What has your horses balance got to do with spooking?

Let me get this off my chest first…

De-spooking your horse is more than just waving an umbrella at them or leading them over plastic ⛱

Sure those things are helpful if you’ve got a horse that’s the ‘Scared of things’ spooky type but if you’ve got a horse who’s spooky because he’s ‘Distracted’ or because he gets ‘Tense and On Adrenaline’ then these things aren’t going to solve the whole problem 🤔

A horses balance is fundamental to his confidence. Why? Because he’s a prey animal that relies on being able to run away from danger. He hasn’t got horns like a cow so turning round to fight is his absolute last resort if he can’t get away.

Falling over is one of the worst things that can happen for a horse and he will try to avoid it at all costs.

This means that if he starts to feel unbalanced, his instincts will kick in and make him much more reactive. If you add the rider getting unbalanced in the saddle then it’s a recipe for disaster.

So what’s the answer for this? Put simply a well schooled horse is also a more confident horse. Teaching your horse what I like to call rhythm & relaxation in all gaits goes a really long way to helping a horse learn to control his emotions. When your horse can stay confident and balanced he also has a place of comfort and safety to come back to if something spooks him.

If you have a horse that

❌ spooks then takes off

❌ spooks then bucks

❌ spooks then…. 🐎💨

Then teaching your horse rhythm & relaxation is a must!!!

In addition to this, teaching your horse to turn and stop when you ask them to will really help both your confidence and your horses as you will know you can stop when you need to.

Want to know more about the different reasons horses spook and how you can help your horse be more confident and connected?

Download my FREE eBook here 👉 https://www.spookyhorses.com/home