When you have a horse who is hot and fresh the WORST thing you can do is bottle up the energy and try to make the horse stand still. Trying to suppress it only leads to tension, which will usually manifest itself in an explosive release (or SPOOK) that NOBODY wants! I often tell my students “forward is your friend” but you must have a way to manage this forward so you are not completely out of control! In this video, I’m going to give you a great strategy for managing your high-energy horse to avoid the dreaded spooks!
The technique I use for managing a spooky horse is called “Drifting the Hindquarters.” This technique is kind of like revving your engine with your car in neutral.
Basically you are going to be riding your horse is a perpetual shoulder-in and constantly bending and turning your horse. When you can get control of your horses’ inside hind leg and keep your horse bent to the inside you can let then energy out and stay safe!
We start off in the walk, I’m pushing the hinquarters out and it looks like a large turn on the forehand.
I use inside rein to bend and inside leg to push the hindquarters out.
As you’ll see, the legs are crossing over beneath the horse. So the inside hind will cross over in front of the outside hind.
(You may have seen me doing this – getting the horse to bend and step the hind underneath them – from the ground before I get on, and the principle is the same)
Once you’re comfortable at walk, you can move it up to trot. Keep your horse bending and keep those inside hindlegs stepping across and in front of the outside.
In dressage terms, this is shoulder-fore or shoulder-in, and when your horse is rushing, this is the perfect solution. Saying “NO” to a forward horse will never work. That energy needs to be redirected.
Drifting the hindquarters helps to burn off energy while also serving the purpose of practicing
- Shoulder fore
- Shoulder in
- Bending both sides
- Moving off the leg on both sides
In the canter, we can’t expect the same level of drifting, but keeping your horse on circles and bending lines at the canter will help to regulate the tempo.
Our position plays a huge role in how we manage a spooky horse.
- It’s super important to keep the upper body back. The temptation with a spooker is to tip forward, but it’s really important that we remember to sit up and back and give them more to carry.
- It’s also good to keep a little tightness in the lower abdomen. You’re still moving with them, but regulating how fast you’re going with them, and therefore regulating their tempo.
When transitioning down from the canter, make a concerted effort to go straight into a drift. spooky or hot horses will often go into an unregulated speed trot straight after a canter.
One thing to remember, pulling back with two reins is never the answer. You’ve got to think laterally, bending, drifting, turning, and circling!
In the video, I demonstrate what happens when I try and use the reins to control the speed. Spoiler alert! Neither of us have a good time!
Have a look at this video where I demonstrate this up and down through the gaits and let me know if you find it helpful!
Thanks for watching and happy riding!
