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sassyk Stables said:
Horses will hold their breath if anxious, so that may be what you are noticing.
Really? I never knew that. Thanks!! So many people set off fireworks last night, and we got almost 20 inches of snow over night. The snow was just starting to fall off the roof when I got to the barn. By the time we were even in the aisle, Fiona was spooking. I took her into the arena and she was spooking at everything. We decided just to lunge her today, and she started to calm down. I'm glad I decided not to ride. I'm almost positive I would have fallen off at least once :/ After lunging her, I rode one of the lesson horses for my trainer, just to get a good ride in during some scary noises, as she's usually ridden by the newest riders. She spooks in such a completely different way than Fiona. Fiona just bunches up and explodes, while the lesson horse just spins around and takes off at a trot. She almost got me off a couple times, since I wasn't sitting back enough when she spooked. If you sit really far back on Fiona, when she takes off you fall over backwards or pull on her mouth to keep yourself on. Dream Weaver- Thanks so much for the tip on talking to control your breathing. It actually helped a lot! When was talking, she actually spooked a lot less. I think I was tensing up anticipating the spook. |
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When dealing with nervous horses, the best thing to do is be the leader and distract them. On the ground maybe ask her to pivot or turn in a circle you could also distract her with a treat (Make her do a simple trick like reaching her head around to touch her sides, so you reward her for that and not the nervous behavior) When riding you can ask her for a transition or a small circle. |
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Morning Drizzle, but Clearing later
