Spooking on the Trail

On Facebook recently, a poster described a spooking incident and wondered what the horse learned from the rider’s response. In this case, the rider dismounted for safety’s sake, then later, worked the horse vigorously back at the barn. The post sparked some good answers, most of which were dead on: The dismounting served to reward undesirable behavior and the later workout would not be connected by the horse to the spooking incident.  One rather snarky response poked fun at the idea of dismounting for safety’s sake, saying he’d never heard of such sh*t. That set me off.

Anyone who says or implies that he or she has never been hurt by a horse has simply not ridden much. Do not listen to anything this person says, especially when it might inspire you to ignore your own self-preservation instinct. Furthermore, the full context of the event makes all the difference in the world when it comes to the proper course of action. If the rider is confident about staying on the horse’s back, spooking is a training opportunity. If not, getting through the incident safely is the top concern.

Let’s take the first situation. It is the nature of horses to spook at things that surprise or frighten them.  The primal response is to move the feet, a manifestation of the flight instinct that has served the species for eons. The good rider does not react emotionally – with fear, anger, or embarrassment – but simply gets to work dispassionately applying an aversive consequence such as disengaging the hind quarters repeatedly, rolling back repeatedly, trotting tight circles, and so on. Why are these aversive? Because the horse instinctively wants to preserve his energy, his straightness, and his air. These maneuvers also require the horse to pay attention, which takes his mind off the spooky object, and reinforces the rider’s role as a benevolent leader who will protect the horse from danger. Two practical tips: Move away slightly from the spooky object to do this and try to keep the object in the horse’s field of vision. When the horse gets winded, let him rest near the spooky object. Voila, the spooky object becomes a place of rest. This is a well-accepted strategy among teachers of natural horsemanship.

Now, for the second situation. Don’t worry about doing any of the above. If you don’t feel safe, get off the horse and forget about training entirely. YOUR SAFETY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANYTHING ELSE. The worst thing for you and your horse is for you to get hurt, especially if it undermines your future enjoyment and interest in riding. You will continue to get better at the physical aspects of riding a horse and understanding equine behavior. One day, you will be that confident rider who calmly puts the horse through a training exercise when he spooks. Someday, you may even look forward to those opportunities and the little rush of adrenaline they bring. Someday, you may even be able to share what you’ve learned with an inexperienced rider struggling to do what’s right in a difficult situation.