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965 views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  tinyliny 
#1 ·
Hi I am new to this so I'm not sure how it works but I need help. I have owned my pony for around 1 1/2 years now. I love her to death, and we have had some amazing rides and time together. However she is very spooky and naughty. I have mainly put these flaws aside, as she can be so good sometimes but it is getting to be a safety concern. She spooks at a lot of things, she refuses jumps, she will act silly and sometimes try to hurt me. It seems like she is driven by fear and I don't know what to do. For a few days or weeks she will be amazing and then she will change completely into a crazy, hot and spooky pony. I have lost my confidence a lot with her. We have had professionals come out to see her, had a numerous amount of lessons, tried different shoeing methods, had vets come and take her bloods, changed her feed added new supplements, had physios come to see her, we have spent so much money and time on her but we are running out of ideas. My mum wants to sell her but I couldn't bear parting with her because I love her so much despite how scared I am to ride her sometimes! Does anyone have any suggestions to help find out why my horse is so spooky? Please help!!
 
#2 ·
Chronic spooking and distraction can be a sign of internal pain, such as ulcers. Go ahead and treat for ulcers, its worth a shot. By the way, your vet can't scope for hindgut ulcers and those are the ones that cause problems such as you describe. Get your vet to give you omeprazole, it's the only thing that cures it, other treatments can help after that.
 
#4 · (Edited)
What is she being fed?
Is she in heat, when she becomes more reactive, not that it is an excuse.
How much turn out does she have?
Horses do learn to take advantage, if you are letting her get out of work when she acts up, thus accidentally rewarding her. Horses also need clear and fair boundaries, so when she does act up, she is corrected, making acting up have consequences
Of course, pain should always be ruled out first, but once that is done, then you need to ride her with consistency of expectations
I would not be jumping her, until you have her good on the flat.
Perhaps have a trainer ride her for awhile, and take lessons also.
We can love our horses and our ponies, but we can't treat them like pets, with the idea that if we just love on them, demand not much, they in turn will reward us with faithful obedience. That is a Hollywood myth !
Yes, there are true fear spooks, but horses also learn all the time, for the good or the bad. The first spooks, on a horse that learns to use spooking, are genuine fear spooks, but if they are rewarded- by not being made to go forward, or even put away, a smart horse can learn to use spooking to either not go where the hrose does not wish to go-often away from home, or even to not be asked to work-period
Horses will also spook just because they are feeling really good- lots of feed and not enough exercise
Some learn to become habitual spookers,,looking for something to spook at, or the same general spot over and over again
The true fear spook, like something popping out, you just go with the horse, and ride on like nothing happened. The other types you have to deal with, making the right thing easy and the wrong thing hard
 
#6 ·
I feed her chaff and pony pellets with salt and magnesium. It doesn't seem to affect her if I do or don't feed her and magnesium has mixed results- it works sometimes and other times it doesn't work. She grazes at pony club so she is in a grassy paddock 24/7 which is not ideal, but I can't do much about it, except moving away which may solve some problems but I don't really want to leave pony club. Thank you so much for the advice anyway and the tips :)
 
#5 ·
Hi, agree with the above, altho I think you're mistaken Wares, that Omez. is effective for hind gut ulcers. This is more for stomach ulcers, as it reduces acid production in the stomach. Herbal & nutritional supps are helpful for hind and foregut ulcers though.

Need more info OP. Firstly, you say you've had all those 'experts' out, so what were the results of them? What have they said? Starting with health, what were the blood tests for? Did they include a nutritional panel? What was/is her diet? Is it also well balanced nutritionally? Many nutrients can cause emotional/behavioural issues if imbalanced, for eg. too much potassium or too little magnesium are commonly associated with overly nervous or 'Jekyll & Hyde' behaviour. Unless your vet has specialised in equine nutrition, it may be worth going to an actual nutritionist rather than just a vet for this sort of stuff. What else has the vet tested for/said?

What did the physio do/say? Were there any issues at all? Did the physio also check the horse's saddle & tack? Has she been tried in different (comfortable) gear? Why did you try a change of shoeing? What was changed? Does the horse have hoof issues? If it was due to body/balance issues, was the physio or other bodywork expert part of that too?

And behaviourally, what have trainers said/done with her? What have instructors said about you & your riding?
 
#7 ·
She doesn't show any symptoms of uclers so I don't think that is a problem. I had a vet come out to test her for selenium but her selenium levels are fine. We have had physios out to check if she is sore anywhere, and she isn't. Natural horsemanship people have come out to sort out her ground work and spooking but nothing really changed. I feed her chaff and pony pellets with salt and magnesium. Her hooves are fine, shoes in summer and barefoot in winter. My trainers and instructer think she is fine, however my new trainer thinks it may be worth selling her, which I don't want to do or even consider. I am a capable rider but my confidence has plummeted lately. I am confident and happy in flatwork and dressage even when she is spooking, its the jumping where I am nervous, but it doesn't seem to affect her, I was having a jumping lesson the other day jumping a course and on the second time around she refused and I had a bad fall. I know she can jump and we will be jumping fine and then she will randomly refuse. Hopefully that answered everything and made sense but I will have a think about what you said, thank you for the advice it helped a lot! :)
 
#8 ·
when are things 'good'? I mean, instead of focussing on trying to think of what is linked up with when things are bad, think of when things are good, and what might be happening then.

are YOU different at different times? could it be you who affects her ?

is her stabling arrangement ever changing? like, moved to new place, with new horses?

it's possible that such a sensitive pony is better with a rider that does not care if the horse is confident one day and not the next. I know, (it seems unbelievable to scaredy-cat me , but . . . ) some folks are fearless, even with a pony that refuses. my hat's off to them, 'cause I'd be quitting. maybe you do need to consider finding a more stable horse.

I gotta tell you that having a horse who is the same from day to day is truly a wonderful thing.
 
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