Q: Dear Julie,
I have an 8-year-old gelding that’s very easy to work with on the ground and in the arena. He tends to become uptight, and nervous when he goes on the trail, even when he has ridden on the same trails and pastures for three years. He holds his breath and seems to be very wary of things that he has always seen.
Tonight he was particularly tense. It felt as though his barrel was full of air when I got on. I casually walked around the barnyard, where there is a variety of equipment. I was going to go on a trail ride but didn't because a storm was imminent. This is not a new area to him. I stopped by a silo. He kept peering around the corner, and all of sudden he did a full body deep quiver/jump. He continued to feel as though he was ready to spook at any moment, full of fear. I dismounted, and did some groundwork around the very same objects that seemed to bother him just a few minutes earlier. He became more comfortable. He walked over a tarp that was lying on the ground, without difficulty. When I got back, on he once again became wary.
Is this about me? Yes, I could sense his predisposition when I got on. He was particularly bothered tonight and I just made the same ride a few nights ago. I pay attention to my body and make sure that I am doing deep breathing etc. There are times when he’s not like this at all.
He’s overweight right now due to all the rain that I have been having. Could that have something to do with it? He also tends to chew his bit when we’re on a trail ride, and I know that it’s a sign that he’s bothered inside. He does not appear bothered when I catch him up or work with him on the ground. - Terrified on the Trail
A: Dear Terrified
As always, it’s difficult to diagnose a horse’s problem fully without seeing the horse in action. As a third party observer in person, I can see the big picture and have a better idea of where the problems are originating.
Obviously, your horse likes the comfort and security of being in the arena and around the barn in confined areas and does not feel comfortable out of those very controlled settings.
Also, your horse is more comfortable when you're on the ground. Your horse gains courage on the ground because you are there, in his eyesight, between the scary thing and him. When you are on his back, he’s in front and feels more vulnerable. Also, when you are on the ground you are more confident so he gains confidence from you (mirrors your emotion). Conversely, when you are on his back, you feel more nervous (because he’s nervous) and that compounds his nervousness.
Is it you or your horse?
Nine times out of ten, the rider is contributing to the problem in ways the rider cannot see or feel or comprehend. My guess is that, at the very least, this is a problem of co-dependency between your horse and you.
Since horses are prey animals that live in herds, he’s programmed to mirror the actions and emotions of the animals around him; this is an important survival skill for prey animals. When you go out on your own, out of his comfort zone, this behavior is compounded and he becomes even more reactive to the animals and emotions around him.
When you ride a horse, a whole lot of your body is in contact with him, so it does not take much to convey apprehension to the horse. He may even start it himself by sucking his air in and holding his breath (just like humans do when they get nervous). That’s probably putting you "on guard." As soon as you start thinking that he may spook or do something, there are changes in your body that occur as you tense in preparation and to him, that becomes a prompt that something must be wrong, just like he thought. So it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Most often when I see this situation developing, the rider picks up on the reins and that conveys even more tension and fear to the horse.
It’s amazing how often horses will act the way you think they will. If you ride your horse with confidence and expect him to do something right, he'll do it. When you think your horse is going to spook or misbehave, he'll do that too. I am certainly not the first person to say that; you'll hear it from many accomplished horse trainers. I know from my lifetime of experience with horses that this is true; maybe not all the time, but more times than not.
I have a horse in training right now that’s very spooky, reluctant and balky out on trail with its owner. However, for me, he’s steady, relaxed, willing and obedient, and I have only had him in training for one week. Part of the problem is engrained disobedience and part of it relates to the confidence and leadership of the rider. I expect the horse to behave, and I expect him to go down the road like a horse should; and that’s indeed what he does. However, he does not yet have that much faith in his owner, and she does not yet have that much faith him (yes, those two things are very connected), but things are improving as 1) the horse becomes more habituated to being an obedient, subordinate horse, and 2) the owner recognizes that her horse can indeed be a good citizen. You may want to consider putting the horse in training to work through this issue and get some miles on him going down the trail. That could help both of you to be more confident.
Do groundwork
Doing lots of meaningful groundwork that results in a more confident, relaxed and subordinate horse is always a good thing to do and should help your situation.
Teach the head-down cue
I teach most horses that come into my barn, and all horses that are nervous and high strung, to drop their head to the ground whenever I ask, either from the ground or from the saddle.
It’s physiologically impossible for the horse to be tense with his head down--and impossible for him to be relaxed with his head up. When a horse's head is down, it also causes him to subordinate to you.
From the ground. Start on the ground with a rope halter and simply put gentle down pressure from the chin knot, watching the horse's head very closely so that you can release at the first sign of the head dropping. At first, you must release when the head moves down just a fraction of an inch; as the horse comes to understand what you want and what will get him the release, you can hold the pressure a little longer so the head comes down lower. The first few inches of head drop are harder to get, but in short order, the horse's head will drop all the way to the ground.
Once the horse is trained to drop his head to the ground, you can ask him anytime he gets worked up, you can ask him to drop his head down. This is known as "putting the horse in the closet;" the closet is a calm, quiet, safe place for your horse.
From the saddle. Teaching the horse to drop his head from the saddle is a little more difficult. But if you have him well-trained from the ground, it’s much easier.
Pick upward (not backward) on ONE rein, not two. Pulling on two reins will always make the horse more anxious because now he’s worried about his mouth too and that makes him a whole lot more scared. That’s a real common way the rider contributes to the horse's fear when he becomes spooky.
After pulling upward on one rein, then repeat the steps for groundwork above, releasing as soon as the horse even thinks about dropping his head. Be sure to release the reins when his head drops. If instead you ask him to lower his head--and when he does, he hits the bit--you have punished him for doing what you asked him to do.
Pick up the rein again until the horse makes the connection that lowering his head makes the rein pressure go away. Soon he should be happy to go to "the closet" and stay there when you pick up one rein.
Put a spooky horse to work
When your horse feels spooky to you, put him to work, giving him constant instruction and directives so that he has to focus on you and think of you as the boss of him. You might ask him to turn right, then turn left, then trot right and left, then stop, then go then trot then stop and turn around, etc. Don't do this in a harsh, punishing sort of way. Do it in a “here’s something to keep you form worrying about that” way. This is known as replacement training; you are replacing the unwanted behavior with something else.
What your horse needs most from you are your confidence, leadership and reassurance.
- Julie
For more information on coping with spooky horses, dealing with barn sour horses, and doing groundwork to establish a leader-follower relationship, check out Julie's Training Library on juliegoodnight.com. Be sure to watch “Horse Master with Julie Goodnight” on RFD-TV—Direct TV channel 379 or Dish Network channel 231.
