Spooking
Dear Stella,
My name is Jessica and I am 11 years old. I have a (around) seven-year-old pony named Pumpkin. I love her more than anything, but there is a small problem. My horse spooks at wind. She’s normally fine in the wind until I tie her up or start riding her. When the farrier comes I always have to hold her, and even then she’s still kind of spooked. It makes it hard for the farrier to do her hooves. This only happens in wind. She’s a very hyper pony and the wind always perks her up, and when I ride her she takes off. She’s also very strong willed, so when I try to slow her down she ignores me. Again, this only happens when it’s windy. Do you have any advice to get over her fear? Is she really afraid or does she just use it as an excuse to get her own way?
Neighs and whinnies, Jessica
Dear Jessica,
You’re not alone – lots of horses spook in the wind. It’s a real fear, and Pumpkin is reacting to something she sees as a threat. It’s OK for her to be afraid, but NOT OK for her to react and run away from her fear. You can help her by how you respond to her fear. Make sure you aren’t riding her nervously when it’s windy, or she’ll pick up on your nervousness. Also, sometimes you can reinforce bad behavior by giving in to her fear. If you pat her and tell her she’s OK when she acts up, she may actually think that her acting up is OK, and keep doing it! On the other hand, you don’t want her to be forced to confront her fear, or things might just get worse – you might end up making her more upset.
You can best handle the problem by trying to distract Pumpkin, and moving her attention away from the problem and onto something else. If she’s thinking about something else, she won’t be thinking about the wind. Direct her away from the wind, make her concentrate on her footwork, make her move in several directions – in other words, distract her. And when she does these things successfully, THEN reward her with some nice pats – showing her that her bravery, and not her fear, is a good thing.
Don’t forget to stay calm and confident in the saddle, so that Pumpkin feels it, too.
As for the farrier – getting used to riding in the wind may help her with this problem, too – but is there any way you can find a better spot for shoeing, out of the wind?
Good luck!
Love, Stella
Dear Stella my horse spooks at wind squirrels soemtimes lead ropes hes a 7 eyar old quater horse/arabian his names scar i love him to death but im getting to afriad tor ide him what should i do ?
signed mjd [ps wasnt sure were it was supposed to go]
Hello, MJD,
We’ve submitted your question to our new horse expert, Jourdain. She has many questions to answer so please be patient in waiting for a reply! All of her responses are published in PONY magazine.
Thanks for writing!
Sarah
Dear Jessica,
Do not worry if your horse spooks. Just frocus on calming your horse down.
From,
Jessica/ponylover
ps. My name Jessica too!
PPS. If you have any more questions about horses just let me know.
Dear mjd,
I think what you should do is spend a little time just sitting on him in the pasture or in a round pen. Just let him roam around and eat grass with you just sitting on him. If you are scared, your horse will tell, and then he will think there is something to be scared of. Then he will be scared too. Hope this helps.
Sincerely,
Horse lover
Dear Horse lover,
I agree with you and that also helps with making a great bond with your horse!
From,
Jessica/ponylover
MY NANA’S HORSE DOSE THE SAME THING!SO NANA JUST SLOWLY COMES UP TO HER AND CALMS HER DOWN.
Dear Stella,
so why is he scared of me huging him? oh and my name is Juliet
my pony Sterling is sometime’s scared when me,my brother,and my cousin try to hug him but, when other peaple do he is not scared at all.I know why he is scared of my cousin is that becase when we ride him and we do something rong in riding she hits him on the face when me or my brother is riding him 4 a lesson and she hits him when ether of us r on him and says if you don’t make him go i’ll do it agian.And she dose that with all of her hoses and ponys.And it scares me a lot
Juliet (Dreamhorses99),
Sterling may be scared when you hug him because of your approach to him. Horses are prey animals and humans are predators, so sometimes we act like predators to a horse even when we don’t mean to. If you approach Sterling loudly, or if you stare at him, or if you don’t allow him to sniff you before you hug him it may scare him.
As for your cousin hitting him when you ride him, she has NO RIGHT to do that. You said that Sterling is YOUR horse, not hers. If she ever hits him again, I suggest you go to an adult and tell them about it.
Horses are just like people and can be scared of stuff too. So, use yourself as an example, and show them it is nothing to be afraid of.
Neighs and Whinnies,
JJ
Annie’s afraid of Wind to. She’s also afraid of Smoke, Pansies, Cars, Trucks, and The UPS Truck. Trying giving Pumpkin some Calm and Cool Horse Food and the Calm and Cool Horse Supplement. That’s what we give Annie and it works.
DEAR STELLA,
MY NANA’S HORSE MISTY IS SCARED OF GUN SHOTS AND THERE R A LOT OF DEER AROUND HER HORSE.WHAT IF SHE GETS SPOOKED DURING HUNTING SEASON?
Dear Cailtin,
You should try not to keep your grandma’s horse out during the gun shots. Try taking her out when hunters aren’t shotting or take your horse on a ride on a trail or somewhere far from gunshots to get her excersize if the shooting continues all day. Also, bring treats so if she is acting good in the stable during the gun shots give it to her. Do NOT give it to her if she is acting up in her stable for she will think you r re-warding her for her good behavior. Hope this helps.
Neighs and whinnies,
Jen(Horsegirl)
P.S. Have more questoins ask me
P.P.S. I have a few horses so I might know alot of your questoins
dear Jen,
hunters r out all of the time i live in the country so i don’t know when hunters r out.
lots of neighs,
caitlin
ps do u have a moshi monster ?
I so know how you feel Jessica. My nieghbor has a horse that I help take care of( they don’t know anything about horses). Her name is Little Red. she hates to be groomed and hates the hose! And she won’t stand still while Im grooming her. thankfully my mom knows just about everything abuot horses!
my horse isent egsakly spoking but ive been riding her and yesterday she was rearing on me and bukinin when i was holing her any advise or shall i start from sgrach again !! plese help
pony oxo
Dear Jessica,
This has happened to me before. When i first got my horse he was very hiper. i couldn’t get on him. if you have a trainer then i suggest talking with them and see what they suggest or next time you go out and it’s windy do some ground work, with what i suggest a chain lead rope. Hopes this helps
Love,
BriandZeus
Try having someone lunge you. This will not allow her to spook becauese of the connecion of the lunge line to her bridle. Make sure your trainer doesn’t use the whip though because that will just make her faster.