Horsetalk.co.nz Spooking horses: Study highlights why riders should always be alert
Share
The novel object placed during the habituation part of the experiment. Image: Corgan et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11051383
Fresh research into spooking behavior in horses may not have turned our understanding of the issue on its head, but it has certainly turned it on its side.
Researchers in Colorado have explored one of the most frustrating and risky aspects of spooking for horse owners – the habit of some mounts to baulk at an object that should be familiar to them.
Most riders have experienced the phenomenon, sometimes to their detriment. A horse may have seen an object dozens of times before, but it spooks when approaching it from a different direction. Or, it may have been moved slightly in some way.