# How do you make a bombproof horse?



## Tifferss (20 October 2010)

My boy isn't bad out hacking he's just strong and a little bit spooky. he fizzes up for 10 minutes then calm for 10 minute then fizzy then calm. He spooks at silly things, sometimes stuff that isnt there sometimes he walks past things that i would expect a nervous horse to peek at (tractors, stacks of hay bales, birds exploding out of the hedge) 

My question is - if i take him out and expose him to everything - will he ever become bomb proof?

and whats are your top tips for creating calm and enjoyable hacking?


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## JadeyyAndLadyy (20 October 2010)

How old is he?

If you take him out on the same route for a few times maybe he might get used to certain things. Try bombproofing at home too, dress up in a plastic bag and cuddle him (Slowly incase he really doesnt like it) make sure he gets used to it before you smother him  Use lots of different things, cones, bags, flags, etc

Hope im some kind of help, Good luck


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## Crazydancer (20 October 2010)

Try riding out with an older, sensible horse, you know, one that doesn't buck or shy sideways and turn to jelly at tractors etc.....
Hopefully he'll remember he's 18 and will be a bit more chilled next time.


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## ginadrummond (20 October 2010)

Sorry but I think they are born not made.  I have some hellish older ones and a 'plod the cob (but not a cob) youngster.  You can improve them but the more I breed the more I realise its a nature not nurture thing.


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## Paddydou (20 October 2010)

First off you have to be cooler than a cucumber in the fridge. Frozen peas woudl be good. 

Second act as though nothing is unusual, Flappy bag - see em every day. BIg flashy lights on massive fire engine nothing doing there.

Then do unusual things ie take the feed to them in a plastic bag. Make sure you shake it to get every nut out. Pretty soon you will be able to shake plastic bags all around your horses head with out a worry. Throw things about in general so its "normal" to see a brush being flung around. Make loud noises the normal, play loud music and let people fire guns near by. 

I expose my horses to practically everything. On fire works night they stand and watch (you get a good view at one end of their paddock!). Bird scarers frighten me more than them after they had one at the side of their paddock for a few weeks. Tractors etc are all welcome into close proximity. Combines no problem. Literally when you see something scarey go and get your horse then make it normal! Have a chat with a local farmer while he makes loud bangs in the workshop or drives past etc.

People think I am mad with some of the stuff I do with mine but I am not the one constantly calling myself for help and a "steady guide". I know I can drive a tractor within inches of my horses and it will not be a problem if the engine rev's of there is a bang etc. I mean this quite literally. Everything is "normal" to them. Guns, dogs, screaming babies in push chairs are all instances to fall asleep. Fire engines and ambulances driving past fast with sirens and lights no problem. They only get excited if there is fun to be had i.e. at the start of a cross country course/ long gallop area etc and even then they are controlable with no much effort.

Just keep at it and be imaginative. walk them over sacks on the floor and stuff like that rub a plastic bag over their bodies until they don't bother to look at it (after they have checked it doesn't contain goodies!).

Your horse may just like keeping you on your toes but at least if everything is normal to him then he will be less likely to be spooky. I have found the "get on with it" attitude helps enormously.


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## Hels_Bells (20 October 2010)

I think it helps if you have them from a baby in a kind, steady home.  Sure some are naturally nervous and they are also naturally flight animals, but I think if they have had a bad time at any time in their lives it makes a huge difference as to how confident adn trusting they are.  A lot of it is to do with trust and it can take some time for that to build up.   I believe in Holland they do as much bombproofing as possible while a foal is still with its mum, ie travelling them etc so that they learn that their mum is not scared so they don't need to be scared.  If you don't have this opportunity (which in this posts case you don't) then some of Paddydou's suggestions are excellent!


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## Irishlife (20 October 2010)

Paddydou said:



			First off you have to be cooler than a cucumber in the fridge. Frozen peas woudl be good. 

Second act as though nothing is unusual, .


I expose my horses to practically everything.
		
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Agree 100% with Paddydou. Our foals have to get over it and when safe to do so, they follow me everywhere and into everything. They have jackets thrown on their backs when out for walks, feed sacks thrown over the door, washing hung up flapping in the yard. The big rider frighteners such as tractors no problem at all as they are encouraged to walk by active machinery and we are fortunate in that every neighbour has some kind of JCB, muck spreader, tractor. Dogs are encouraged to bark and snap away and one collie obligingly swings from the horses tails if the mood takes him. It is true that some horses will always be suspicious especially if hacking alone but the more exposure, the better. If you don't make a big deal, neither will they. Gunshots, firecrackers, they take it all in their stride.

Consequently, I have lovely young horses under saddle who might give a spook when fresh but will go safely through any hazards or traffic, crowded showgrounds and not blink or think twice about it. The more you can throw at them the better.


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## Kao (20 October 2010)

ginadrummond said:



			Sorry but I think they are born not made.  I have some hellish older ones and a 'plod the cob (but not a cob) youngster.  You can improve them but the more I breed the more I realise its a nature not nurture thing.
		
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^ That.


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## MissMincePie&Brandy (20 October 2010)

Definately agree that to give them as much positive expose to all sorts of things as often as possible is a good thing, and keep cool as if it's all the most perfectly normal thing in the world. 

My last ex-racer was pretty good and did not really spook or look at anything except groups of small children.  That was the only thing that freaked him out, and in the end it meant that I just avoided hacking out during the school run times.  

I'm sure he was so bad for 2 reasons. 
1. Because I was never really able to desensitise him safely to groups of children. There are no children at the yard, and I don't really know anyone well enough who has some to use for the purpose of 'training' my horse! 
2. I was also very nervous of the fact that I must under no cirmstances allow him to get close to them incase he struck out, or leaped sideways across the road into an oncoming car or even leaped straight onto the other side of the pavement, as he was certainly capable of it.


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## Tifferss (20 October 2010)

Thank you!! great tips


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## EAST KENT (20 October 2010)

ginadrummond said:



			Sorry but I think they are born not made.  I have some hellish older ones and a 'plod the cob (but not a cob) youngster.  You can improve them but the more I breed the more I realise its a nature not nurture thing.
		
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Absolutely!And quite often the minute you sit on it you just know that is how they are.


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## MiJodsR2BlinkinTite (20 October 2010)

No, you don't get a " bombproof" horse if you just go out and expose them to everything you can find which is remotely spooky, and hope they'll turn out bombproof, coz that won't happen if you "flood" the horse with too much scarey stuff and all that will happen is that you'll have a hyper horse!

Its all about confidence in the rider, that's the issue, and having a horse that out of his/her freewill, puts total confidence in the rider as herd leader. There may be a bit of fluctuation in that relationship as to who exactly is "boss horse" - as there would be in any  herd situation. 

But IMO it has to begin and end with the horse being in a place where he is totally submitted to the rider as herd leader and everything else - spooks/traffic, whatever, is secondary to that. If herd leader says tractor is OK, its OK. If herd leader says spooky plastic bag is OK and safe, it is. 

I find Michael Peace's philosophy of "Think Equus" very helpful - as is his website, which will give some good ideas which are practical and not airy-fairy (unlike some other "alternative" stuff shall we say begining with the letter P which has had a good airing on this forum recently!). Have a look at his website, there's some good stuff there, and it does actually work, which is what we all want.


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## princestar (23 December 2012)

Must say, my little welsh mare is 4 and when we harrow the fields she'll come over to the tractor when called, the engine still running and put her head up for a scratch and look for some food no problem. She used to be worried about it, she'd be in the other field and gallop off when she heard it start, now she goes to see what's going on. But when we hacked on the road and a neighbours tractor was coming up the road, I didn't worry and she didn't blink. Just takes time and patience and keep exposing them to the things that they experience every day  xx


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## Spotsrock (23 December 2012)

Mine just are. Neither are calm or particularly quiet but both cope with pretty much anything.


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## Hippona (23 December 2012)

No.....i think they are made, not born....my current horse literally poo'd himself at everything when i got him aged 5. Now he hacks out cool as you like....he loves it now he has confidence and trusts me. Agree with the rider needing to be chilled, that or mildly inebriated....


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## windand rain (23 December 2012)

I think it is a bit of both to be honest you can certainly make a horse a lot better with most things by getting them used to it but I do think they sometimes are impossible to cure.
I have one that has a phobic fear of plastic bags she is tolerant of them in an I am scared but can cope way she would freak if something else scared her though. She is totally bomb proof literally in other ways as she was on the airfield when the marines were throwing thunderflashes about and didnt even lift her head up from the grass when a boat took off under a chinook helicopter and flew over her head at about 20ft up
I also think they take confidence from the person handling them and the rider as another one I have is fairly sensitive but is great with her rider and is totally bombproof in traffic She even barely looked when a tarp flew off the windmill roof with a clatter in the wind yesterday she just stopped slightly and when asked to move forward she just poddled passed as if nothing had happened because she has absolute faith in her jockey


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## Littlelegs (23 December 2012)

I think its nature & nurture. Some are born more bombproof than others. But nurture can improve a born wuss too. And I agree, a lot of the nurture comes down to the rider or handler.


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## Pearlsasinger (23 December 2012)

Not sure I agree with MiJods. 
That wouldn't explain those horses who can take a nervous rider into heavy, noisy traffic, with washing blowing in the nearby gardens and children screaming in playgrounds and pigs, goats and dogs above their heads on Bonfire Night. that kind of horse is born not made imo. 
 Admittedly, if that horse meets a nervous or generally hyper person early in its life, it might not become quite so unflappable as one that doesn't.   
We've had a few horses who were 'born middle-aged' and I'm sure it was down to genetics and mother's temperament at least as much as to early dealings with humans.


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## PeterNatt (23 December 2012)

The temperament of a horse is an important factor and also riding them out each and every day.


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## YorksG (23 December 2012)

I also think it is not helpful if you have a clever horse, my mare and the one before her understood that if I had the brolly/plastic bag/ whatever it was safe, however the ones in the wild are different.  The current mare gets her haylage at supper time out of a plastic bag, she will walk over plastic in our yard, BUT get a stray bit of silage wrapper caught in the mud of a bridleway waving at her when we are cantering along, she will stop and drop (as I found out as I flew over her shoulder). She is fine with any traffic you care to mention, but will have a minor meltdown about purple flowers in the hedge!


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## windand rain (23 December 2012)

I agree with that too I would swear you could land a rocket next to my ponies but god help you if a leaf falls off a tree


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## Pearlsasinger (23 December 2012)

PeterNatt said:



			The temperament of a horse is an important factor and also riding them out each and every day.
		
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TBH, I think that probably being driven is more effective than being ridden and I'm pretty sure that being brought up by a very experienced horseperson is vital.

All bar one of our truly bombproof horses has been r&d and the other one was certainly started by someone who knew what he was doing (we know her breeder).


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## JanetGeorge (23 December 2012)

Pearlsacarolsinger said:



			We've had a few horses who were 'born middle-aged' and I'm sure it was down to genetics and mother's temperament at least as much as to early dealings with humans.
		
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There is absolutely NO doubt that probably around 50% of a horse's behavioural tendencies are inherited.  Then the foal is born - and the rest is down to the mare - and life!!

Calm easy mares who are bottom of the pecking order have foals who stay out of harm's way.  Bolshy, Alpha mares have foals that are boss of their peer group.

We feed mares with foals at foot off the tractor from day 1.  Mare sees tractor and comes running - totally unscared.  So foal learns THE most important lesson of his/her life!!  Vehicles bring food!!  They're nice!

All our youngsters hack out for the first time with virtually NO fear of traffic - writing on the road is far more likely to spook them!  

And upbringing can TOTALLY over-rule heredity.  I recently got a 4 year old mare who is a 3/4 sister in blood to a group of very sensible, easy youngsters I've bred.  She is a TOTAL ratbag!!!


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## Pearlsasinger (24 December 2012)

And, of course, JG, your horses have the benefit of being brought up by an experienced horseperson.


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## RainbowDash (24 December 2012)

Hi,

I don't believe there is such thing as a bombproof horse unless they've been trained from a foal.  A rider can give the horse confidence but even something new and scary can frighten even a usually un-flappable horse.  

Riding the horse often and not always trotting/cantering down the same track - one with a tendancy to spook will associate asking for trot or canter at a certain place with something they should be wary of.  Tight reins can for some horse mean there's something to be afraid of.

Gentle exposure to scary things helps - if you have a school turn your horse out into it and leave plastic bags, bicycles, prams for whatever in there. Let them sniff, have a look or play with them.  Under supervision of course


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## cbmcts (24 December 2012)

Psst - can I just remind you of the downside to feeding horses from plastic bags 

Imagine this - a mobility scooter up ahead with the Christmas supermarket shop in carrier bags draped all round it...you know what happens next, don't you? Cue one silly horse thinking DIIIIINNNNNERR and trying to chase it down


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## Princess Rosie (27 September 2014)

Hippona said:



			No.....i think they are made, not born....my current horse literally poo'd himself at everything when i got him aged 5. Now he hacks out cool as you like....he loves it now he has confidence and trusts me. Agree with the rider needing to be chilled, that or mildly inebriated....

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Maybe I need to try the alcohol approach! Lol. My 5yr old (a very young 5!) mare is V spooky, she's actually better when cars fly past her at high speed as she was found originally tethered on the motorway embankment! If a car slows down to pass her she panics like mad, she absolutely hates tractors and white transit vans (any other colour van is fine!).  She travels like a lamb and no issue on motorways etc. I need to get my brave pants on (and maybe inebriation!) to get her back out on the roads! I'm doing lots of despooking and have shredded white carrier bags on long sticks and can now touch her all over her body and she sticks her nose right in it for a sniff so I'm getting there, takes time and patience.


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## bakewell (27 September 2014)

I constantly expose my horses to new stimulus, not just stuff I know I need them to cope with. So I'll ride a bicycle or motorcycle through the field, blow them with a hair dryer. Hack them past a canal with boats on, children on canoes (bright colours, movement, screaming!). Put a sprinkler in the field. It's about their confidence in you with unexpected situations. We were also briefly in a field by the M23 in the Gatwick flight path so that probably helped a lot/ made them deaf.
Oh and when we were in a contained environment (school, field) I often dismount unexpectedly in walk or trot. I don't want them to panic if I hit the deck in a less than planned situation. Obv be careful with your safety and this plan.

The only thing I've ever experienced a reaction to (trot became very passagey) was when a landing hot air balloon was hiding over the crest of a hill. I felt that was fair, I was surprised too.


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## rowan666 (27 September 2014)

ginadrummond said:



			Sorry but I think they are born not made.  I have some hellish older ones and a 'plod the cob (but not a cob) youngster.  You can improve them but the more I breed the more I realise its a nature not nurture thing.
		
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This sorry. I got my bombproof coblet fresh off the hills and had never seen traffic before, yet hasnt ever batted an eyelid on a busy main road but my anglo who ive had years and bin everywhere and tried everything but 4yrs on is still scared of the neighbours weelie bin that is exactly the same as ours that hes fine with!


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## PeterNatt (27 September 2014)

Some horses are just born laid back and others will always be nervy and on their toes.


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## Grumpy Herbert (28 September 2014)

ginadrummond said:



			Sorry but I think they are born not made.  I have some hellish older ones and a 'plod the cob (but not a cob) youngster.  You can improve them but the more I breed the more I realise its a nature not nurture thing.
		
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I agree with this, but I think early experience and handling can do an awful lot to counteract the spookiness.  I have a mare who I've had since she was 3.  She's a TBx, and to look at (and sometimes to ride!) you would think she would be a complete spooky nightmare.  She is as 'bombproof' as they come!  I made sure I exposed her to every kind of traffic, wildlife, road signs, plastic bags, bins etc as I possibly could from the minute I got her.  She's very bold and very little bothers her.  The downside is she is very self contained, stubborn and sure of herself.  My other horse is a IDxTB - should on the face of it be a sensible, steady type.  He isn't.  I got him when he was 12 and he had only ever been hunting - he is a spooky, jumpy, neurotic mess.  So I guess nature plays a huge part, but nurture can round off the rough edges.


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