Summertime and warm weather! You know what that means – it’s outdoor season. No matter how great it is to ride in nature, whether it’s outdoor arenas or new places, it can be a bit challenging if you have a young, spooky horse that’s easily stressed. We talked to MD Team Rider Tova Ottosson, who educates and trains young horses, to get her top tips for making sure your horse stays relaxed in different kinds of environments.  

During her career, show jumper and trainer Tova Ottosson has seen her fair share of spooky horses. Early on, she was drawn to horses that had lots of energy – something that has allowed her to learn to handle all sorts of situations in the saddle. Getting a horse used to new situations is all about repetition and patience, she says.

How does a spooky horse behave? 

– They look around a lot! They might be a bit jumpy when you’re riding them, and their ears are going in every direction. When you jump a spooky horse, they’ll look a lot at the obstacle below them and they’ll jump with their head kept low.  

What’s the most challenging behavior you’ve seen in a horse, and how did you handle it?

 – What I find the most challenging is when the horse has been through trauma and has had bad experiences. They’ll need more time and adjustment. I train a lot of young horses from scratch, and most are very sweet. When there is challenging behavior, the important thing is to dedicate a lot of time and patience to the horse. You need to do a lot of repetitions, the same thing every day. When you are starting a young horse, you’re not working them seven days a week, you also have to give them a chance to process the new experiences. You repeat and repeat and then you add in new things as you go on.


Tova gives us an example with horses that do not enjoy water trays. 

– If you have a horse that refuses to jump an obstacle with a water tray, that’s what you need to be doing, several times over. Then you can stay away from the water trays for a while, to then only have one be placed in the ring, and ride around with it there. When I start a horse, I always have obstacles in the ring from the very beginning. When the horses are learning to jump, I also start with planks and water trays right away, so they learn that it’s nothing to be scared of. 

”If you create more tension in your horse, it’ll become more reluctant.” 

– Tova Ottosson

The key, Tova says, is to get your horse to relax in situations that it might otherwise find scary.

– I don’t believe in forcing your horse to do anything. But of course, you need to be firm. My goal is always to make sure that the horse is relaxed, because if you create more tension in your horse, it’ll become more reluctant. You want your horse to feel safe, Tova says, and adds:

– A lot of the time, the horse’s behavior stems from being scared or having experienced something unpleasant.

”I don’t believe in forcing your horse to do anything.”

– Tova Ottosson

Do you have any advice for riders with spooky horses?

– You can keep a lot of obstacles out when you’re riding. Keep poles on the ground, galloping over one shouldn’t be an issue. It can also help to jump often, using low obstacles. 


Tova says that there are circumstances that might make your horse more or less spooky. 


– Horses can often be more spooky at home, because they know their surroundings well enough that they immediately notice if something changes. I find that they’re not looking around as much when they’re at a show. They’re usually also more spooky at the very start of a training session. If that’s the case, you can gallop for a while first so that they get rid of some excess energy before you get to work.  

How do you get a spooky horse used to new environments?

– You can do what we do with the young horses. If the goal is to compete at shows, you might not want to ride as much at home but instead go to new places and not make a big deal out of it. A young horse is not used to training in one place and then competing in another, so it’s no wonder the horse can get a little stressed, Tova says.

”If you feel stressed, your horse will pick up on it, so take it easy.”

– Tova Ottosson

Do you have any tips for keeping your horse calm when you go for a ride?

– Ideally, you’d have a calmer horse with you that can ride out ahead of you. Then the stressed horse can see that there’s nothing to be afraid of. If you do that a few times and follow the same route each time, your horse should eventually relax.

But Tova says that the most important thing when dealing with a spooky horse is for you as a rider to keep calm. 

– If you feel stressed, your horse will pick up on it. If you are nervous about the obstacles, your horse will be too. So, take it easy and try to relax.

A big thank you to Tova for the wise words! To get to know Tova better, read our article about her 👉 here 👈