The title of this book is somewhat confusing.  Although Barnes & Noble lists it as "Helping Your Horse Deal with Stress," the cover, as you can see, says "Teaching Your Horse to Overcome Fears."  Perhaps it was re-released under the second title, and they used the image of the first release's cover.  In any case, the author is the same, Laura Harrison McBride.

But on to the topic of the post: spooking, or rather, despooking.

As anyone familiar with horses knows, spooking can be a significant problem.  It ranges from the spook-in-place (the most desirable way of spooking, where the horse startles but stays where he is), to the spook-and-bolt (for obvious reasons, the last thing you want to have happen).  The in-between is when a horse shies (moves quickly to the side) or perhaps spins but doesn't go anywhere (or at least not very far).

I have a rather spooky Arab cross who has proven to be quite challenging in this regard.  He has even bolted with me a few times (I fell off each time), although that is more the exception than the rule.  So I was rather interested when I saw this little book offered as an ebook.

First of all, it is a little book -- only 40 pages or so on my Nook.  It also spends at least a third of those pages introducing and discussing what qualifies as a spook.  After that, it gives a general overview of several different famous trainers' methods of dealing with spooking.

I don't agree with some of the methods discussed in this little book, but like I said, it's an overview, so it gives you different approaches to consider.  The same thing doesn't work for every horse, of course, but I particularly like the teachings of trainers like Mark Rashid, who emphasize the importance of a soft, confident rider -- if you "spook" in response to your horse's reaction, you are only going to confirm his fears and undermine his confidence.

Like any training book or method, there is helpful information in this book, and not-so-helpful information.  For instance, I don't agree with the method of desensitizing the horse while he is at liberty -- I think it's better if the horse learns that running away is NOT an option.  But I also don't approve of "flooding," the old-fashioned method of desensitizing -- whether I am riding or leading, I encourage my horse to investigate things that scare him, all the while working toward the eventual goal of walking right on by it like it's no big deal.

Like I said, not every approach works for every horse, so what you take out of a book like this may be different than what works for me and Panama.  So, I'm curious.  What approaches to desensitizing have you found work best for you and your horse or horses?