spooky horse

Question
Hello Brendan,
I have an 8 year old Rhinelander. I have owned him for a year, this is my first horse and I ride 5 to 6 days a week hunter/jumper. I hope to try Cross Country soon...My concern is he is a great horse easy to work with but he spooks often being lead or when I'm riding, which is not a big deal but I hope to be able to use him on trail rides as well...I just introduced some magnesium into his diet can you recommend any other ideas?

Thanks for your time..

Answer
    Hello Jamie,
  I'm afraid that I don't have a "quick fix" solution to your problem. All I can offer is some advice on training, which will help, but it will be a long slow process. Basically you need him to accept you as the "herd" leader, and for him to take his cues from you. I don't know if you are familiar with "round pen" techniques, but if not, I think that would be a good place to start. If you do a search on the Internet, under that heading, you will find plenty of good articles to get you started.
  Now that is only the beginning, but for the next part I would need to know exactly how he behaves in a "spook". Does he simply stop, or does he jump sideways. The reason I ask is because your response will depend on his behaviour.
  If you can give me this additional information, I should be in a position to recommend effective ways of dealing with these "spooks".
  I hope to hear back from you, but in the meantime I'll wish you luck,
                 Slan,
                  Brendan