© 2022 Copyright Statement dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing User Terms, sed diam nonumy eirmod tempor invidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliquyam erat, sed diam voluptua. At vero eos et accusam et justo duo dolores et ea rebum. Stet clita kasd gubergren, no sea takimata sanctus est Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.
You need to be logged in to fill out this form
"*" indicates required fields
Sunspot Spooking
A: I think one reason horses spook at sun spots or shadows on the ground is because these things look like a change in terrain. If left on his own, a horse would probably slow up, put his head down on approach, and perhaps even use his muzzle to investigate or assess it. When he is at work, a horse is not completely free to do so. The tricky thing about sun spots or shadows is they will change position depending upon the time of day, so they might be coming up in unexpected places as you ride on different schedules.
I don’t have one pat answer to address this problem, but I do have a number of suggestions. I would really like to know if this mare is generally a spooky type horse or if it’s just this one thing that disturbs her. Does she just shy and move on or does she act terrified to some degree? Has she had a good ophthalmic exam by your veterinarian to look for defects in the cornea, subtle signs of uveitis, “floaters,” or any other number of things that could be hampering her vision?
As a means of just avoiding the situation, one aid that can be used is the shadow roll. This is a large rounded piece of foam covered in fleece that looks like a big fluffy noseband and is positioned usually somewhat above where the regular noseband sits. What it does is physically interferes with the horse’s line of sight towards the ground. It not only hides things from view, it also tends to encourage the horse to put her head down, in order to try to see over it. So this might work, however I don’t think it’s as satisfying as trying to actually solve the underlying problem. Also, practically speaking, you might not be able to use it in competition, and as with any tack change, there might be unintended consequences in how your horse responds and it just might not work out well
Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.
TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.
Start your free account today!
Already have an account?
and continue reading.
Written by:
Nancy Diehl, VMD, MS
Related Articles
Improving Welfare for Stalled Horses with Selected Nature Sounds and Music
4 Ways to Boost Soil Health on Horse Farms
Feeding and Riding the Lactating Mare
How To Manage a Horse With Seasonal Allergies
Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with
FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com
Sponsored Content
A Novel Treatment for Equine Osteoarthritis: 2.5% Polyacrylamide Hydrogel
Harnessing Fluorescent Light Energy for Horse Wounds and Skin Disease
PulseVet Shock Wave Therapy for Horses
Weekly Poll
Readers’ Most Popular
Top Categories