I have a great trail horse. He’s part Dales – a breed known for it’s courage, and part Shire – giving him a calm disposition. And part Paint, making him gorgeous, but I digress….
People like to call him “bomb-proof” but in fact he is not, and I am glad of it. A bomb-proof horse – one that does not react to anything – is a horse that has become so deadened to external stimuli that he or she is completely shut down. Horses shut down as a way to cope with relentless fear – fear of punishment, fear of an unpredictable environment – and it sounds like a terrible existence. We actually want our horses to be engaged with humans, other horses, and the environment. We don’t want them to be totally bomb-proof. They need to react to danger. Imagine if you were riding on a gravel road and someone was driving too fast towards you – you and your horse’s lives could both be saved by the horse’s quick reaction. Or if a tree was falling into the pasture wouldn’t you want your horse to run away from it?
Admittedly, most of the time when a horse spooks or startles on the trail, there is no true danger. But in the wild, lightning reflexes can mean the difference between life and death. Spooking at something that turns out to not be a threat is not that costly to a horse, so they have evolved to err on the side of caution and not wait to find out if that sudden movement is a mountain lion or just a deer.
It’s when we sit on their backs that the risk/benefit equation changes – for us, anyway. We know that the balloon tied to a mailbox is not as dangerous to our horse as us falling off our horse is to us, so we’d prefer them not to spook. But to do so is going completely against their nature. We are just baggage they can jettison without a thought.
I find that there are generally two kinds of horses. I will use the terms “spook” and “startle” to differentiate them. It’s an oversimplification and horses don’t necessarily fit into one category all the time, but it is a distinction that is relevant to trail riders and is particularly useful to consider when selecting a trail horse.
A horse that spooks is one that loses its mind in the face of perceived danger. These are horses that spin around, rear, or take off at a full gallop, leaving you in the dirt or hanging on for dear life. Even something minor can create this reaction and in many cases you cannot predict what they will react to.
A horse that startles is a horse that reacts to perceived danger by jumping sideways, perhaps running several yards, or standing stiffly and snorting. They react as you would if you heard a loud bang – you reflexively startle but you don’t run screaming into the basement. These horses might also exhibit wariness towards an unfamiliar object. They might stop at a bridge and be unwilling to cross, or might simply need time to examine it before they cross. Often you can learn what they react to and prepare yourself. For example, I know a horse who startles at large boulders in the woods, so we take care to pass these at a walk.
Spooky horses don’t generally make good trail horses. Some spooky horses can be trained to be calm on the trail, but you have to consider the horse’s disposition and background and ask yourself, does this horse even want to be a trail horse? I have known a few great dressage horses whose people wanted to do both dressage and trail riding, but the horses were so nervous that they were not enjoyable to ride on the trail. Not to mention that everyone else riding with them was on edge that they would spook and set off the other horses. I’ve experienced that, and it’s not fun. In fact a friend of mine fractured a vertebrae falling off just such a horse. Off the track Thoroughbreds can be wonderful horses, but given their highly structured lives, just walking down a dirt road can be too much stimulation for some of them. Kerrie’s OTTB Prophet was a great trail horse but it took her years of very patient work to get him to be comfortable on the trail.
My horse, Tupelo, is a startler, not a spooker. Occasionally he reacts to a sudden movement such as a deer bounding through the woods, usually with a quick hop sideways; my balance is good enough that I can stay on. I have fallen off a few times when he turned tail at a scarier things like a rushing dog or a cow suddenly appearing, but once he realizes there is no true threat, he just starts grazing. He doesn’t like smoke or covered bridges, but when he encounters these he just halts and stands still. He is letting me know that hes is unsure and doesn’t like the obstacle, and usually with patience I can get him past it. The important thing is that I feel safe on him despite his nervousness.
All horses will spook or startle at times. It is built into their nervous system. But a good trail horse has enough experience to know that there are very few real dangers on the trail and when they encounter a sudden movement or something unfamiliar or scary, they keep their wits about them. That said, riding is dangerous and no matter how great your horse is, chances are if you trail ride, you are going to fall off from time to time.
Here is an interesting article about “bomb-proof” horses.
Happy trails!
Monica
