Help sudden Traffic shy horse

[Lottiedots]

Hi there, I dont usually post in here but I really need your advise/experience on what is the right thing to do. I have a lovely gelding who I have owned since he was 4 and is now rising 8. He has always been fantastic in traffic even from the age of 4. He is super relaxed and not a nervous spooky type at all. Then before Christmas we went on one of those "quiet" rides, the ones that never turn out like that, we met everything. So he was a bit on edge on the road and we had a truck coming towards us on the lane that had a really squeaky chassis and he panicked as it was about to go past and spun around. We carried on and I didnt think too much more about it but ever since he has been really jumpy with traffic. I keep him at home with my older gelding that is fortunately very solid in traffic. I have been hacking him out with my other horse when I can get someone else to ride him. Even so he is still nervous even with my older boy in front. Its mostly on coming traffic that spooks him. We have narrow lanes so all the on coming cars are coming right towards him. Im struggling as its just me and I dont have the back up of a yard or others to help. As far as I know his eyes are fine, he is not spooking at anything else, but I can get them checked.
We have fairly quiet lanes so cars are sporadic which doesn't help as each car then seems to come as a surprise and Im now nervous to take him onto a busier road.

So, what I would like to know is :-

Have you had a problem like this with a horse that was perviously fine in traffic, or took one on?
If so what measures did you take to resolve the problem?
How long did it take?
Did they get over it and return to being fine in traffic or were they never quite the same again?

I want to nib it in the bud before it becomes a habit but its making me nervous too now which doesn't help.

Thanks

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

Is there any chance that you're tensing up when faced with oncoming traffic, and he's reacting to your tension?

I'm a nervous nelly so if it were me, that would be the first place I'd look...might not apply to you.

 

[Charlie007]

I can only tell you what worked for me.

MY horse was great in traffic but was scared to death one day by an idiot wheel spinning in the loose gravel next to him. It got so that if he heard a car he would tense and if a car came towards us he would spin. He is 17.1 wb. Not funny!!

So I armed myself with polos. If we heard a car I asked him to stand, he got a scratch and a polo then walked on. If a car came towards us I did the same. Pulled over a bit, asked for stand, quick scratch then take his mind off the car with polos. Once car passed then another polo and walk on. In no time, if he heard a car he would pull over, stand, and vend his head round for a polo!! It took me more time than him to be confident in traffic again. Good luck, whatever you do keep yourself safe x

 

[Lottiedots]

possibly yes but i had someone else on him today and he did the same with her.