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Dealing with spooky horses takes experience, patients and common sense.

I have been a riding instructor for over twenty years now and it never ceases to amaze me how some people can, without realizing it, make their horse worse.
For example, imagine you know your horse is scared of crisp packets. When the rider sees a crisp packet they will subtly tense their body. Some riders even start trying to reassure the horse, but this is just reinforcing their horses fear.

If possible always practice with spooky objects in a safe area such as a school or a small field. Always wear your hat and have any helpers wear a hat as well, even if they are not on a horse.

When faced with a spooky obstacle the first thing to do is not to look at it at all. Remain calm and turn your horses head slightly away from the object. If your horse is able ask him down on the bit to give him something to think about.

It is vital to keep the horse moving forwards. Turn them slightly away from the spooky object and ride a small circle. Gradually move the circle closer to the object, remembering not to look at it yourself. Keep your eyes up and your legs pushing the horse forwards.

Once the horse has passed the object give them a quick scratch on the neck and then repeat the exercise from the other direction. Horses always need to do everything with both sides of their body. When your horse is happy with whatever they were afraid of leave it for today and repeat the whole process again tomorrow.

If your horse is overly spooky with everything, look at his diet.
Are you feeding him according to the amount of work he is doing? A lot of horses these days are overweight and any added protein is only going to hype them up.
It has also been noticed that horses living in areas which are low in magnesium tend to be more highly strung so check out your soil and consider putting your horse on a magnesium supplement.
Calming herbs also work wonders although they should not be used in place of schooling but they can help to calm a fizzy horse down enough for the schooling to be effective.
Good luck and stay safe.

Learn more about this author, Jo.H.
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