Problems in traffic.....

[Noblesteed]

My 7 year old cob gelding does not like lorries or tractors when he meets them out on the roads. His response is to stop and then spin round and head for home. I have coped with this by getting him into a driveway until the large, noisy vehicle has gone by and then carrying on. I would like to get him to keep going past the lorry/tractor or at least stand while it passes him. This problem is starting to put me off road work and it isn't improving. Do I keep hacking out on the roads in the hope that he will get used to it and learn that lorries and tractors are not going to hurt him? or is there some work I can do to teach him that they are OK and develop his confidence? Has anyone else experienced this kind of difficulty? Hope you can help.....

[HoRsE ChIcK]

i have went through the exact same thing with my horse except instead of heading home, she runs infront of the car and will often rear or buck.i have never fallen off when she has done this as im used to it lol.are u more comfortable riding or on the ground?if the answer is on the ground then whenever you see a lorry or tractor or whatever then hop off and lead her on the side of the road well the car passes.you are doing well now by turning her into a lane well they pass.do you often ride with any one else?if u do then have them ride along the roads with you well your horse gets more accustom to the roads.thats what i did and my horse is now fine on the roads except when we are alone she is a bit nervous.
good luck and hope i have been some help.
~Holly~

[floppy]

regular exposure inhand helps too...ther ewas an article once in a your horse magazine about traffic. It said to expsoe the hrose lightly to cars etc and get closer and closer and allow them to eventually sniiff it etc. Do you knwo anyone with a tractor?

[lleeaannee]

Speaking from personal experience I'd say "if you're up stay up". When you're dismounting you're in a vulnerable position especially if the horse is het up. I've come off as I've been getting off before now when he started to spin. Dougal took himself home - fortunately it is a very quiet country lane. If it was a bit busier I dread tothink what could have happened.

Dougal who I ride absolutely hates tractors. He also knows the word so we have to spell it now. I tend to get the tractor to stop (easier with tractors than lorrys because the farmer is usually knowledgeamble about horses). It's far easier to get a horse to walk past than for the tractor to drive past when you're stopped. If DOug is having a particularly bad day I sometimes have to ask the farmer to get out of the cab (the person being above them seems to be scary). Fortunately I know all the farmers in our area (well I do now!) so they're pretty obliging.

If a tractor comes from behind I tend to stop Dougal, let the tractor approach a bit. Get the tractor to stop. Then I walk past the tractor (doubling back. This also works with Dougal for noisy quad bikes). Once past the tractor it drives off with us behind it. We then continue our journey in the original direction.

It is not normally as quiet as this may sound. Usually it takes a while to get him past but if I persist he will go eventually.

Don't lose your temper just NAG and NAG until it wears him down!!

Antoher option (though not always easy to arrange) is to have a BOMB PROOF horse with you to lead the way.

[KarlR]

I think the answer is controlled exposure in hand and then under saddle.

You can do it with your own car, walking them around it with someone revving it until they get bored and ignore it.

If you can find a friend with a tractor or lorry, then that's even better!

If you are out and it happens - keep them occupied. Work them into a contact and keep your leg on, but stay relaxed yourself (I know, easier said than done!).

[ros]

What's your own reaction when you meet a tractor? What exactly do you do, and how do you feel?

[Zingy]

My horse had a similar problem hacking on roads - he was scared of walls, hedges & people doing scarey things in gardens :eek: like gardening :rolleyes: . He was fine in traffic (eventually) but the other stuff made him a complete liability on the roads - he nearly got hit by a car behind him one day when he spun round - so we stopped hacking and eventually moved somewhere with no roadwork. With regards the traffic he really got used to it after being turned out firstly near a busy road and then next to a motorway. For that reason all the horses on our yard were fine with traffic, even youngsters on their first time out. This maybe isn't the answer you want to hear, but my advice is if your horse becomes dangerous in traffic, the roads aren't the place to tackle the problem. Too many drivers either don't care about you or don't know what to do with horses so every time you're out it's an accident waiting to happen. There's too many horses/ riders injured as it is - please don't become another one. You need to teach your horse in a controlled environment with a driver who's really aware of what's going on. Are there any local farmers/ lorry drivers who could help? I once heard of a brilliant scheme somewhere in Essex - horse riders and bus drivers taught horses to walk past buses etc and not be frightened of air brakes - the horses were better with big vehicles on the roads and the bus drivers were also more aware of what to do when they met a horse. Why isn't there more stuff like this?

[lleeaannee]

Take the plung and go from stable to leaving him in the field with it all on. He may have a panic and run away at first but he'll soon realise there's nothing to worry about. We've done that with ours with trains cause we have to hack past a railway line. The first time they went berserk but after a few days they just watched them go past. If he is ok when in his stable he probably will be in the field too.

You could also try leading him around the equipment when its not so busy and less machinery is on. I'd suggest in a bridle rather than a headcollar for more control though.

Best of luck. You'll get there in the end. Its like men and kids - nag nag nag and they'll give in in the end!

[floppy]

Dont forget to wear gloves.
IF you can ask some to run the tractor and drive it around the yard...do the latter after you have acustomed your horse to the first one. Just walk your horse aroudn the yard - no tack. a bridle if you want but undo the reins so if the horse runs off he doesnt get tangled up. Just get your horse accustomed to being aroudn the tractor..take a bucket of grain with you and let the horse feed near the tractor and just repeat until the hrose doesnt batter an eyelid at it...then lead your horse around the yard while the tractor is moving or just stand somewhere with a bucket of grain while the tractor goes about his business. Take things slowlya nd dont put too much pressure on your horse. regular exposure in small amounst is the best. Then once the horse is happy then go out for walks inhand with the horse.

My horse is scared of tractors however when one comes i always go off the road and stop and turn the hrose around so she can see it. Sometiems i do sometimes i dont and she has never spooked yet. But make sur eyou arent feeelign nervous or expecting her to spook because htis will only encourage it.

[ros]

If Ben is happy about tractors and so on when he's in his stable and out grazing, do you think it's your own reaction that's transmitting itself to him? As you get more and more tense, so does he?

Has anyone else ridden him out? If you know someone very confident could you swap horses with them a couple of times so you could judge his reaction from a safe distance? If he's better, it might help you convince yourself that you can learn to stay relaxed in these situations.

If not, I find kidology works quite well! If I see something coming that I think Merlin will find scary I make a conscious effort to let the reins out a little (actually, if we're standing still at the time I sometimes just drop them on his neck and give him a pat) and talk to him about it. I say dumb things like "oh look, Merly, that's a big train, isn't it?" (Dead casual, you know.) Works for me. Also, what's the worst that can happen if Ben runs? Can you stop him after a reasonable distance or is it straight home no stopping? Try to get things in their true proportion - sometimes when you look at things calmly you may find you're over-reacting.

[Murphs]

... but more the point that she's happy to pass cars etc and have them pass her but if the road is narrow and we have to wait for a car to come past she will not stand still. Today, we were in our lane (safe environment cos only the farmer and a neighbour that use it) and my neighbour came down the lane - i was next to a small layby at the time so pulled her in and asked her to stand - which she did until he attempted to pass us when she decided to spin round and back out into his path. I got her back in the layby and she would not stand - in the end i got off and at the same time my neihbour backed his car so we could pass and switched the engine off which was kind of him, but how do i get her to stand in future and what happens on a busier road? I'd thought about going out with her in hand (in bridle) and just standing and letting traffic go past to get her used to it. is this a good idea?

[lleeaannee]

This may be a good idea but ask yourself a question? What is she like normally? Does she walk off when you're mounting? Does she wander when you put the saddle on? If so then you should probably start in the school and teach her the basics of standing still until she is asked to move.

A friend of mine had the same problem but the horse had no idea that standing still was what was required. Once she had established a "good stand" the horse was mkuch better on the road.

[Murphs]

...while being mounted, tacked up, groomed etc. she developed a habit of walking off whilst i was half mounted but i've been working on that and she has responded (although today she moved while i mounted) so i'll reaffirm this training and do some in hand roadwork and see how we go.

[H & Bailey]

Hi have you tried hacking out with a steady horse in apair ..ie side by side.
when a tractor or wagon comes make sure your horse is slightly got his head behind the other horses head so he is shielded.
Keep walking if he stops get the other horse to stop too.The others horses confidence should help him be brave..pat and talk to him too boost his confidence.Keep doing this even if at first you do have to stand in driveways with the other horse.He will soon learn that the 'monsters arent going to get him.Eventually when you ride out together you should be able to ride more and more slightly ahead and eventually in front..on your own.Dont do it the otherway where you go behind or he will panic when on his own as the horse is shielding him. How old is he???

[floppy]

sorry if its been said but when you stop your horse in a lay by do ou turn her around to see whats coming? that might help if she can actually see whats coming towards her.
Never take an unsure hors eout on a busy road..not until she will happily stand in quieter roads.

you could take some treats with you when riding and stop in laybys - with and without traffic coming and ask her to stad and if she figits take a treat and lower your hand to your foot and get her attention until she turns her head and accepts the treat..
dont abuse this because otherwise every time you lower you hand to check the girth or something she will think its treat time...dont always give a treat and as she gets better and listens and stands still stop giving her treats all together..
the point is she will soon listen to you digging in your pocket and will stand and wait patiently for her treat. So youc an use this as a back up to divide her attention.

[Murphs]

Ebony is 11. I've had her 2 yrs and avoid roadwork where possible but this means if i want to hack i have to box her up as nearest decent bridleways aren't close enough to ride to. Boxing is fine but obviously i need to have a good half day to do this so isn't always practical, so if i want to hack from home i have to use a road (it's not a mega busy road and i try to ride weekends when the traffic is quieter). Anyway, back to the point - she's kept at home with a non ridden companion so it's not always easy for me to have someone else to ride out with but i'm hopefully going to be able to ride out with some people from the yard up the road from me. Re facing her to the traffic trying to pass her - i'm not sure i always do, yesterday i did but only because it was the way we wanted to go (and she still wouldn't stand even when she saw it). I usually carry treats so i'll try what you suggested.
Time & PatienceI guess :)

[Nickie]

I did do a post elsewhere on our problems -

http://www.newrider.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8746

me and Bren (14.2hh cob gelding) have a big problem with big lorries or buses, or anything bigger than a transit van! He will just put his nose down and bolt.

Not pleasant. I heard that there was a traffic scheme run in Essex for nervous horses and big vehicle drivers - to help drivers know how to silence air brakes and to help teach nervous horses not to be scared. I have been trying to find out about this scheme for a little while - when I do I will post the details - I have been led to believe this is a regional scheme and by the sounds of it - a few of us could use it.

If anyone just wants to vent about stuff like this please feel free to pm me. (Am always in the mood for a rant on the subject of traffic!)

nicola