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Liz100
Silver Member
United Kingdom
370 Posts |
 Posted - 14 Oct 2012 : 8:38:10 PM
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I have a horse who is ok with cars and vans now, but anything larger and he gets very scared (to the point of putting us both in a ditch earlier this year).
I just had a look on the Parelli site after reading the Parellin/Monty Roberts thread and was reading about using the 'friendly game' to get horses used to trucks etc. I thought that's all very well, but I don't have a tractor to play with, then it dawned on me that I do have a lorry.
So my bright idea is to use the lorry to help my boy get used to them on the roads. I thought we could start off in hand and I could just stand on the yard with him while my OH drives the lorry back and forth past us, then if he gets used to that we could progress to me sitting on his back while the lorry goes past, then maybe riding towards it as it comes towards us.
Does that sound like a feasible plan? Has anyone else done the same sort of thing?
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East Yorkshire |
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Quarabian
Platinum Member
Wales
4340 Posts |
Posted - 14 Oct 2012 : 8:44:31 PM
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Best way is to let your horse follow the lorry.
Psychologically it gives him confidence to see the thing he is scared of moving away from him. Also is it the size, noise or something else that is scary? Try to cover all angles. |
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Liz100
Silver Member
United Kingdom
370 Posts |
Posted - 14 Oct 2012 : 9:29:41 PM
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Ah yes, good thinking. We'll try that first.
As for what it is that scares him, I don't know, but I know it's a lot to do with me because I'm scared of him being scared now. But I thought if we practice with our lorry that will help me too, because at least I won't have to worry about getting squished or hurting someone else out on the road. |
East Yorkshire |
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ali bali
Gold Member
Scotland
641 Posts |
Posted - 14 Oct 2012 : 11:52:06 PM
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Yes, I did it with my husband riding a bicycle. I had to work in hand as at the time my boy wasn't broken, he had been spooked by bikes when moving fields. He has since been broken and has never looked at a bike, even his first time ridden out on the roads.
I started the training well back from the road watching hubby riding backwards and forwards. Then had him stop and allowed horse to approach bike, found the range (around 10 meters for my boy) where he became very slightly hestitant to move any closer. Then instructed hubby to move away every time horse stepped towards him. Ask for one step forward, bike moves away, then another step, bike moves away but slightly less far etc until horse happy to stand next to bike. After about 90 seconds my horse was happily following the bike mugging hubby for treats.
Then had bike cycle forwards away from horse turn and cycle very slowly past from front giving lots of space, turn horse repeat until horse totally unfazed then ditto cycling past from rear. Then gradually ramp up speed and narrow distance providing horse stays relaxed. At first sign of discomfort (however minor) take 3 stages back and work up again.
This method had my husband flying past at full tilt with 10 mins of training. The only dangers were either hubby expiring from a heart attack as I shouted faster, faster at him or being knocked off as my boy tried to grab a treat as he cycled past 
Seriously though ditto Quarabians post re having him follow the lorry to start, particularly if you can make the lorry appear to 'run away' from him to begin with. This really seems to build their confidence. My naughty but spooky pony learnt to 'chase' empty wheelie bins this way (I wanted to multi-task his in hand exercise with household chores!). It only took him about 10 secs to realise this noisy scary object was 'running' away from him every time he moved towards it. At which point he chased after it in trot shoving it along with his nose LOL.
Im sure I originally 'pinched' the idea from a Monty book, he used it to deal with a horse with a bicycle phobia. It certainly works very well providing you start far enough back so you dont need a lot of pressure to get the horse moving towards the bike (or lorry) to start. Just at the edge of their comfort zone is where you want to be. Also you need to have someone who is prepared to follow your instructions and move away the instant you say so that the horse is immediately 'rewarded' for movement towards the object by it moving away.
Im not a Parelli fan so no idea what the 'friendly' game is. Is it similar to the above method? |
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Magician
Bronze Member
86 Posts |
Posted - 15 Oct 2012 : 09:56:28 AM
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A friend of mine had an awful accident caused by her horse's fear of tractors. It's well worth trying to get them used to them as soon as possible as tractors are so big and scary these days. Do you have a local farmer who would let you lead your horse round his farm yard with tractors parked outside? Maybe you could progress to tractors after the lorry training. The Marbon Arabians I bought from Di Ellis were terrified of my small tractors when they first arrived. It took many weeks before they saw them as friends (I feed round bales of hay carried into their fields by tractor). At first they were so frightened they would turn tail and run to the other side of the field even though the other horses that were used to the tractor would walk forwards to greet the arrival of hay.
Marbon Majali Magician getting used to a tractor parked in his field
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Liz100
Silver Member
United Kingdom
370 Posts |
Posted - 16 Oct 2012 : 1:38:22 PM
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Thanks for your replies, and loads of useful advice ali bali. I'll certainly follow your suggestions, if I can get OH to co-operate. If not, I'll have to co-opt a friend, as long as we don't go on the road insurance won't matter will it?
Unfortunately I don't know any farmers well enough to ask if I could be let loose on their yard. I'm pretty sure they'll all hate me anyway as I hold up their day quite a bit - they always seem to be in such a rush in those tractors and really not happy to have to slow down for a horse. I have actually done an internet search to see if there are any places you could send a horse on livery where they would drive tractors round the yard/field etc - but couldn't find anywhere.
There is a small tractor on our yard which Raf is fine with. In fact one very similar, towing a muck trailer just like ours, passed us on the road a couple of weeks ago and Raf didn't even glance at it. However at the weekend one which looked pretty much identical to me gave him a scare as it went past - he's ok right up until the moment it's about to go past then his legs just go to jelly. The big ones are much scarier though.
I was very lucky not to have a nasty accident over the tanker when I went in the ditch earlier this year - the ditch is about 14' deep and I landed in the muddy water at the bottom. I honestly thought Raf was about to land on top of me but judging by the skid marks on the side of the ditch he somehow managed to twist and jump right over me and scramble up the other side. No idea how he managed it - it took me ages to get out, the sides were so steep and slippy. Good job it was before we had all the rain, or I'd probably have drowned! It didn't do wonders for my confidence hacking on the road.
Meant to say, I love the picture of MM Majician making friends with the tractor! He's a very handsome boy. |
East Yorkshire |
Edited by - Liz100 on 16 Oct 2012 1:42:53 PM |
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martha615
Gold Member
England
1053 Posts |
Posted - 16 Oct 2012 : 7:37:17 PM
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What everyone else said is all right, especially about letting them follow the scary object.
I am so scared of tractors myself that I try to get off the road as soon a I see one coming! However, we have to do our best to get our horses used so such things.
The approach/retreat idea (common to all horsemanship now, natural or otherwise, I would have thought!) means that you never hold your horse near the scary thing but let them go toward it and away from it on a long line (not the lead rope length) and that you try to take it all in stages and never force them into a panic. It may be that your horse will not let the lorry within 20 feet to start with, or even 50. That's okay, just work up to his threshold of where he can be comfortably, and then retreat, re-approach, etc. It is a long, boring, process but it works.
Having said that, lorries and tractors move in a big, scary noisy way and have weird attachments, and are generally dangerous for real, and some horses know they are inherently dangerous and will never relax around them. I don't know if you can totally convince them if they have had a bad experience either. However, they will sometimes be directed to a safe place in a driveway without incident, and perhaps that is the best we can get with some horses. My welsh mare will stand in a drive as a tractor passes but will NOT stay on the road with one -- and who can blame her?
However, she has improved very nicely with her pig phobia! The first time she saw a pig she backed up so fast and wheeled before I could even see what on earth she was frightened of!
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Magician
Bronze Member
86 Posts |
Posted - 17 Oct 2012 : 12:01:48 PM
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Thanks Liz. Don't want to depress you but it took Magician about a year before he was brave enough to go up to the tractor on his own & my tractors are tiny compared with the contractors huge tractors that do the baling & hedgecutting for us. How about trying to find a farm in your area that also takes horses on livery. Your training ideas are great - keep trying - it will be well worth the effort! I am very lucky to have a main road, railway & Airfield next to my grazing fields so foals born here get used to scarey things from birth.
Meant to also say - might it be safer to do the training from the ground? |
Edited by - Magician on 17 Oct 2012 12:07:52 PM |
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Bebely
Gold Member
United Kingdom
813 Posts |
Posted - 17 Oct 2012 : 10:18:50 PM
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Just to add, do be careful when you have done all the work with the tractors, vans etc with friends. You need to be confident but cautious when you go out. The training will be a massive benefit, but just be aware that some horses (mine  ) can tell the difference between a tame tractor and a wild one!
The training will get you 99% there but just look out for yourself when you get back out in the "real world". |
Bev |
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garnet
Platinum Member
2382 Posts |
Posted - 19 Oct 2012 : 7:17:33 PM
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| Been following this with interest as our ride and drive cob, Sam, is becoming increasingly afraid of tractors. When we bought him a year ago we were told he would get onto the side if he met a tractor, and we never had a problem, but a few weeks ago we met a big fast tractor with prongs on the front and pulling a big trailer. Luckily it was being driven by someone we know and he stopped when he saw Sam was fit to turn tail. Ian got off and led Sam into a convenient open gate; meanwhile the ****wit behind the tractor tried to overtake while we were manouevring horse and cart out of the way but stopped when I informed him he was a ****wit and not to overtake (well sometimes you just have to!). That was all sorted after the tractor and Merc moved on and we got back on the road. 2 weeks ago we were on a BDS fun drive when we met about 8 tractors and trailers in quick succession. Again Ian got off and held him and we then turned round and went a different way in the interests of safety. Yesterday we met a small tractor which I thought he would pass, but again he tried to turn round and we ducked into an open gateway (lucky again!) When we got back to the yard we found the tractor standing in the middle, engine running, so we walked all round it in both directions (he dodged behind me when I 'changed the rein' although I hadn't changed hands with the rope), followed it round the back when it went for the next haylage bale, and even had the added bonus of a big JCB arriving on the yard at the same time. I intend to do the same thing whenever possible and Ian will get off and hold him whenever we meet a tractor on the road. I hope Sam will get over his fear as I was hoping to do some 'RDA hacking' on him when I am well enough. Sam is fine with all other vehicles - we thought of using earplugs to drown the tractor noise but then realised this wouldn't be all that sensible when most communication is via the voice when driving! |
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Liz100
Silver Member
United Kingdom
370 Posts |
Posted - 19 Oct 2012 : 10:36:09 PM
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Thanks folks.
Maratha 615 - yes I am scared of tractors now, which I'm sure is more than half the problem. Even when I'm not riding and I see one coming towards me I'm scared! If I can get off the road Raf really isn't too bad, but it isn't always possible is it. I do like the picture of your welshie looking at the pigs - I think she's very brave because she really doesn't look all that keen!
Good point Bebely, I'm pretty sure Raf will get used to our horsebox but still be wary of other vehicles. I'm hoping that the training will help me learn to hold it all together and make me more confident on the roads too.
Hope you manage to make progress with Sam's tractor issues Garnet. There really are some idiots on the road aren't there? That's what worries me most about the situation we find ourselves in with tractors - I can cope with the leaping around and sitting down in the road when we meet a tractor, but it's what we might leap into that scares me - some drivers really don't want to wait, t*ss*rs! |
East Yorkshire |
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Lorry and tractor fear
