Here's the short list of Things We Spooked At:
We had to leap this DANGEROUS SHADOW every time we went over it. Thank goodness his mom doesn't want him to be an eventer.
There were HORSE-EATING ALLIGATORS in the bottom of this pot. Also those poles were dangerous.
C is for courage, of which Taran has none.
I got a clean flying change as we spooked away from the PILE OF JACKETS MONSTER. (Alas, I did not get a change back.)
I don't even know what's scary about this, but there's clearly something terribly, terribly wrong with it.
This entire corner is terrifying. The whole thing, all of it. TERRIFYING. Please note that there's actually nothing there except a CORNER.
More horse-eating flowers in pots.
Yesterday I moved the rolltop out from under a jump to make it just a single skinny by itself. Henry spooked so hard when he saw it that he almost fell down. That's my brave, graceful eventer...
ReplyDeleteClearly, Henry should join Taran in leaping over shadows.
DeleteHa! Courage would approve this message.
ReplyDeleteI think Taran's been communicating with Courage, and I disapprove.
DeleteSounds like its time for Taran to live with some dressage letters and flower pots :P
ReplyDeleteOh, he's seen those flower pots and dressage letters at least 20 times. They were just extra terrifying on Sunday. Brat.
DeleteKika agrees that all the things are terrifying all the time.
ReplyDelete*facepalm*
Deletehow could you not possibly understand what's so terrifying in all those pictures?!? poor Taran, being asked to work in such ghastly ghostly conditions :(
ReplyDeleteI'm sure if there were an equine union he would have called already. The horrors.
DeleteCorners are really scary okay!
ReplyDeleteApparently so. Who knew?
DeleteSpooning and all of the imaginary things is the best fun ever don't you know?
ReplyDeleteNo. No it is not.
DeleteHe really doesn't like changes of color on the ground. He's always been that way. Normally it's just a couple of things that get him but it seems like you had a particularly bad day. Poor, pitiful boy-o.
ReplyDeleteI think it was an excuse not to work - when he wasn't spooking, he was trying SO HARD and was a really good boy!
DeleteWhat a goof!
ReplyDeleteHe actually is a VERY silly boy!
DeleteAh yes corners. They hide secrets
ReplyDeleteYou might have a point there...
DeleteHas he had his vision checked? Just wondering because all the monsters seem to be in shadows.
ReplyDeleteHe has. Unfortunately it's pretty hard to check vision in a horse - unless there's a damaged spot on the eye, it's impossible to tell if one eye sees better than the other. So while there is nothing obviously wrong with the eye, it's possible that he's got 20/20 vision in one eye and 20/100 vision in the other - or worse. We'll just never know.
DeleteThe struggle is real! :P
ReplyDeleteFor my horse that was lacking confidence, I used to get him to walk up and touch things he wasn't sure of (not forcing him, just patiently encouraging him), kind of making it like a game. That seemed to help him... he ended up finding it really tedious to go up to things, so he would look rather than spook (move his feet).
My old horse has vision issues in both eyes. I noticed a consistent pattern to his spooking which made me realise it was eyesight problems. For example, if Taran has vision problems in one eye, the spooking would reflect that. My horse has vision problems in both eyes, so will get a fright if you walk up to him without calling out, and has trouble in low light (and with projected light like headlights). Additionally, my horse's issue is getting worse, just like his spooking - so I am careful to manage situations where he will spook.
Sometimes, they're just spooky horses. Sometimes they can't see stuff and I can get how that would be a bit surprising! Either way, the world can full of scary things, lol! :)
Taran is almost impossible to ride at dusk, and he does tend to spook more when scary things are to the right or straight ahead. A shadow made by a divot in the arena footing can cause leaping and flailing, as can his own shadow (kinda embarrassing really). It's really hard to know what the problem is, but it's something I'm definitely aware of. At least his spooks aren't really big or bad!
DeleteAhhh, that sounds like SO much fun! :P
DeleteThe riding at dusk thing is interesting, as my horse has difficulty at dusk (and in the dark is now only for those with a real sense of adventure). The thing I noticed first was the headlights. He was completely unconcerned about headlights (for several years - I used to ride in the dark a fair bit, I loved it), but then he became worried by headlights.
He initially spooked at high contrast things or things moving (things he could make out but wasn't sure what they were, perhaps), now he seems to spook more at noise (it seems like he hasn't seen me at all) as his eyesight has worsened.
I'm glad Taran's spooks aren't too bad and that you guys seem to have an understanding worked out! ;) Enjoy your horse and stay safe :)