spooky horse in the arena , need some suggestions

[Norah]

Hello,

we are back from a show over the weekend , and some things happened that i was not expecting... maybe some of you have had similar problems and can give me some advice.

My ASPC mare spooked in the arena with the people applausing . In the liberty class she was very hot , but beautifully collected , and had style ...but did not come to me right away, then as i was getting the halter on she spooked and ran away from me . she kicked out and was a crazy fool, I just nealed down and waited for her temper tantrum to be finished and when she was done letting me know how she felt , she came to me , but reared at the applause ; (

She made it to the championship classes but was so spooky that even someone walking above in the rafters made he rear up on 2 legs, she would be fine when she was in the arena alone , but as soon as the other horses came in she was spooky... we just walked out of the class because i was in no mode to deal with it . I have some ideas about why she did this , but would like to get your oppinion on this too .

I had 2 horses in 1 pipe pannel pen, there was a gelding next to us , but he was 7 and castrated just 4 months before , she immediatly went into season , and he tried to cover her 2 times : (

When we go to the other show there is very little to no appause , but oddly at the other show in May she was fine with all the other horses and sounds ?(&%ç*

It was raining

I did not take them out at the show and just walk them around quietly... as they are a bit herd bound , and I was alone at the show and just didnt want the show to be a disapline training weekend , and be exausted , impacient , embarrassed and so on ... I was exausted , impacient and embarrassed anyway ; )

The judge sugested playing music in the stall ... my stall is open, and i will be making separate boxes in the next month , I hope this will help with being separated ...

next time i will go with just 1 horse , and just lead he around most of the day on her lead rope, but how do i get her use to other horses in an arena , the clapping etc.... like I said at the other show she was calm as a cucumber ... what do you think ?

 

[The Simple Life Farm]

I am not sure, but maybe her being in heat made her grumpy. I have a mare like that, she is totally different at a show when she comes in heat. But at home, you would never notice the difference. Maybe more exposure to the showring will help. I have one at home that is a little spooky, so I know the first show she will blow her classes, so I am prepared for that. Good luck.

 

[muffntuf]

Could very well be she was in heat. BUT applause if not heard but occassionally will make a pony or horse do funny things because it echoes in the arena. We had many ponies at Congress startle at the applause and one get away on a trainer.

Liberty - could be just feeling good.

All I can suggest is to expose them to as much as possible. I have a radio in the barn going all the time, I change the barn around a lot so they are always looking at what is in the way or around them.

 

[rubyviewminis]

We had a mustang scared to death of helicopters for obvious reasons, and to solve the problem during that summer oddly the medivac helicopters were flying overhead frequently to the mountain by us rescuing hikers and such. I got halter and lead ready and my training stick. It was hard to drop everything but when I stayed home and when I would hear the helicopter in the distance I would run out and start working ground exercises in a smaller paddock to keep his mind occupied. I also have noisy desensitizing cd's that I play when they all eat. By the third fly over he was pretty much ignoring it, because he knew by then it wasn't chasing him, and it meant work if he just reacted instead of thinking.

Ropers tie their horses to the arena fence or trailer and those horses get so used to the noise and excitement that they learn to just relax while tied there and take a nap.

I have had my son (when little) ride his bicycle around, or kids and neighbors or friends clap, move, jump, run, laugh loudly, pop balloons, ring bells, wave hats, ride their horses at various gates, all around while doing groundwork lessons with my horses. Then/or tie them to rest and have all this going on including cap guns and they learn to look but not over react.

At first it is a pain and time consuming but pretty soon it becomes fun to see what you can come up with next to try around your horse. They learn to start thinking about what is going on instead of reacting instinctively and it doesn't take that long either. I also have a large gravel area that I drag things around on and it makes all kinds of noise, obstacle courses are fun to come up with stuff for. It also gets windy here a lot so I use that to my advantage since I get so frustrated I can't work with my horses then, it gets VERY windy. So I tie plastic bags, various sizes of pie tins, streamers made out of anything you can think up, bells, etc and the wind does the work.

I also hang big white signs on fences where I work horses. These types of things will help a lot to get her used to the world. Working at practicing any kind of exercise you want to train with while this goes on will really help. Good luck and have fun!

 

[Carolyn R]

I would say a few things may have come into play......first, yes, being in heat can cause dramatic changes in their behavior. Second, the time of year it is, meaning that it is cooling off and the length of daylight can cause energy levels to increase ( the cooling off part.....meaning that they are not so hot and sluggish) and the change in daylight can trigger different hormones. Last, please don' t take it personally, but use every opportunity as a learning experience for her. Don't let her run the show when you are away from home. Even if She does not consistantly misbehave, you must be consistant in your handling. If they are herd bound, say tough cookies and walk them anyhow, even if it is only short distances, if they don't like applause, take them to a safe area when they are not in the arena, but nearby so they can hear it, lunge her if there is an area to do so and while lunging her have her do halts and face you when stopped. All the paces you would put a full size horse through. This will all reinforce that you are in charge and by frequently showiing her things that may upset her, but do not put her in danger, it will also show her she can trust you. It may be a lot of work, ESP. If you wanted to go to a show and be a spectator too, but in the end it will pay off and make it more enjoyable for both of you.

The most important thing my trainer told me with my BH is to be fair, and firm, and let her know that she must obey me even if she does not see the danger that I may see, or the potential danger that may come from a situation. If I ask her to step one foot to the right, she must, even if she does not know why, she must obey me and trust that I will not allow her to be in harms way (she is missing her left eye, so it is extremely important for her to listen to me if I see an imminent danger).

 

[Norah]

i agree Carolyn ...will do

: )

 

[paintponylvr]

It looks like others have given you sound advice - I only have a little to add. Take her away and work with her alone - at home. Start with right outside the paddock so she doesn't stress too much. Gradually work further away until she can deal with it and keep her attention on you and ignore her buddies. Then talk to someone and see if you can haul her alone to work off your property. If you can, also haul her with her pasture mates BUT work her alone away from the trailer while the other ponies stay at the trailer. Also, work the other ponies while she remains tied, alone, at the trailer. I think you get the idea...

I put the rest of this post in another one...