Horses that spook - how to fix it
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2011
- Simple, easy to understand instruction on how to fix a spooking problem.
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So far, I have never seen a horse praise another horse for doing something. Your horses greatest reward is the release of pressure, which is how horses reward a request.
That is a gross oversimplification that totally misses vast areas of equine behavioral interactions. Horses make many kinds of "requests" to one another -- most of which have nothing to do with dominance or rank. They have a rich vocabulary of "friendly" signals that can be a subtle as a certain pattern of breath that says, "I would like to be your friend, may I approach?" which the other horse may then "answer" with a gesture like opening the neck (turning the head aside), or lowering the head, which are both gestures meant to display an invitation to engage in a friendly manner. Spend much time watching natural herds and you see that bonding gestures are far more frequent than any kind of dominance displays. You will also see that horses allowed to process the unfamiliar-but-not-actually-dangerous things in their environment in the way horses are meant to process such things actually get over their fears quite quickly. There is no need to add pressure on top of their fear. When doing that, you are essentially giving them the choice of being more afraid of the object or more afraid of you. What kind of relationship does that build? Why not build an actual relationship of trust where the horse simply DOESN'T SPOOK when they are with you because they trust your leadership and believe that you are a "portable place of safety" -- like a good luck charm that protects them as long as you are around? I'm not saying your methods don't produce results -- just that there are other ways to get where you want to go that don't involve scaring an already frightened animal.
I think you have completely misunderstood what is happening in the video and the comment from Warwick to which you have responded. The horse is not being scared into submitting, its not even being made to submit. Do you think a human could make a horse submit if the horse really didn't want to submit? The horse could continue avoiding the rock if it really wanted to but it becomes more comfortable to face up. What is happening here is that the horse is being made uncomfortable when it does anything other than face what is spooking it. As you saw here, the horse realised that there was nothing to be spooked at and quietly rode past the rock.
This. FTW. 🏆
@@blkgryphon The critical error here is equating pressure with fear; they are not the same thing, and Warwick is not employing fear-merely pressure.
I love that you show real problems and working on them. I feel like the majority of people use their fanciest, best, broke horse for all the videos🤣
That is brilliant! I have a horse that is ok with things while I am on the ground and spooks when I am on her at the same things. This could finally break the frustration cycle! Thanks!
Same here
I can’t wait to practice with my mare. She did a spin around yesterday when we tried to pass some friendly cows in a field. And then again at a road sign. Thanks for this video.
That is truely brilliant, how the horse is not forced extremely violently to 'deal with it'. Great work again.
Love your wonderful videos Warwick. I do hope you won't mind answering a question about spooking. Being a young woman who had ridden all my life on my families 65,000 acre property in far western NSW where emus, kangaroos and pigs are in their thousands I broke in a young cutting bred house giving him heaps I'd ground work and bagging down ( my fourth attempt at breaking). He was a treat to ride, a soft flexing athletic horse with a lovely temperament and so willing to learn. It paid off with a win in the open NCHA futurity and some nice events following them.This lovely horse would shy, often after an eight hour day, the big snort as he threw around in a 180 turn but never ran off or even steeped a little. It wasn't frightened as he would go low and smooth, I was never in fear of falling off. Later on an old respected horseman suggested the horse was short sighted. Since we were about 15 hours drive to a vet I decided to leave it. Have you any experience with horses like this?
I get ya now, Warwick having seen another video when a chestnut was spooking at something just outside the arena.
it's great when you can show what to do. You're a brilliant man! Also, I would like to give credit to, Robin because I know she's the brilliant woman behind the brilliant man!
Great tip and technique. Thanks!
You truly are a master hats off to you💚💚💚
Thank you I will use this for sure!
I like your videos. However i think this one in particular would have made more impact by actually having a spooky horse
This method wouldn't work fo rme. If I put leg on my horse after a spook, she'd take me right through the wall.
She needs groundwork then. You step into the stirrup and then get off, and slowly add more pressure into the stirrup with longer amounts of time. You need to do this with repetition.
struggle with the same thing
He says to start with small things, so we presume will get smaller spooks. Not sure.
Yes, and I have done that too. But, out on the trail, there is ALWAYS the sudden or moving, unexpected "predator"! I notice a lot of these videos are done in nice, relatively quiet, round yards or surroundings at about midday. Unless one has the time, knowledge, skill, will power, etc., etc., the chances of achieving the ultimate outcome of riding ones horse out and about anywhere without it spooking are probably a thousand to one even if you are successful with a certain amount of training. Just take a look at most people riding today. They nearly ALL have problems with their horses particularly out on the trail. And they train their horses. Good luck, folks.
He said in other videos to fix a problem like spooking in a safe area before you head out on a trail. This is probably why most videos are recorded in an arena :)
@@LadyPinkie13 well said😊
beautiful!! i have a very frightened palomino that i am working on at the moment. she was apparently untrainable and crazy but once i got her trust she is becoming a very nice little animal. i think that your videos are going to be a great help if i come across any particularly difficult behaviours!
Nothing like a handsome cowboy who knows how to ride.
Nice! Thank you.
Love that... "Doesn't seem like such a bad rock afterall."
D
That’s so cool!
I have a huge black spooky mare that decides to leap right swiftly (out of know where) when we were trotting along a corn field. I didn’t hear anything but apparently she did! Well that huge left side swipe jolted me off and I landed hard. 10 broken ribs and fluid in my right lung. A little hospital stay too (although I waited a week and went to work 😬 plus drove to pick up a friend 4 hours one way and back) did I fly off because of the momentum and suddenness or do I just have a bad seat that needs a lot of work? She’s super spooky always has been so maybe I should big her to parades or get a tape recording of different sounds in my barn??
It's cool just to watch you ride, not everyone can time it that way.
Definitely hard to time it when you're trying not to fall off 😂
That looks so easy when you do it.
This is a very good solution and has worked for me and my Arab/TB many times out on the trail... and my horse no longer spooks while we walk and trot.. But what would you suggest I do at a canter or gallop? My horse does not spook as in refuse to go forward but as we gallop or canter down a trail he jumps to the side but keeps going.. or slams on the brakes but then carries on? Anyone have any suggestions for that? :)
My bay is scared of dogs. He hears them walk up and wants to take off or jump. What would you do to get him to not be scared of dogs. Thanks!
What is the theme song?
BTW, my horse spooks at everything!
I have this problem with barking dogs which jump up at fences when we pass them on the road. My horse spooks, turns round and tries to canter off up the road which can be dangerous if any cars are around. Any other tips for handing this problem?
Hi Warwick.
The horse that I'm riding is very scared of other animals, like cows, sheep, donkeys and goats. A few days ago the people who owns the stable got goats and he is scared to death! He won't eat anything when he is in his stall, he is just standing in the corner all day. I haven't walked him passed the goats yet but he have seen them from about 20 meters away and he freaked out really bad! Normally he is not a spooky horse at all.
I've just started working on your basic groundwork, do you think that would be enough, or is there something else I can do?
My riding buddy's horse spooked at a hare, ran sideways into me and my horse and made my horse spook, even though my horse did not see the hare I don't think. Scared my horse and he spooked so severely and swiftly I bit the dirt, then my friends horse ran over me. Happened so quick. What about birds flying out of bushes on the trail. Need to find out how to help them be brave.
Horses are so beautiful
my 3 dogs go running up to my horses in there pen and bark at them this is done every day and now the horses dont even react to them at all ...its all just repetition
What if the horse spooks at something in a round yard where you ave limited space
👍⭐
I ride a horse that sometimes spooks outside, mostly when birds suddenly fly away. The horse starts to run and buck immediately, which can really be dangerous sometimes. I haven't found a solution on it, except that he's very insecure, it's not my horse and the owners don't do any horsemanship with the horse and also don't go riding outside very much.. But is there something that I can do to stop that spooking?? Hope you want to answer me! :)
if i go for a ride outside, my horse always dribbles back to the home stable, its so anoying he's so strong then HELP ME what should i do!
What if your horse started to or tried to buck with you? What would you do?
One rein stop. Dont let him put his head down
because your applying pressue to the horse where you want it to be, meaning the horse will try to avoid that area more because of the pressure ou are puttin on it in that area.
I have a horse that will be in a parade next week. This horse is scared of horse-drawn wagons ( which there will be plenty off) and I don't know what to do. We don't have access to any wagons or the money to pay someone to drive one. Does anyone have any ideas of how to desensitize her to them without having one on hand. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Hi Warwick , after you have done this and your horse is calm and relaxed , and you continue on your way what do you if the next day they are back to where they were and the day after and the day after etc. Please I'd really like to know?
Just repeat it. Every day I start at the start, or at least am prepared to, on this or any other issue.
WarwickSchiller Thank you .
If you make the wrong thing harder than the right thing they learn to choose for themselves the easier option and if a horse decides for itself it often accepts it faster.
Why is this better than simply disallowing them to turn away from it? I mean, every time they spin away from it, putting them back to face it, not necessarily forcig them to approach the scary thing .
Will a horse get over a spook faster this way?
Make the wrong thing uncomfortable, make the right thing comfortable
my horse gets spooked by things that are behind him, something in the bushes, he bolts away and if I am standing in front of him he spooks towards me and passes by at speed. He did this twice when riding him after his re-start last year, huge leap then a few canter strides forward, I lose my stirrups or end up over the front of the saddle riding him on a loose rein and no contact to start with, I can stop him with a one- rein stop but that' not stopping him spooking. In the field he bolts off.
What about the horse that spooks suddenly, then bucks? I am not good enough to stay on and now I am freaking out I am teaching her that deseating me is the answer. If she starts to feel tense I do circles and get closer till she touches it, but those unexpected 180 or horizontal spooks and bolts and bucks I am not ready for.
If its happened a few times, its valuable information that some of her basics are missing, go back in her training and relieve some of that built up anxiety
what i did is get a the horse intell the horse stoped jumping
When my mare spooks she drops her head and forehand then spins back and bolts. Sometimes she leaps in the air (all four legs dangling about 3+ feet in the air) then does the drop head thing - any suggestions?
It sounds like she's already carrying a lot of tension, Id work on making sure she can relax fully when nothing else is going on.
@@WarwickSchiller I have been working on groundwork with her and she has started to relax. When I lunge her - she has started to be quieter and more relaxed as she moves. I take her now on trails in hand and around the property in hand. Any further suggestions to help her have a calm mind and less reactive to things? Thanks very much
@@authentic1963 " I have been working on groundwork with her and she has started to relax"
Sounds like you have a great start, i wouldnt add more until the "started to relax" turns into "is always relaxed".
@@WarwickSchiller thanks very much! really appreciate your time.
I get the point but When my mare spooks,, its because she is anxious, and I think “working” her the other way would make her even more anxious and nervous. Like when I bump my legs she would shoot off because she is so (over) sensitive...
In that case she is not ready for this, I would watch my video called Interrupting a spook by redirecting attention
My horse is great most days, then all of a sudden one day on trail every blade of grass, her shadow, a crack of a branch in the forest and she is like a bomb going off... there is NO way to train through that... she does this in the arena too with her shadow.. NOT every day, just the odd time. It is weird and difficult to figure out. :(
Can I ask if your horse is a mare? Mine is like this too but I'm starting to think it might be hormone related and only happen at certain times during her cycle... Only just started keeping track of when it happens recently though so at the moment it's only a theory!
@@eimearnis I think there might be some validity to what you're saying.
from what I read, miniature horses that are trained as guide animals for blind people are trained to spook in place.
so what do i do when the horse is scared of his own shadow ...
then there is a lot of built up anxiety, id start with relieving that
my horse always rears if he thinks something is scary...
I have a beautiful 3 and a couple months horse in march she'll be 4.
I can do everything with her.
But she was lame in the past now she is sound but she was basically not worked with much because l wasn't able to do much except giving her comfort for her lameness issues
She is a thoroughbred
I can do everything now l've worked with her
Except one thing
I can put all kinds of things on her
But a whip is a piece of terror for her
Because some @&$)(' was so rude to abuse her with it on the track
I tried to train her with a smaller whip and she did pretty good
But now she completely lost it again because l wasn't able to go to the barn because my partner was severely ill
Every time as soon as l pick the whip she runs away either to the left or right
I was working with her one time and some person smacked that whip extremely hard on a ground and she nearly ran in the wall
And l want her to be able to get rid of this fear how can l do this?
This is the only thing she's afraid for..
She's such a good horse
Do you need to use a whip at all ? Obviously , she has bad memories . eave it at the barn .
hey if i kick my horse after he turns away from the object he will bolt off
+Katie Maclean I'd say then you need to work on your basics, before trying to solve spooking issues.
okay thank you love your videos
If he bolts, make him run till he wants to stop. Make bolting uncomfortable for him.
Katie Maclean I dunno I hate the idea of kicking anyway. scaring my horse lol if I had one that is XD
This doesn't really answer my question as when my horse spooks I generally walk him past the object to show him it's not scary and every time he will walk past it again no problem. I need to know how to help him stop being such a baby over everything
I'm not Warwick but I think I can help. My mare was so spooky everyone at my barn called her Spooks, and she spooked at the littlest things. The answer for any spook issue is desensitizing to pretty much every scary thing ever. The spook comes from the flight reaction and the fear of the unknown, which happens when the horse uses his right brain. Take your horse to a round pen or have a long lead on him and terrify him(within reason, of course). Don't take a spook for an answer, if he tries to run keep scaring him and follow him, stay by his shoulder so you don't get flattened.
+horsesrotflol Continue following the horse with the scary object until he slows and calms, then rub him with it if you can. If it's a barrel or some such scaring him, let him have a good sniff, maybe you'll kick at it a little so he can hear the sound. Spooking is simply a flight reaction to fear from the right brain, so if the horse learns that scary unknown objects won't hurt him at all the fear disappears, the horse starts using the left side of his brain, and the spook is gone.
My horse will just do a side glide or just run from whatever is frightening him.
Hello! What if your horse spooks by stopping and standing like a statue starring at things?
Let them look for as long as they want to
@@WarwickSchiller thank you!!!
I mean I usually just push my horse through a few times until he sees its okay and he gets over it
What if you are in tight and mountainous country and are on an Arab that likes to jam on the brakes and back up FAST? And there is nowhere to really turn?
But if you knew that about that horse ahead of time, you wouldnt be in tight and mountainous country on that horse.
Or at least I wouldn't.
@@WarwickSchiller
It's not that I take her there. It's where we live. My choices for riding are my driveway, the highway, or the mountain. Not everyone lives where it's flat or has access to an arena.
I try to find answers for my situation, but most trainers do everything in an open, flat arena...which just isn't reality here.
@@abbykoop5363 you can't turn around in your driveway ?
Most times horse run backwards fast is the rider won't let them turn around.
@@WarwickSchiller OK. Thank you. That comment gave me pause for thought. I think I can work with this. Sometimes we have old programming that is so ingrained we don't realize we are doing certain things.
I do really like your philosophies.
i have a horse that spooks sideways, he dosent run away.. He never spooks at new things, but at trees that have a little different colour og flowers...
How is his relaxation in general?
@@WarwickSchiller he`s usually very calm, and he dosen`t get stressed up after spooking.
lol mine is fine if 3 large dogs come up and bark at her but lord help her if a leaf falls or if a cow or a goat make noise or even if it’s completely silent she spooks
I sent my horse to a trainer that follows this method. He was a fairly spooky horse and was fearful of the cows, and bushes and trees blowing in the wind. They used this method on my horse and it didn't work. He never learned from the "wrong thing hard right thing easy" technique and completely shut down from all of the circling, kicking, and flapping of legs and spurring in a circle.Every day it was the same thing until 10 months later they had him back in a round pen and could not ride him outside of it. Now I am stuck with the problem.
I have never had that experience from a horse I have done this to.
I can see how this technique would not work on every horse (though I can also see how it would work on some). We had a 17hh WB mare that spooked and bolted out of fear after her owner came off of her during one of her spooks. Had we used this technique - I truly think she would have come undone completely and been deemed unrideable. We did go back to some basics and tuned up her lateral work so we could at least stop her if she went to bolt (did I mention she was 17hh!!!) but as far as the spook went....we just down played it. Instead of making it a big deal; we just kept riding her without reacting and over time...she stopped reacting. Some horses are just spooky. They are individuals - that's why it's important to chose carefully b/c no amount of training can take a spook completely out of a horse that is spooky by nature. You can train them to deal with it but it's important to chose the right horse for the job. If you want a bombproof trail horse; don't pick a sensitive, reactive type. Anyway, all that to say - it's super important for ALL trainers to understand that not every method is suited to every horse. And that is truly awful for you Michelle
Sounds like the trainer isn't as good as you hoped.
Love your tutorials Warwick. But it appears all your spooky horses are situated in a large outdoor paddock or in a large arena with lots of room to adjust behavior. Also you are most often comfortably situated in a saddle with the horse all tacked up.How would you suggest trying to fix Thoroughbreds who spook at a pail being dropped or someone turning on a hose nearby etc etc while hot walking in a 6 foot wide shed row at the Race track , with 3 horses behind you and 3 more in front ? Sh-t happens once in awhile and you end up with the horse lunging back 3 lengths with the walker hanging onto the shank. No pulling as that normally keeps them going in the opposite direction til you can calm them down. Would love to hear from you as my scenario seems different than the issues you have detailed on most of your interesting video clips.All your clips are in Western tack so some tips for the race track shed row would be helpful. I realize much of this bad behavior should be corrected at the farm before they are shipped in for training but no guarantees and it is beyond the hot walker's control. You walk what you are handed..Thanks from Canda
I would say everything the track thoroughbreds are trained to do goes against being calm and bombproof. These videos are more geared for someone who wants a calm soft trail horse. Track Thoroughbreds are bred, fed and trained to run hard and fast and far, so who can blame them when they are high strung and bolt at the slightest feather falling on the ground.
Thanks very much for responding. Your analysis for track thoroughbreds is right on the mark. We do our best to keep ourselves and the horses safe in those instances.I am also putting in time with an Irish trainer nearby in Burlington . So it is so interesting to observe the training from the ground up - yearlings / 2 yr olds . Best wishes with your projects and thanks again for taking the time to reply.Mike
Do u know how to get a horse used to men, my horse is fine with girls but when it come to men, he doesn't like it
i tryed this and it just made my horse think to run when i did that kick thing, i almost fell. that may work with this horse but not with mine
Works with EVERY horse. If it did not work for you, you probably did not release quickly enough or kicked at the wrong time. If you are truly trying to understand how and why this works, check out his FB group.
OK I'll check it out
You don't have to kick them. Find another way to make going away from the object uncomfortable.
Jessica W I agree :/
Doing it this way is making the horse realize that when they spook away from something and try to turn around, you're making them work harder than what they would if they just faced the object. Horses won't do any more work than they have to.
They clearly need therapy. If we just let our horses talk about their worries to a licensed therapist I’m sure things would be better.
lmao horses are so strange. Strong, powerful, afraid of rocks.
Mine is scared of manure 🤦♀️