Having a spooky horse on the trail is not fun and can be dangerous. It is very important to create a trust between you and your horse so they look to you for assurance when feeling uncomfortable or nervous. It takes patience and sometimes baby steps to reassure your horse when they come upon something that is scary to them.
Lets say you come up on an object (sign, tree stump, whatever), and your horse halts and starts blowing and tightening up with anxiety. Start by stroking them and calmly talking to your horse in a gentle voice. Allow them time to calm down and keep them pointed at the object. Slowly ask them to move toward it giving them your gentle reassurance and rewarding strokes as they approach.
You cannot rush this process
It is important that they stay within their comfort zone to have trust in you. The more often this process is done, the faster your horse will become confident in both his/her self and you. Once you pass the object, allow yourself and your horse to have some fun.
When you come back upon the object, or come across another repeat the process and remember to always allow your horse to stay in their comfort zone and reward them for their “bravery”.
On another note, it may not be an object you come across, it may be something comes up on you and your horse, a bicycle, dirt bike, hiker, quad, etc. The most important thing to remember is to always face your horse to the person/thing coming your way if possible.
If it is something up ahead of you, and you spot it before your horse does, try to make your horse aware of it before they have a chance to spook about it. If it is a person on something quiet like a hiker or a bicycle, call out to them and ask them to talk. It doesn’t matter what they say, it is just a process to help the horse recognize that it is human and nothing to be worried about.
If it is a dirt bike, quad, or other motorized vehicle, call out to them and let them know there is a horse approaching and ask them to stop or slow down for you to pass. This not only is a show of respect to sharing a trail, but will create a bond of trust between you and your horse. They will know that when something comes up that is scary to them, they can trust you to either show it to them, or reassure them that it is nothing to be scared of.
I cannot stress enough the importance of gentle reassurance, and generous reward when your horse overcomes a fear or shows bravery in their trust for you. When you have done this regularly over a period of time, you will also be able to trust in your horse to tell you if something dangerous (like a predator) is nearby.
Learn to trust in each other and you will become grateful allies, able to fully enjoy the beauty and challenges of trail riding.
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