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I just look the other way and take no notice of the monster in the hedge
or whatever.I keep my legs on and give "go forth" instructions to the
nag and they all seem to think "ok no problem" and keep going.
Just my way of doing it.
Cherry and Rat (the pink pony)
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I guess I will put in my two cents worth into this discussion. It
has varied from just ignore the spooky thing, to make it unpleasant
for the horse to spook. I really think it depends on the horse!
I have one mare that spooks about once a year, and is very
bombproof, so when she does spook, I usually get a good laugh.
The other mare is a different story. She is alpha mare, ornery,
stubborn and very willfull. She has tried every trick in the book.
Given the advice from a previous owner, and my own instincts, I make
every spook really unpleasant! We either circle it ad nauseum, and
if possible insist she go up and touch the thing with her nose.
This method had greatly eliminated the spooking. She knows the
routine, and if she does spook, she just sighs and walks right up
and puts her nose out. This is also a horse that I rarely cut any
slack-if I ever let her have her own way, she tends to get pushy.
And I really think that she is calmer when she knows the bounderies,
and that I will enforce them.
I also knew when I got this horse, that she had been certified as
a State Park Patrol horse. I decided if she had passed their test,
and routinely carried trash bags, and loud ranger radios, that the
spooking was not really from fear, but initially to test me, and
later just to be difficult
Now, this is a 10 year old mare with tons of trail experience. I
would deal quite differently with a insecure younger horse.
But they sure all react differently. My friend recently bought a
4 year old unbroke mare. After 10 initial rides, she was riding her
out on the trail, and this mare does not seem to spook at anything!
Karen
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