It's natural for me, when I am having a bad day, to not want to do much of anything. Time and again, however, I have found that it actually does much more for my mental state if I get out and do something -- or, more specifically, if I get out to the barn and spend time with my horses.
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.
Teaching kids how to act around horses is a balancing act. On one hand, they have to remember not to run up to a horse (especially their hind end) or do anything else sudden and startling -- something kids are, of course, rather prone to doing. On the other hand, they have to learn how to act authoratively with horses, so that the animals know that the kid is the boss. This second part is especially important, since kids are much smaller and more vulnerable than adults, and tend to be more hesitant around large animals such as horses. As a result, they need to work harder to establish that position of leadership with a horse.