Every Instructors Nightmare… When A Lesson Horse Spooks 

Since Halloween if full of spooky things, it can be a great time to educate your riders (and families) on horses spooking.

While it’s not something we want to talk about, understanding why and how horses spook and how to prevent it is an important part of horsemanship we should pass on!

A spook can be a quick startle, jump, or a sudden change of direction and a natural reaction to something unexpected. 

Spooks can be a result of a sight, a sound, a smell or from a reaction from another animals. As prey animals, this instinct to flee has helped horses survive, since their speed is their best defense.

So it’s important to understand that spooking is an instinctual reaction and is always a possibility even with the most perfect “bomb” proof horse.

So how do we keep our riders safe from a spook?

The best thing you can do as an instructor is to:

•  Match your riders mounts appropriately based on horse and rider education
•  Be attentive and proactive to the horse’s body language 
•  Proactive and observant to the surroundings (thinking like a horse – not human) 
• AND……..

 Teach your riders the importance of:

• Always wearing proper safety gear, use tack that is in good repair and making sure everything is fitted correctly
• Emphasize the important of proper balance: Keep your seat balanced, with a long leg, heels relaxed down for a lower center of gravity and absorb any sudden movements
• Teach them to stay attentive! How to pay attention to your horse’s focus and body language, they’re always telling you what they’re noticing! Notice the horse lift their head, their body tense, drifting, avoiding or peeking.
• Build a Connection! A strong relationship with the horse helps the riders understand when they’re feeling nervous or distracted. Teach them that their connection and confident guidance helps support the horse
•  Teach them about appropriate rein length and how it can change based on the horses state and the environment
• Teach them how to direct their horse’s attention to help them see something or to help them avoid something
• Teach them how groundwork can help improve relationship and confidence
• And of course, teach your riders how to respond to a spook!

Communicate with Riders and Families

In addition to teaching the riders, you should be educating the parents/guardians that spooking is a natural behavior and all horses are capable of spooking. But its important to not stop there, you should share the things that you do to minimize the chance of a horse spooking, including things like:

• Carefully selecting confident, experienced horses and matching to riders skills after thorough evaluations
• Continually scanning the environment and adjusting to keep the horses comfortable and confident
• Giving the horses get plenty of turnout, downtime, and continuous training to build their skills and confidence

Even though it’s “spooky season”, we aim for NO spooky horses here! 

The more we can help our riders understand their horse’s mind and body language, and what to do, the more spooks we can prevent or save to minimize our riders risk of falling.

So this Halloween, let’s focus on connection, awareness, and keeping the “spooks” where they belong…. in the holiday spirit, not in the saddle!