SPOOKY SPOTS IN THE ARENA
SPOOKY SPOTS IN THE ARENA – THE WHY, THE WHEN AND THE SOLUTION!
I remember once being perplexed about why I could lead my horse around an arena and he would seem to happily follow and he would appear to not worry about anything, yet when I got on and rode him around the arena he would get worried about things and spook….the plants or shrubs, the mounting block, the pile of jump poles, my jacket hanging on the fence etc. This did not make any sense. Why did the surroundings of the arena suddenly become worrying when I rode? And even more perplexing, sometimes they were fine at walk but became scary as soon as I asked for trot and get even worse in canter?!
The answer is a simple but powerful thing to understand not just for working with horses but working with people as well – perception depends on emotions. The more negative the emotion, the more negative the perception. Negative emotions that may be experienced by a horse include primary emotions fear (nervousness, worry, distress, uneasiness etc.), anger (irritability, annoyance etc.) or even sadness (suffering, depression etc.). These emotional states trigger the stress response and the more physiologically stressed a horse becomes the more likely they are to react to things they may not perceive as threatening when they were in a more relaxed and more positive emotional state. So in a nutshell, my horse was reacting to the things because he wasn’t feeling very cool about me riding him. His blood pressure went up and his thinking would switch from being proactive to reactive!
Things that make a horse feel emotionally negative and uncool include things that make them feel uncomfortable both physically and mentally. Poor fitting tack (saddles, bits, girths etc.), unsoundness issues (hoof health, teeth, muscular and joint pain and other skeletal issues etc.), dental issues are all common things that people will immediately think about when you discuss horse discomfort but there are many more things to consider. How a rider sits on a horse and supports their weight and how much the rider balances and applies pressure to the reins all cause the horse tremendous discomfort and therefore stress. People tend to forget that the horse is feeling absolutely everything that we are doing to them when we sit on their backs, they feel that jabbing inconsistent contact, the fact you are sitting more on your right seat bone, how you are constantly behind the moment and landing heavy on their backs and steadying yourself with their mouth….they feel it all and if it makes them feel uncomfortable they will start to develop a negative association with being ridden and their stress levels will elevate when you ride. But besides the physical discomfort horses can experience stress from being mentally uncomfortable. Horses can experience confusion or motivation conflicts caused by things such as a lack of maintaining the horses focus, nagging or inconsistent application of cues and pressure. They can also lack confidence in what you are asking them to do or pick up on YOUR lack of confidence, hesitation or lack of focus as you worry about monsters in the bushes yourself!
Chronic spooking behaviour can then occur when the horse then LEARNS a behaviour from spooking! If the horse spooks and the rider reacts aggressively and punishes the horse for its fear response or the spook causes some sort of “release of pressure” that was causing the horse discomfort or confusion as the rider fell off or stopped etc., then the horse can associate the area negatively or when presented with a similar situation and feeling similar emotions will repeat the behaviour.
The solution is actually simple but it takes time and patience but the process has many other benefits besides fixing your spooking issue…plus believe it or not it becomes fun! The solution first requires you to examine whether your horse has any physical discomfort issues and ensure the horse is physically comfortable. You then take time to ensure the horse understands all your cues, is focused and motivated to respond. You then set them up to grow in confidence by taking your time, get them good initially in a controlled environment where they feel comfortable and gradually progress their exposure to different environments, start with getting them good performing simple responses and progress when you have good evidence from their behaviour and body language that they understand and are cool with what you are asking them to do. For instance, I start the horse with ground work (here is a presentation I have put together that explains the relevance of ground work when you are dealing with training issues: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZgsq8QTcV4 ) and transition with the same strategy into the saddle of building a horse’s understanding and confidence.
Finally, use this time to look at yourself and whether or not your riding position and balance is impacting on the horse, causing discomfort or causing so much “white noise” that your horse is feeling overwhelmed and confused. Use this time to seek help from someone that can help you get awareness of your asymmetry as a rider and how to improve your own rider bi mechanics and core strength.
When this problem used to drive me nuts I would feel so frustrated with my horse and wish he would just give me a break and stop it. Therefore, if you are someone out there as frustrated and perplexed by this issue as I was the solution is found by increasing YOUR knowledge, BUILD your horse training skills beyond where they are currently at…all your horse has to do is be its beautiful self! Remember learning is power, learning conquer spooking 🙂
