Spooky horses learn to be spooky

Fantastic video. Joining you from Devon, in the UK! Currently working with a very spooky 11 year old Thoroughbred. She's a very expressive horse who does some odd things with her facial expressions, pinning her ears, etc, which don't really mean she's angry. My thoughts are that people have reacted with fear to her when she does this, misinterpreting this as a sign of aggression, which has taught her that she needs to be afraid.

Be intentional. I do that. We go round and round at saddling time. I placed the saddle blanket, swung the saddle blanket and dont sneak up on him. Saddle him untied and tied. Mostly untied because we go in circles. Any suggestions?

Honestly, I think my horse, Beau, enjoyed spooking. He’d throw his ears up like he was alarmed at the deer, the squirrel, the log, whatever. Because I saw it coming he never got me off. I didn’t lose my temper but made him just continued where I wanted to go.

At one point he looked like he clipped his front hoof with the hind. It could have been the angle I was watching from, I only thought I saw it once

Thank you for your videos. I don’t ride anymore, but watching your patience with the training helps me be a better pet trainer. You keep asking when I would be demanding, and it works much better. Thanks again

Yep, my sensitive Qtr gelding tends to be spooky, and partially with your guidance, I have learned to be more of a leader/ less of letting him stop, look and process, like I used to. It has made a big difference 👍🏼

I think I missed the live but I do have a question. I live in an area where motorcycles and other off road stuff terrorize the roads. Afraid to ride out because of them. They have no respect or consideration of horses and riders. How would you desensitize your horse to this? I have never seen this addressed before.

My young TB mare started getting really spooky and terrified of everything. I found a really good trainer that adheres alot to Buck Branaman style of training. He said alot of her issues were coming from me😢 which is always a hard pill to swallow. He worked with her and was amazing with her. She sustained and injury while at his facility and unfortunately ended up having surgery on the injured leg and was off for 4 months. Now i feel like im starting to see some of the same issues coming back. Unfortunately the trainer no longer trains and lives 6 hours away so i cant go to him for lessons. I know im contributing to the problem. I think its my hands and the amount of contact i have with her mouth??

It has been a great lesson for me to learn to not take what the horse does personally. It’s an opportunity to improve my teaching/training/ communication abilities.

I have been trying to let my horse know that I am the leader and he is safe with me. I found taking him out on the trail by himself is building his confidence. In the indoor arena, we played the touch it game. He had to touch the rail all around the arena and this helped a lot. We are making progress.

When you replied to the question about cold weather affecting a horse’s’ behavior I remembered a cute quip, maybe from England, about ponies having summer personalities and winter personalities.

Question: why do gaited horses often go ‘pacey’ in their gait ?

After loaning my Andolousan mare to a client she was returned she is now spooky with going in and out of her stall! She bever sis this before.
Lately I have left her in a paddock stall 3 sided no doors. She still spooks at the gate I wait then allow her to relax then she rushes throw the gate. Riding saddling she is fine

I remember the Old Mac hoof boots. I had them back in 2001 on my Tobiano mare ,as we have a lot of flints and gravel around here.Not sure they still sell them here (UK)

Rocky is stiff in his knees.. Especially his left one. When he stands still he holds the left leg at an odd way. I noticed that before you got on him. He's off in his headshake bc of the front left knee. It's hard to see if you aren't used to working and leveling TWH's. I'm surprised you don't feel it.

Tim great educational resource thanks for sharing your knowledge much appreciated. I'm watching from Gold Coast Queensland Australia

Beautiful horse

Hey Tim, I've had my mare for just over3 years. We have a great bond. She mainly spooks when another horse comes up behind her. She also spooked at an Emu. But I did too.

re: the horse offering tricks- he has a discrimination problem, and doesn't fully understand the cue means the trick, and only that trick. it's easy to get caught up in rewarding any effort from the horse, which can lead to confusion. Work on 1 cue and trick per session in multiple locations until the horse can reliably give the correct behavior when cued. Don't reward uncued behavior at this stage. When you go on to a new trick, ignore his offer of the "old" trick, and start cueing it at random times away from focused training sessions. This will help him "generalize" - understand that the cue means the trick, no matter where or when. Hope this helps!

I just got a horse who has lived in a box stall and exercised in an arena. He was started as a 2 year old and restarted last fall. He is now 7. I knew it would be a big change for him to come live in a pasture situation but what I didn't think about is that he has never been exposed to anything. Literally, everything he sees is new. Cows, cars, trees, farm equipment, bicycles, you name it, he hasn't seen it. Consequently, he is nervous and on high alert all the time. I try to be a confident rider but any advice you have would be great.

I think ljones 2868 might be right each time he stumbles i think it's with that left front leg. Being gaited makes it hard. I personally don't know, just feels like something is off.

I know i missed the live.. but i have a 11 yr old gelding who acts up at some shows but not others. He side steps, wont stand still, tries to take off... But then i hauled him to a ranxh clinic and he was great . He has acted up at this particular show both times we have gone to it.

My horse does that. Vet says it's a knee buckle because of arthritis in his knee.

I have a Saddlebred that is very spooky. She spooks with the wind blowing in the pasture with the other 2 horses just standing there. She has had a lot of training and has a lot of buttons, but not sure she's super safe to ride with how spooky she is.

Ive helped lots of people with their over stimulated hores ,,i use a a big sigh,and pretend with my body im kinda bored and tiered , some times just walking beside them riding the horse,,with this body attitude has a immediate effect .Its often that the rider is constantly using their body to jiggle it along,and they find it hard o just completly relax and let the horse move them ,,sometimes when they do stop pushing constantly the horse grinds to a halt 😂,,it can seem miraculous 😊
Im really enjoying watching you work as i am now retired. And only have my own to do .❤🐎🪶👌🌄

My horse does that and the vet calls it a knee buckle. He doesn't limp or anything, just drags his fronts until he stumbles. He got better after I changed farriers and toe was shortened.