Bombproofing: Any pearls of wisdom for me?!?

Question

my newest project horse is a clydie X welsh cob - he's quite big and heavy but, like his half brother and sister whom we also have, he's very, very spooky. he's been broken to ride and then turned away about 3 months ago. now he's coming back into work and i've volunteered for the job!

He dislikes things at his sides - girths/legs etc and is spooky about the usual stuff - funny colours, flapping objects etc. his spooks tend to be in the form of a bit of a charge forward or a violent shy to the side. Any experiences you've had in bombproofing spooky horses?? any exercises worth trying with this chap?? all ideas and thoughts appreciated.

p.s don't worry i'm not a total beginner with some crazy horse - i'm a qualified instructor and have been breaking horses for several years!! just looking for any new ideas or suggestions!!! thanks for your time.

Answer 1

try a sort of obstacle course with him. Include things like tarps, balls, balloons, empty water bottles on the ground, ect. Things like that will flap and look weird and make strange noises and he's going to spook. But if you keep running him through those things again and again, he should quiet down after a while. Just take him through things everyday. Be calm and still and don't antagonize him any more, as you already know hah. Maybe take a saddle pad and flap it lightly around his sides so he gets used to that. But yeah just try different things, take him everywhere around to different places, get him used to moving around and seeing, hearing and feeling different things. Good ground work will make him very rideable.

Answer 2

well........YES I have loads of experience with this sort of thing and it's a great example of horses teach horses(you can't argue with darwin). Anyway back to it. You have not had him long so the first thing is (as you know as an experienced horsewoman sorry if any of this is a little patronizing) to build up your relationship and trust. Like the guy who posted above me I agree it is VERY important you are in the correct frame of mind!!!!! Your horse is a herding animal, safety in number and all that so will take his confidence from you, if you are nervous it will be a recipe for disaster. I like the obstacle course idea but don't throw him in the deep end, build up your relationship FIRST (or actually at the same time nice idea), and make it a game, enjoyable.

Start on the ground with a really long rein(like a lunge rein) so you don't constrict him. If he needs to move his feet let him etc. Okay I'm just rambling now if you are interested in my methods I'd be happy to give you a more structured type of advice :-) [e-mail]

Answer 3

To me, bomb-proofing is not about whatever caused the spook, its about your horse's level of training and trust in you. I would work on ground manners until he is bomb proof on the ground--like, stand for grooming means exactly that, stand for grooming--saddling, etc. Use a rope then a stick and string til he will stand for it at various distances and speeds. Get a solid walk, trot and canter from the ground first. Then while riding...circle him and bring him back to the gait you ask for, when riding, until he stops spooking. Give him trot work or something specific to think about, get his mind engaged and give him plenty of work. If he shies hard to one side, ask him to circle quickly in the opposite direction--at the same speed or intensity he shied-- then bend him to a halt. Give him enough work and enough to think about during that work, with counter-blocks like this for spooking, and he will probably become less spooky with time. There is no quick fix but it can be improved and eventually extinguished.

Answer 4

I suggest you buy a yachting rope halter and 10 to 20 foot long lead. The lead should attach to the halter through a loop under the chin, and the halter should tie at the side of the jaw, so there are no metal parts that can break. You will have amazing control in this rig, and can use the long lead to perform many ground exercises. If he blows up, you can longe him to let him run it off. That is where I would start. Then, a systematic approach to a variety of exercises can be taught, including ground tieing and desensitizing exercises, while you have full control.

There is no sense in my telling you about the exercises until you decide if this is the way you will go.

Answer 5

the most effective thing ive done is move the horse to a barn on a busy rode with lots of construction. keep in mind he might not be spooky he might be testing you. i used to have a horse like that, he was wicked bombproof but if he very uneasy about the rider he would test her by just taking off.

Answer 6

Ahhh, fun fun. Also a great experiance working with spookish horses xD Just be careful while riding, and dont forget the helmet :)



We're currently training my 7 month old filly with the whole 'flinging' movements' & 'saddle pad' breaking. All without the saddle pad.

We use a 10' lead rope, give him about two or three feet. & we make wide arcs before letting the lead rope gently fall onto his body. We do this all around the neck, the back, the legs, the hindquarters. If you let your leg fall against the rump while swinging into the saddle; swing the lead rope there. Don't make any reaction; if he freaks out, let him. ALWAYS remember the less you freak out the less of a big deal it will be for him. Thats why he is on the lead line. Let him run his circles around you until he 'faces up'; stopping, standing still, pointed AT you. This is like when a dog rolls over for belly; hes submitting to you, he wants to trust YOU.

When he starts standing still while you swing the lead rope on both sides, getting slightly more aggressive after a while (not pounding on the horse, but still enough to get their attention of the feeling of 'bumpy riders'). then you know your good to go!



Also for the saddle pad & girth thing we've been using a pillow case. Imagine that! We start tapping it from her neck, all the way down her body same with the rope.

We get slightly more aggressive with this too around the shoulder & back.

my 7 month old is slowly starting to accept the feeling & go with the flow of it now ) although she does move away once in a while.. Just dont 'correct' this by pulling back on them. Let them run, & keep doing it. till they face up, rub their neck, & do it again.

good luck!





EDIT~~~ I've come to realize with the horses ive trained that putting a plastic bag on a stick does nothing to improve them. Each one i've done this too took me months to get them out of fear of the bag as well as any white object. If you want them to get used to bags as well i suggest bringing two or three HEALTHY treats in a plastic bag for him, then when your done crinkle the bag. If it doesnt bother him, then try moving it around his face & neck. If he flips out then back away, and try again tomorrow.~~ Practise makes perfect. Your horse will understand it all soon enough if you just keep repeating it all. :) Remember to take it slow though, dont try another lesson until he's mastered the first.



~~EDIT~~ It's not a bribe. It's another part of learning. I've never had a 'nippy' horse after using this method. I have a TB that had just come off the tracks when i got him a few years ago, and he was scared to death of bags. Using the 'treats' was just a way of gettimg him to realize something GOOD can come of it. I didnt use them each & every time i used the bag, but its just like rewarding a young horse thats done something good. Praise, & once in a while use a treat. Just like a little kid who did something good at school; like in pre-K, you'd get praise & sometimes a lollipop. It's a decent way to get them to remember what they did, plus it associates them with something good.

Answer 7

hang flags and tarps about his enclosure. Don't avoid stuff that he spooks at. If he reacts to something repeated exposure is the only cure. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Time and wet saddle blankets is the only cure for green spooks.

Answer 8

Tie a plastic bag on a stick and shake it all around him, rub it on him.Talk to him quietly as you do it. Put him in a corral or paddock and tie plastic bags and empty milk jugs to the fence so they can flap in the wind. Once he realizes these things can't hurt him he should improve.

Answer 9

Well, if you've been breaking horses for several years then you should already know most of this...The horse needs a good foundation; if he's that spooky, then you need to go back to the basics of ground work and desensitizing. Use a stick and string (I think one of the 'famous' trainers out there calls his a 'carrot stick') and swing that string over his back on both sides then from the front over his head. Whip the stick/string on the ground on both sides of the horse; if done correctly the string should make a whistling or whirring sound through the air. Then do this in front of the horse. Only stop swinging that stick/string when the horse stops moving its feet and starts to relax. Do the same thing with a long lead rope (12-14 ft lead). Play 'jump-rope' with his head; you take the long lead rope and swing it around his head and ears on both sides. Take a bull whip and crack it on both sides of the horse; be careful not to hit the horse with it as those really can hurt. Do the stick with a plastic bag attached to it as someone else stated; make sure to cut the bottom off of the bag, as it is more effective this way since it isn't trapping air and being slowed down. Take a feed bag ( the 50lb ones that sweet feed or dog food usually come in) and rub it all over the horse then sack out the horse with it. Put a western saddle on the horse in a round pen; western saddles have a whole lot more leather for a horse to get used to than those itty bitty english type saddles or flat tack. Lunge the horse in the western saddle while allowing the stirrups to hang freely and swing about; it doesn't hurt the horse and helps him get used to having something hanging by his sides and moving such as what your legs will be doing when you're riding him. When at a standstill, take those western stirrups and move them back and forth, up over the saddle, let them drop back down, and make the leather crack/snap beside the horse- you know by jerking the stirrup straight up and back down quickly to make loud noise. Pound around on the saddle with an open palm and/or a loose glove (one that isn't on your hand, but being held in your hand- makes more noise this way). Without a saddle, you should be able to pound/smack an open palm all over your horse's body -except the head, obviously- without your horse flinching or caring...I've had extremely spooky horses that got so used to this that they'd fall asleep as you were doing it. Don't stop doing any of the exercises until the horse stops its feet and shows signs of relaxing. Practice running at your horse from either side, then at the front and behind as he gets more accustomed to it; most horses don't like things running at them. You can also take a surcingle and attach a jug to one side of it and lunge the horse around. Once the horse is ok with a jug bouncing around on either side of it as it is being lunged, then put a jug on both sides at the same time and lunge the horse again. Jump around on both sides of the horse and in front of him. Do jumping jacks around your horse; the flailing arms and jumping motions are good to desensitize the horse to. Sack your horse out with a folded up tarp. Lay the tarp on the ground and send your horse over it. Do other sending exercises such as sending the horse between you and a wall or between 2 barrels laying on their sides. Get one of those $2-3 big balls from Walmart and get your horse used to walking into it and kicking it around; this exercise is especially helpful while you're in the saddle. Play 'soccer' with your horse; walk into the ball straight on, pivot into the ball from either side, etc. Get another horse/rider involved and 'pass' the ball from one horse/rider pair to the other. Take a dressage whip and whip it in the air around the horse, keeping an 'invisible' bubble around your horse. Whip it over the horse's head, back, on either side, under its head, in front of its face- never actually touching the horse while doing this. You can also rub the whip all over the horse's body when you are not whipping it in the air. Clap your hands on either side of the horse and in front. While you are riding him, drag one hand along the fence or arena wall as the horse is just walking along, letting him get used to the noise. Flap one arm at a time beside the horse as you're riding at a walk. While sitting on your horse, reach back and down and rub his hindquarters, flank area, down by the girth, up by the neck and head, and the shoulders. Have someone loop a rope around a plastic barrel or other similar obstacle, and practice dragging the obstacle behind the horse while riding him. Have someone drive tractor, like they would if dragging the arena, and have your horse 'chase' the tractor while you're riding; things are less scary for a horse if those things are moving away from the horse. Basically, throw anything and everything you can think of at your spooky horse and let him get used to it, first on the ground, then in the saddle...

Answer 10

what is this???????