Getting a horse used to tractors

[Supertrooper]

Was advised by new horses last owner that he doesn't like tractors, he now lives in an area surronded by farms and therefore loads of them!!

Good way to get him used to them I guess but how to go
about it? Any tips xx

 

[hunting mad]

My old boy,when i bought him, i got told he wasnt good with tractors,but i didnt think it was a problem as i live on a farm,so could get him used to them easily.We tried everything,but he is still as scared of them as ever!

 

[Brandy]

I've got a pony who is scared of most things but is excellent with traffic including tractors as he lived on a small holding and there were tractors around the yard and in the fields etc. So maybe exposure - when you aren't riding - to the tractors. He was however scard of the forklift as he hadn;t seen one before (you wouldn;t think he could tell the difference) and the way I managed this was by pure bribery, Took him up to the forklift, in hand, with a handful of treats, kept feeding them and telling him he was a good boy, until he was eating them off the fork lift.

May not work for normal horses!

 

[PennyJ]

I found getting the tractor to come feed him worked well for me. That was the tractor coming into the field with the round bales of haylage on for him to eat. He was loose so could run away (or not) as he felt necessary. Actually it got to the stage where we had to chase him away for his own safety. However you do need a nice kind patient farmer for this to work.

Be aware horses can tell colours. He is now fine with all except the Claas tractors (the lime green ones) which are the ones that caused the problem in the first place at the New Forest Show 2007. It rained and rained and Claas tractors were towing everything in and out - the fields looked like a battleground by the end of the 3rd day. As much as anything it was the sound of the mud scraping the underside of the floor in the trailer as he was towed along that upset him so much, he tried to smash his way out of the trailer (this is a laid back native pony by the way, not a stressy TB) It has taken us a long time with a lot of patience and I think what we have now is as good as it is going to get. You have a slight disadvantage as you don't know what set off his aversion to tractors in the first place.

As good as it is going to get means that he is still likely to stop dead and try and spin and run away (even on a busy main road). We are very dependent on the farmers' goodwill, which fortunately we have on the whole. Most of them recognise him and will stop, turn their engines off and wait for him to go past them if its one of his bad days... Certainly as a rider you have a huge sense of achievement when you do get past in one piece without major incident. I have explained to all of them why he is as he is each time he has done it.

Our next challenge will be the day when we meet a combine harvester, which are about where we keep him now...

 

[hunting mad]

I've got a pony who is scared of most things but is excellent with traffic including tractors as he lived on a small holding and there were tractors around the yard and in the fields etc. So maybe exposure - when you aren't riding - to the tractors. He was however scard of the forklift as he hadn;t seen one before (you wouldn;t think he could tell the difference) and the way I managed this was by pure bribery, Took him up to the forklift, in hand, with a handful of treats, kept feeding them and telling him he was a good boy, until he was eating them off the fork lift.

May not work for normal horses!

I tried all of this with my boy,and also round bales on front of tractor,and nothing worked(my poor OH!) In fact, i think it may have made him slightly worse.
Having said that,whilst the horse was out hunting,you could ride him past the biggest monster of a tractor ever.

 

[PennyJ]

I tried all of this with my boy,and also round bales on front of tractor,and nothing worked(my poor OH!) In fact, i think it may have made him slightly worse.
Having said that,whilst the horse was out hunting,you could ride him past the biggest monster of a tractor ever.

It is hard to tell sometimes what is genuine fear and what is just because they can... (or because they don't want to miss any of the action) Naughty beggars...