How can I stop my Pony spooking?

[danilee222]

My Pony Rosie has been kept on livery yards with chickens running around, she's been on plenty of hacks, she's seen it all and nothing normally bothers her. But in the outdoor paddock she hates the far corner, at the far end of the paddock it's all bushes then open fields for miles. There's a house being built next to the paddock but she seems to be fine when the builders are banging and sawing away.

So basically. She's getting a lot worse when the builders aren't there on weekends she just goes crazy and it's started to spread from the corner to the whole left side of the paddock. I've tried walking her around and russling the bushes and things that would spook her. but she doesn't seem interested when i'm walking beside her.
When I get on her back it's another story, she bolts everytime i get to that corner of the paddock.
i dont mind the bolting so much, but now that it's spread down the whole side i'm terrified of her spooking sideways into all the jumping equiptment and me being seriously injured.
i thought there could be something in the bushes so i went and cleared out all the rubbish i could find, and it hasn't changed a thing.
any tips on how to stop her spooking?

talking too her calms her for a second, but then she's off again.
shouting at her and pulling her reins hard when she spooks doesn't work either.
i'm 17, i'm really underweight and i'm worried that one day it'll get so bad and i wont be strong enough to calm her down.

she's perfect in every other way, she's perfectly safe (until now)
i need to stop her before it gets out of hand and my pony is ruined.

(it's a private yard, when she's spooking it's only me and her, no-one else around for miles)
please help!

thanks

[jules77]

I would suggest you get a professional rider/teacher in to help, ask around to see if anyone knows of one, or do a search on google or yell.com.

My friend is an ex professional eventer, and there arnt many horses she cant sort out one way or another. Having had a really nasty accident a couple of years ago when I broke my back, I would also make sure you are wearing a back protector when you ride her for your own safety.

[chysun]

A lot of horses can spook even if they have been and done it all sometimes when there are bushes it can throw a shadow on the ground you dont see but my guess is that you are tensin up when you get to that corner waitin on her spookin and she can sense it you need to ride at that point with confidence and i would suggest that you ride circles,serpentines and change the rein often so she is listenin to you and not given the oportunity to look and spook i would wear a back protector to give you extra confidence. hope this helps let me know how you get on.

[danilee222]

thanks for your answers. I'll try and find a body protector, i just feel stupid wearing one after 12years of riding. But i guess my back is more important than my image!

I've circled the corner as much as i can, i've worked her really hard on that corner to try and show her nothing will bite her, but she seems pretty sure there's something bad in the bushes.
One time we did go to investigate the bushes and found a MAN sat in there taking pictures!!!

he must have been taking pictures of the wildlife though with it being open fields. I never confronted him though.

[lankeela]

Try putting her feeding bowl in that corner. Gradually put it nearer and see if that affects her.

Maybe the man in the bushes frightened her with a flash camera (or just a flash!).

[Clanad]

All of our horses here on the ranch in the western U.S. are working horses... cow ponies, but they teach as much as they learn. We often often encounter situations, especially when working with livestock in all kinds of terrain, where the trust between rider and horse has to be equally shared. A horse depends on its rider for leadership and senses very easily when the rider tenses up or is frightened. This causes the horse to react in the same way. You must keep in mind that the horse is a flight animal. No matter hundreds if not thousands of years of domestication, the horse is still ready to react to any percieved danger by running away.
So, having said that, I would follow my father's years of horse training and do the following:
1. Lead the horse to the "dangerous" area after placing some really yummy food in a feeder of some kind. I would use rolled oats. Do this frequently over a period of several days...maybe a week or so. Get the horse to associate a pleasurable experience with the "dangerous" area.
2. Then, ride the horse to the same grain. As you approach the area, speak confidently but quietly to the horse. He's depending on you. Don't tense up... don't increase (even unconciously) your breathing rate... don't grasp the reins or lead tighter... any of the things that transmit fear to the horse.
Be consistent and be in charge and I think you'll see a change... Best of luck