Answer

By Your Horse

Natural Horsemanship Expert Charles Wilson says:

Spooky horses are so frustrating. What seems scary to them – a leaf blowing or a bird in a tree – seems nothing to us in comparison with heavy traffic, which they will happily ignore.
As your horse fractured his eye socket, I wonder if his sight was affected. His spooking would then be understandable.
Ultimately, though, his fear indicates a lack of trust in the rider. His natural reaction is to get out of there as quickly as possible. It is only through trust and training that a horse can become brave and confident.
Try simulating the scary things and desensitising him to them. Begin with a stick or long whip – can you stroke him all over without him trying to get away? Calmly persist in touching the places he accepts before progressing to areas he is not so sure about. The next stage is to tie a plastic bag to the end of the stick, again rub him all over. Once he’s settled you can try all sorts of things – the more he gets used to fluttering or noisy objects, the less scary blowing leaves will seem.