I like that technique of serpentines to gain distance from the horse in front of them. My older Walker wants his nose in the tail of the horse in front of him so I am going to try this next time we go out in a group.
Yes some are just bred spooky. I have lots of spooky videos too if you search the channel. It can be very scary if they spook all the time. It makes us all nervous, you are not alone.
I used your technique of keeping the leg and rein opposite the scary object in the event they spook when my younger Walker and I went out solo this past weekend. I like that strategy. He and I did circles and serpentines when he got looky at the treeline.