Jumpy Horse

Question
I have a 10 year old quarter horse gelding who is jumpy.  He does great riding and all, but you never know what may spook him...noise, move to fast.  He doesn't bolt and run, just jumps or sometimes jumps sideways.  Any suggestions on correcting this or is he too old to change his ways?

Answer
Deneen -

Well, first you should focus on the positives... he doesn't bolt or buck when something scares him.  That is a big plus.

As for what you can do... the best thing is to expose him to as much as you can.  The trick is to do it in a controlled way.  Rub him down with feed bags, have someone wave feed bags while you are riding.  I have known some people that put small flags - like for the 4th of July - on fence posts and ride by them.  Be creative.

You have the most important thing down - you don't loose control of the horse.  Now it is just a matter of smoothing out the edges by exposing him to as much as you can.

Good Luck!
Michael Hockemeyer
Kicking Bear Mustangs