your horse as you normally would. You can walk along a road, but make sure that you only do it for short periods of time- no more than 5 or 10 minutes at a time at first, until your horse has a chance to hear the traffic and become accustomed to the noise. For your own safety, make absoulutely sure that you ALWAYS have an"out" that is, an escape route and a way to get away from the traffic that will not harm either you or your horse. This means NO riding on the shoulders of busy highways or roads, especially those with deep culverts or ditches. If your horse spooks again, the danger is that he will bolt right into the traffic- he almost did this first time, and it nearly got you killed. I would also recommend that you take your horse on short rides to desensitize him to traffic AFTER he has worked hard in the ring for a while. He will be a little tired, and is more likely to listen to you and less apt to spook. Having a radio on in the barn is a good idea- as is keeping your horse outside while you do things like run a tractor or mow grass. These things wil help your horse get used to noise in an enviornment that is safe and non-threatening to him. You should also practice making sounds while he is in the safety of his stall or paddock- this can include banging on things, playing loud music, turning on electrically operated machines ( we have an air compressor on our farm that we use for filling the tractor's tires, and most of our horses will spook a bit at it) starting and reving tractor, truck, or car motors, and so forth. This will give him a chance to see and experience the noise first hand, and he will eventually get used to it and realize that it is harmless if this is done long enough. Spooking at trucks and large vehicles is a little more problematic- almost every horse I have ever known will spook at such things unless they have seen them frequently. About the only way I know to solve that problem is to pasture or stable the horse near a construction site, especially one where there is a lot of grading and excavation going on. The horse will spook like mad at first, but over time, he will get used to the noise and learn to ignore it, and after a while, the large trucks ( dump trucks are great for this) will become less scary to him. Try some of these things- I hope they help. Good luck.

Answer 8

Its all about getting him used to what he's afraid of. I would take him on a leadline and walk along a shoulder with all kinds of traffic. Expose him to it without being on his back. You will get a better idea of what sets him off without putting yourself and others at risk. Once he is conditioned to all traffic , then you can ride him in it. They do this with foals , walking through puddles and banging pots around their ears and things to get them used to scary noises.Good luck and be careful.