Re: Spooking - Spook and Spin

["Linda B. Merims" <lbm@naisp.net>]

> Some horses spook-and-spin because it is FUN.  They are rambunctious by
> nature, they're not tired, and you are not providing adequate trail
> entertainment.  With practice they improve unless you take some action
that
> convinces them that spinning is unpleasant.
>
> The trick is to differentiate real fear from boredom-induced drama.  It
> would be wrong to punish them if they are afraid.  If this was easy to
> determine then there would be no need for pricey horse-training seminars
and
> videos.

My Morgan does the same thing.  Sometimes I wonder if there isn't
something about our reaction to the propping or spinning that the horse
doesn't interpret as some kind of reward or positive reinforcement--
maybe the vocal expletive, the quick hand to the neck intended
to reassure, some thing that the horse reads as "good boy for being
such a vigilant herd lead horse."

My horse has gotten better, but I'm not really sure if it is because he's
older, or more seasoned, or because I now completely ignore all the
little gait irregularities and snorts and dodge arounds and half halts
as we go down the trail.

Do those vest thing reach down far enough to protect the base of
the tailbone?  When I do go off I almost inevitably land on my butt.

Linda B. Merims
lbm@naisp.net
Massachusetts, USA