[LindaMM]

dbarj...

That reminds me of a mare I had. She would spook at odd things, and accept others quite calmly. Once she freaked when we rode within earshot of a turkey farm. Couldn't see the gobblers, but she heard them. Another time, we rode right next to male ostriches... 6 foot tall birds, flapping their 3 foot black and white wings at us, just 30 feet away. She just plodded along. Couldn't care less.

Sometimes I wish I could read their minds.

[dbarj]

lindamorris, i know what you mean!! i wish i could read their minds!!

[Banat]

Originally Posted by LRHenneman

The method to despook is not one that fits all horses. Sometimes taking the time to desensitize ala John Lyons works wonderfully. That may not help when things pop out of bushes--deer, rabbits, birds, etc.

Once the horse is settled in its training, you could start taking it out on trail either in hand, ponying, or under saddle--depending upon the horse's reactions to surprises. A very excitable horse may not be a candidate for ponying, for instance. You'll get the feeling as to how the horse will react to new things and can adapt your exposure training, accordingly. I'm of the opinion that lots of exposure on the trail is good for the horse, if it has the mind and confidence to accept what it's being exposed to.

Case in point--I have a very confident gelding. He hadn't been out of the trainer's barn from whom I bought him until he was 5 1/2--never been on a trail. This is not an ideal age to start a horse on trail, but so be it. I restarted him for varying reasons, but had a friend give him his trail training. He's very athletic and his standard method for reacting was rearing and/or spinning. She did water and steep trails with him, then I took over. He is now supremely confident.

Yesterday we rode in gale force winds where he was staggering in the gusts and pleased as punch to be out. We also had to cross snow, mud, swamps a beaver pond, and steep, rocky trails. At one point we had deer jumping all around us. He barely spooked. But when he does, he stops and looks. It's not something that was trained. He just has the mind for it--which is the key for all training--what is the horse's mind like?

After the heebie jeebies are over with, the more you ride them, the better they get. The first steps in despooking are the most critical so as to not overdo the spooky objects and make the horse fearful.

Actually, just for the sake of accuracy, I've heard John Lyons (and his son Josh) say many times that it is NOT possible to expose your horse to every single thing it can spook from in the world. The point is to teach your horse what to do when it spooks. Teach it to stop rather than bolt (spook in place), and teach it to listen to your cues well enough so that you still have control when it does spook.
You have to expose it to increasingly scary situations in order to do this, but you can't desensitize your horse to each and every thing that could happen. You have to train it well enough so it listens to you rather than do what comes naturally (run for it's life).

Like you said, you can't overwhelm them. You have to stress them in order to improve their performance, but not so much that they can't handle it or you'll lose performance.

[shaiarabs]

rather than de-spook I prefer to teach my horses to plant and look at what is worrying them, all of mine will now plant their feet when asked, then look when asked..... also for safety teach the horse the one rein stop

[Spinnaker]

I believe horses need to be shown how to handle their emotions and when they become stressed or emotional whether in the arena, out on the trails, at a show, they need to look to you for guidance. You tell them whether they need to jump, run, stay calm and cool, etc.

Desensitizing deadens your horse. Personally, if there's something that comes out like a mountain lion (which we have around here) on the trail, I want my horse to run like **** and preserve himself, if you deaden your horse to everything like Trainer #2 suggests, what do you expect your horse to do in this scenario?

Desensitizing just works against them looking to you for this guidance. Deadened horses are THE most dangerous types of horses. No one knows when one day something WILL spook them and nobody will be prepared for it because it's 'Charlie,' he doesn't spook at anything.

[On_the_Aids]

Introducing your horse to new things is always good for building confidence. It is very important HOW you introduce things.
Remember, your horse should be looking to you for guidance so how you react is very important.
In reality it is impossible to introduce your horse to every possibly scary situation so you have to learn to ride him.
by that, I don't mean just sit there and apply your aids when you want him to turn or transition. I mean... WORK that horse and put him on your aids.
Tools you need in your toolbox:
-Lengthenings and shortenings (to change length of stride without changing rhythm)
-Transitions from your seat (emphasis on down transitions)
-"Lateral Movements" or for the greenies the beginning steps: circles, enlarging on a circle, leg yields, shoulder fore, shoulder in.

When my horse sees something spooky I overpostition his head to the inside while keeping my outside rein for half halts. Breath deep and long, deepening my seat (more weight on inside seatbone) on the exhale. Yield him off my inside leg TOWARDS the scary object. If all else fails I go FORWARD. Letting your horse stop to look at scary objects is just asking for trouble.

Elise