spooking

[Eenergonzillen@aol.com]

I have heard many things that you are supposed to do to "cure" spooking.  I 
think that ALL horses spook sometimes..Just like all people get startled 
sometimes. We just don't like it because sometimes it makes us hit the 
dirt...or sand...or mud...
    I have found that usually, horses spook more when they are in the front 
of the pack.  And one guy I know, who is very experienced with horses, says 
it is because they feel responsible to keep an eye out and help protect the 
rest of the pack.  THIS IS JUST ONE THEORY, don't freak out if you don't 
agree :)  So, if you punish them, they think "I'm doing something wrong" and 
this doesn't help them be more confident.  If you build their confidence, 
they become better leaders, and in time, will be confident horses.  It makes 
sense that insecure horses would spook more.  Now, I don't think you have to 
go to the extreme of saying "oh, gee, Sally (or what ever your horse's name 
is) thanks for jumping across the trail to protect us from that killer 
shadow", I think it just means not yelling at or hitting your horse for doing 
what comes natural to them.
    If every time I got startled, someone yelled at me or hit me, I would 
become very nervous, always on the lookout for "scary" things.  
    Every horse is different, just like people, some are more "jumpy" than 
others.  And if a jumpy horse is placed with a calm, confident rider, it 
seems as though the pair would balance everything out.  If a nervous horse 
and nervous rider were both always looking for monsters, I think that things 
would just get worse over time.
    After an accident that I had, I was quite nervous.  I ended up with a 
horse that was very steady on the trail (meaning he didn't spook, he was sort 
of hyper though).  He helped me build my confidence.  I think that if I had 
gotten a really nervous horse, I would still have little confidence in 
myself, and I probably wouldn't have helped the horse either.
    So, what I am trying to say is that I think if you want to help your 
horse not be so spooky, you should work on building his confidence, not 
punishing him for being "a horse"
-thanks...just my two cents
-Renee