Advice please - new loan horse turned and ran at sight of tractor!

[tigger01]

Was out for a ride - well had actually only gone about half a mile from home - was out with 2 other horses when my new mare who took one look at a stationary tractor and dumped my daughter and legged it back to the yard. I am aware just how lucky I was - my daughter could have been badly hurt, horse could have gone down on the road, and so grateful there was no traffic when she bolted home. I have only had her for a week and she is very laid back but she is heavily in season and has not been ridden for 4 months. It was only supposed to be a quiet hack with a couple of schoolmaster types but has created a nightmare situation. I dont know what to do with her - part of me says I should give her a chance, the other half says if she's done it once she could easily do it again and next time I might not be so lucky.

Thoughts please.

 

[Booboos]

Glad your daughter was not hurt, sounds like a scary situation!

Do you know much about the mare's past and whether she used to be OK in traffic?

I think the first thing to do is assess the extent of the problem. Is there a more experienced rider who can see what the mare is like with a tractor in a controlled, safe environment, e.g. introduce a stationary tractor next to the arena, build up to starting it up, driving it forwards, etc. to see how the mare reacts? This will give you an idea of whether the problem was the tractor and, if she is scared of traffic, how bad it is.

If she is scared of traffic, personally I would sell her. Although some horses can get over their fear of traffic, it takes a lot of time and effort and many are never 100% reliable in traffic which is not a safe situation to be in.

If she is fine with traffic and this was a 'normal' spook, she may need someone else to ride her for a few weeks and get her back into work. This will give you a chance to assess the mare's temperament and decide whether she is safe for your daughter to ride. I appreciate it that you bought her for your daughter but many sellers lie or sometimes a horse is unsettled in a new place, or does not gel with a new rider, so I think for safety's sake it would be better if someone else rode the mare for a couple of weeks.

 

[Double_choc_lab]

You may have answered your own question - heavily in season and not ridden for 4 months.
Is there a tractor on your yard which you could introduce her to gradually? I'd be inclined to give her another chance but take things slowly as far as tractors are concerned.

 

[megwan1]

borrow a tractor and park it in her field! she will soon get used to it!

alternatively send her back if it is a problem thats what a loan is for! what she did was very dangerous!

personally i'd do the first thing and give her more time to settle!

good luck
x

 

[*hic*]

When you say "dumped" what exactly happened?

Did she spin and catch your daughter by surprise or did she have a bucking and / or rearing fit?

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

My boy was terrified of tractors, then went to a yard where their feed was delivered by tractor! So that changed the situation somewhat!! At the weekend we hacked out and met a horrible monster tractor with fangs out the front and a rattling trailer at the back - and we were fine! Hallelujah!

Personally TBH I think you might have been a tad ambitious to have ridden her after she hadn't done anything for four months, and then she's in season so is gonna be a bit scatty anyway.

Its surprising tho' that she p****d off home with other horses present, that's surprising, but possibly she took advantage of the situation a bit there. Umm, is your daughter a strong & confident rider? Perhaps with someone else up, the mare wouldn't have taken advantage. I'm not apportioning blame, just seeking to figure out what happened.

I don't know your situation but what it needs really is for the mare to see tractors around on a regular basis without stressing up. Perhaps you have a local farmer who could drive into the yard? Or perhaps turn her out somewhere safe and drive a tractor around in the field, getting closer and closer? This is the Michael Peace approach really, of gradual de-sensitisation, getting the horse used to something gradually instead of it being all at once.

Then, you could perhaps try groundwork, i.e. eading or long-reining her with the tractor around, getting her past it without being silly, then move on to ridden work. At this stage she would need to learn go forward from the leg without jibbing or panicking.

My guess is that in her previous home she's done this before and being allowed to get away with it unchallenged. I don't think the tractor, in isolation, is the trigger, she's probably going to react similarly with other stuff she meets out hacking that she's not happy with. Which is why I think you need to do groundwork initially and plenty of it, then after that ridden work getting her to go forward from the leg.

If you think she's worth the effort I would say go for it, BUT I'd be a tad hesitant about taking her out hacking with your daughter again. Or (easy option) as she's a loan you could send her back from whence she came!