Do You Make These Mistakes When Your Dressage Horse Shies?

I've dealt with a lot of spooky dressage horses, and I find that often shying gets worse because riders do one or all of the following things.

1. Hit or kick him to make him obedient.
2. Make him walk straight up to scary object and face it straight on.
3. Forget to go around your ring in both directions.
4. Force him to go close to the scary object.
5. Patting and soothing him while he's shying.

Let's understand the nature of horses:
1. Horses shy because they’re afraid.
2. A horse shies because his natural instinct is to keep himself safe by fleeing.
3. His eyes are set on the side of his head so he can see with binocular vision (like us) as well as monocular vision.
4. Many horses are claustrophobic.

So looking back at the first list of rider coping strategies, you can probably see why they don’t work very well.
1. If your horse is afraid, punishing him convinces him there is something to be afraid of.
2. Asking your dressage horse to walk straight up to a scary object is one of the most frightening things you can do. In his mind, it's like asking him to meet a cougar head on.
3. Like people, horses have a dominant eye. When the dominant eye is on the outside, your horse is less apt to spook because he can survey the environment for possible danger. When the dominant eye is on the inside, he’s more anxious. He'll want to whip his head around and check out his surroundings with his dominant eye. And while he's doing that, he’ll be shying from potential danger.
4. If you try to go by the scary object as close as possible your first time around the ring, you'll add to your horse's anxiety.
5. If you pat him, you’re rewarding him for being spooky. In his mind, you’re praising him for keeping you safe, and he’s more apt to repeat the behavior.

Taking all of the above into consideration, here's what I do:
1. I never punish a horse that shies.
2. I don't reward the horse while he's shying.
3. I walk around a new environment (ring, field, arena) in both directions so he can see everything slowly the first time with both eyes.
4. If the scary object is at A (a flower pot, for example), I won't go all the way to the short side my first time around the arena. I might turn across the school between V and P. Then each time around I get gradually closer to the short side so when I finally go by the flowers, it's no big deal.
5. Once I'm working I add the following 2 tools. Well before the flowerpot, I bend my horse’s neck so much to the inside so he can't see it with either eye.
6. When I'm beside the flower pot, I soften my inside hand forward so my claustrophobic dressage horse doesn't feel pinned against whatever he’s afraid of.

A Happy Horse

Comment

You need to be a member of Barnmice Equestrian Social Community to add comments!

Join Barnmice Equestrian Social Community

Comment by Jane Savoie on July 19, 2009 at 9:50am: His dominant eye is usually on his stiff side.(The side that doesn't bend easily.)

Comment by B McDaniel on July 19, 2009 at 9:36am: Is there a way to determine which is the dominant eye?

Comment by Jane Savoie on July 1, 2009 at 9:29am: I love that!!! So funny! :-)

Comment by Carey Sages Mackin on July 1, 2009 at 9:10am: My 18H Hanoverian/Appaloosa has spooked me into so many situations on the trail that my friends would tell me to get rid of him. I always rode out the spook, never hit him, maybe yelled a bit, but always rode it out no matter what using distractions and you will laugh at this one...humming the tune used whenever the President of the US comes out...yep..and it worked every time, even when he saw his first ostrich raise it's head suddenly behind some bushes....holy cow....and today I can laugh about it all. I agree with everything you said and stood fast on those beliefs while my friends took their jumpers up to cattle and donkeys and anything else that spooked them forcing them to face the object. No thanks. Never did it. Didn't know about the dominant eye. It explains alot. Thank you so much for such great knowledge you share.

Comment by Terri Johnson on June 29, 2009 at 12:35pm: I would like to add breathing to the above tips. I have been breathing my horse by scary things. It seems she relaxes as I am relaxing and not going into flight mode.

Comment by Jane Savoie on June 27, 2009 at 6:35am: You're welcome, Julie!
And, yes, Lesley, when a horse shies, bucks, bolts etc, I always look for physical causes of pain first. Good "add"!
Ann-That's why are horses are such good teachers!!

Comment by Julie Dreyer on June 27, 2009 at 12:11am: Very well put and a good reminder for everything! Thanks! = )

Comment by Lesley Danko on June 26, 2009 at 10:35pm: Would it be unrealistic to ad that horses will often be spooky when there is something causing them pain.
I totally agree with #2 make him walk straight up to scray object.....worst thing a rider can do..

Comment by Ann Crago on June 26, 2009 at 10:56am: ....It's so difficult not to "knee-jerk" react to their shying...our natural response..especially when we are in a position of being publicly humiliated....is to either get angry and whack them with the stick or heels...or try to sooth them into not behaving like a brat...AHHH HORSES....humble you every time ...and always in public....thanks for the reminders and tips.....now if I can just think before I react...I MIGHT just look a little more sane than my poor beast does !!!!!