Weekly Training Tip from Kate Chadderton: Why Does Your Horse Spook?

Kate Chadderton is an Australian native who operates her competition and training business in Annapolis, MD and Aiken, SC. She’s back again to share weekly tips and advice with EN readers. Keep an eye out for a new tip each week from Kate!

Kate Chadderton and VS McCuan Civil Liberty at the 2015 Blenheim Palace CCI3*. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

Why does your horse spook?

We’re entering that magical time of the year with cooler temperatures and witches and goblins behind every tree! If you’re into Halloween and pumpkin spice then you’re probably in heaven. If you ride young or ‘spicy’ horses, then you’ve probably been wearing sticky spray on your boots, and tightening your helmet a little extra, for a week or so now! I thought now would be a good time to look at some of the reasons a horse will spook.

In my experience there are a few factors and it’s your job as a rider to isolate which applies to your horse. Spooking is one of your horses most effective ways to communicate with you — it’s instant, it’s obvious and it certainly catches your attention. With this said, I welcome (note I said welcome, NOT enjoy!) a horse spooking as it gives me a chance to respond and further our relationship. I’ve listed below the main reasons I’ve found horses spook.

Fear

This is your typical go-to reason for spooking. It’s a very honest and genuine reaction from your horse to a stimuli over which he has no control. There is no amount of ‘showing him who’s boss’ or ‘telling him to get on with it’ that will improve this response. No matter how strongly you ride your horse, he will always find something he’s more afraid of than your aid. Your response in this situation needs to be kind and allowing but firm. Ie.. I understand you’re afraid of that liverpool, so I’ll show you that the ground on either side is safe and allow you to look at/touch it but you must trust me that you’re safe. You should comfort and show your horse leadership in this situation.

Physical

This is probably the second most common reason your horse sees a goblin behind every shadow in the indoor. If he’s in pain he A) loses confidence and doubts himself and B) will use spooking to avoid the work he finds painful. Sometimes the source of pain is obvious depending on your horse’s history. Look for any changes in his gait or other behaviour then narrow it down from there. Of course you want to involve your vet if you have any serious concerns. It can be helpful to ride your horse in the presence of the vet as his symptoms can present differently under saddle.

Dietary

Horses’ stomachs are very sensitive and greatly effect the how comfortable they are in general. Ulcers are a huge issue in performance horses (which is why I feed all natural grain plus alfalfa) and can be really painful. Like soundness, they can spook when ulcers are bad from the discomfort. You’ll note other signs like girthiness and a dull coat in this instance. Another dietary reaction is too much of a good thing! I.e. your horse is getting WAY more energy from his feed than he’s expending through work, similar to a little kid at school who gets more sugar than exercise! This is a simple fix, cut or change his feed until he can concentrate.

Work

Performance horses are bred, conditioned and trained to work. Most are intelligent and interactive partners. With this being said the type of work you’re asking your horse to do can lead to spooking. If an intelligent horse doesn’t understand, or is bored with, the work you’re asking of him the most effective way for him to communicate with you is a to create a diversion. In this situation you should assess whether you’re asking too much OR too little of your horse. This is a trial and error situation. I often see very bored horses make their own fun (both jumping and on the flat) by creating their own ‘problems’ to solve. You can generally recognise this type of spook as they pick the same spot to spook at. Then once you’ve worked through that, it’ll be the chair that’s been sitting in the corner of the ring for two years which becomes scariest thing in the world!

Sense of Humour

Yes, I honestly believe some of the more intelligent horses have the ability to have a sense of humour! Like I said in the beginning, I don’t mind if a horse spooks as they’re showing you an emotion. Sometimes they just feel great and want to have fun! Hang on and go with it! And be thankful you have an honest, expressive horse!

Again, I don’t see spooking in general as a negative — it’s a piece of information you can use to understand your horse better. Not everything is pain related, not everything means your horse hates you and not every spook is doom and disaster! Learn your horse and listen to your horse. And maybe get a good grab strap to get your thru the frosty morning and chilly evenings!