Horse frightened of tractors

[Welshboy]

Hi, my little horse (now 20) is mostly a superstar. We’ve been together many years. He’s never been that keen on tractors and if anything, overtime, has probably become slightly worse. Maybe my nerves haven’t helped!

if we see one approaching us on the road, the best solution is to find a field entrance, lane/drive, or gateway and ideally turn him away so it passes him from behind. If this option isn’t available his inclination is to turn and run.. nothing sharp or too fast/far, he just wants to get away. Main concerns are ditches and other traffic! It’s frustrating as hacking is what we want to do these days and in other ways he’s easy and perfect. I admit that the sight of them probably makes me tense these days which doesn’t help.

Does anyone think this is something that could be improved (maybe with external help !) even with an older horse ?

 

[HashRouge]

Can you try signalling for the tractor driver to stop and let you pass them, ideally with the engine off? My share horse freaks out about tractors if they are approaching him, but if the tractor stops and turns its engine off he will usually go past without much trouble. I have found tractor drivers brilliant and really, really helpful.

 

[snowangel5]

Sorry I can’t help you out with that but I do remember some rider said that her horse was scared of red cars but I hope you can get it sorted out

 

[cold_feet]

My old boy is the same. I know where all the possible pull in places are, and will either trot on ahead or turn around and trot back. I ‘own the road’ by trotting in the middle of my lane. Maybe we are lucky but never far away from a refuge of some sort.

ETA agree tractor drivers are usually very good.

 

[spider]

My horse is the same. Bombproof with all traffic except tractors. In the past i have tried walking around stationary tractors with carrots balanced on them, among other things but nothing really worked so I just accepted it.

 

[littleshetland]

I had an old boy who never ever got used to them - he'd always hated them.....there was the memorable time we bumped straight into a vintage tractor rally! I just used to live with it, but it does 'train' you to tense up whenever you see or hear one coming. My method was always to sit like a sack of spuds and nanny him past, but we did ok and hacked a lot. Most tractor drivers are pretty accommodating ,but there's always the odd one who goes hurtling past. I don't think he would ever got used to them and he was so good with other types of traffic....he just didn't like them.

Actually, big lorries - he didn't like those either!

 

[MotherOfChickens]

There’s a few things you can do if you have a pet farmer who will work with you-but if it’s really ingrained it might only work with the tractor you train with. One of mine is good, the other not So good (and having had him since weaning I know there’s no reason for it and he’s been exposed to them since tiny) but better when he’s with the good one. Sit like a sack of ****, keep breathing/singing and avoid times like harvest when you have contractors being paid by the load..

 

[asmp]

There’s a few things you can do if you have a pet farmer who will work with you-but if it’s really ingrained it might only work with the tractor you train with. One of mine is good, the other not So good (and having had him since weaning I know there’s no reason for it and he’s been exposed to them since tiny) but better when he’s with the good one. Sit like a sack of ****, keep breathing/singing and avoid times like harvest when you have contractors being paid by the load..

It’s the contractors around our way that fly up and down the road. They’re not the most helpful of drivers. I’m lucky mine is good with all traffic (didn’t even mind tanks passing when we lived on an army camp) and I think, as he was a wingman for our other horse when he was young, has made him the same. Can you find your own wingman to show him that it is all OK?

 

[Caol Ila]

My horse is afraid of quad bikes. He has damn good reasons, but I could do without him skittering down the road whenever the neighbor is feeding his sheep. It's a tricky problem to solve, since I don't own a quad bike. The yard have a tame one that they use for jobs like harrowing the arena, but only a few of the staff can drive it, and getting the right person with enough time on his hands to wheel it out and park it somewhere has proven to be kind of a ball-ache. I don't know how fixable it will turn out to be (he was feral, and was rounded up by quad bikes, twice, first at six-ish months old, then at seven/eight years old), but I need a tame quad bike to try.

 

[Welshboy]

Thanks for all the replies and shared experiences. Going out with a rock solid companion doesn’t actually make much difference, he doesn’t like them regardless and will leave is buddy if he needs to.

The problem is I’m on quite a regular tractor run, with no off road riding option (apart from I do box him out once a week to a manège, or for an off road ride). I sometimes think the tractor issue may lead to his retirement, as I just find it a little stressful, always looking and listening at each bend in the road! Def December to early March is the best time on the roads ?

 

[Welshboy]

There’s a few things you can do if you have a pet farmer who will work with you-but if it’s really ingrained it might only work with the tractor you train with. One of mine is good, the other not So good (and having had him since weaning I know there’s no reason for it and he’s been exposed to them since tiny) but better when he’s with the good one. Sit like a sack of ****, keep breathing/singing and avoid times like harvest when you have contractors being paid by the load..

im sure I tense up and panic a little and have probably partly trained him to want a quick reaction/decision when we see one !! I think Im going to enlost a little outside help, just to think outside the box and see if we can change my reaction & therefore his ??‍. Who knows !

 

[MotherOfChickens]

Is it worth asking a farmer if he has the time to help? Is he better/same with you on the ground?

 

[littleshetland]

im sure I tense up and panic a little and have probably partly trained him to want a quick reaction/decision when we see one !! I think Im going to enlost a little outside help, just to think outside the box and see if we can change my reaction & therefore his ??‍. Who knows !

A horse with tractor phobia certainly trains you to tense up if you hear or see one approaching - it's quite difficult not to, but it really helps if you can train yourself to react by going very soft and relaxed in the saddle. I found putting the horse into 'schooling ' mode helped a lot. We do shoulder in past scary things. I'm not sure if it makes them less scared, but if you can gain their attention in a positive way by asking for a little lateral work, this may help. To be honest, if your horse is older, you may never get him to be unafraid of them..perhaps just try a different coping strategy.
He wasn't really any better with a bombproof buddy alongside...

 

[Tarragon]

Can you borrow a field that is close to working tractors or a busy road and just turn him out with a tractor proof friend for a couple of weeks and let him work it out for himself?

 

[MotherOfChickens]

Can you borrow a field that is close to working tractors or a busy road and just turn him out with a tractor proof friend for a couple of weeks and let him work it out for himself?

This doesn’t always work. I had an Exmoor pony who wouldn’t flinch at logging trucks etc thundering past him just feet away if he was in his paddock but if he was on the road, large cars upwards were terrifying. He was better in company but not always. He was similar if I was riding on a headland alongside a road ie no reaction.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

This has always been a bit...funny to me, for lack of a better word. Most horses have seen tractors fairly regularly from a young age due to them being around the yard, or just living out in the country. However, they still find them to scary instead of familiar.

My horse can be a bit claustrophobic in general, so if we do get in a tight spot with a tractor he can get nervous. If someone is on the ground he's less nervous about it. Generally if something large and loud is coming at him down the road, he might get concerned. If you know someone with a tractor and time on their hands that's willing to help, that could be a place to start. I've not trained a horse to get over a fear of tractors, but I imagine you have to make them either interested in the object (tractor, in this case), or completely bored with it, like with many other things.

 

[suestowford]

There's one pony here who is not afraid of much. Except that at certain times he has completely panicked and got himself into a muck sweat. Eventually we worked it out - with him it's the 'tone' of the engine - it could be on a quad, or a motorbike, or even a van or something like that. It's to do with the revs & the way the engine is being worked that he hates.
It could also be an association with something fearful in the past, like the horse above who was frightened of quads. My pony went through a sale ring on his first outing off the farm where he was born. He doesn't like things that look like sale catalogues, as I found out when I took him up to the main road (as a youngster) to look at the traffic. I thought I would post my letter while I was up there. A bus, a rattly Landy & trailer, traffic going past at 60 mph, he didn't bat an eyelid at any of that. But when I got the letter out of my pocket he tried to run off. Took me a while to work that one out!

 

[suestowford]

I've not trained a horse to get over a fear of tractors, but I imagine you have to make them either interested in the object (tractor, in this case), or completely bored with it, like with many other things.

We met a tractor on my first ride out on my pony, after he'd been broken in. He was a bit anxious about it, it was a fairly narrow lane, but he had a buddy to hide behind. The tractor was carrying a large bale of hay and a bit of it dropped off just as it passed us. My pony was in such a hurry to clear it up off the road that he quite forgot to be scared. Greed is good

 

[Julia0803]

My cob doesn’t like them either- the worst being when they have their ‘arms’ up with the spikes on for carrying stuff.

He’s not terrible… we met one head on yesterday and he led another horse past, tense and banana-ing with eyes on stalks but he kept moving forward and didn’t say no.

A few weeks we came across one hedge cutting complete with flashing lights and they didn’t stop cutting or moving. I hopped off and led him past that one as he’s braver with a walker. Again we were out with another horse and in front so I just wanted it to as stress less as possible and not escalate into a drama.

I think the poster who commented about the pitch of the engine may be onto something. He’s fine with other big traffic- double decker buses, big lorries, bin lorries, quarry trucks and even trains. Doesn’t bat an eye at those.

What he finds really terrifying however is horses/ponies being driven. We hardly ever see them here- the first was a funeral carriage complete with four big black horses in huge feathered headplumes heading straight at us at a spanking trot. I’m very glad we were on the verge and there was a bit of space between us. He was genuinely terrified and it was the only time he felt like he might make a run for home (thankfully he didn’t but I am fairly sure it crossed his mind!). Where we are now there is a traditional rag and bone man collecting scrap metal with a cart and pony. They’ve been very good and stopped and given us room the one time we met them. I could feel his heart going like the clappers so hopped off and led him past.

 

[Welshboy]

more very much appreciated replies. He definitely is more confident if I’m on the ground, between him and the vehicle .. he might spin a little and maybe shake, but hes never broken away from me and literally within 2 minutes he’s back to normal and stands patiently for me to scramble back on from the roadside ?.

Im not a particularly experienced or brave ride, so I probably don’t always help the situation. But thats not going to really change now !

I think I can find some local tractor owners that might help us and I shall enlist some help. It’s such a shame really, as Altho he’s 20, he loves to get out and about, but I feel the traffic is becomibg more unnerving.

 

[Welshboy]

There's one pony here who is not afraid of much. Except that at certain times he has completely panicked and got himself into a muck sweat. Eventually we worked it out - with him it's the 'tone' of the engine - it could be on a quad, or a motorbike, or even a van or something like that. It's to do with the revs & the way the engine is being worked that he hates.
It could also be an association with something fearful in the past, like the horse above who was frightened of quads. My pony went through a sale ring on his first outing off the farm where he was born. He doesn't like things that look like sale catalogues, as I found out when I took him up to the main road (as a youngster) to look at the traffic. I thought I would post my letter while I was up there. A bus, a rattly Landy & trailer, traffic going past at 60 mph, he didn't bat an eyelid at any of that. But when I got the letter out of my pocket he tried to run off. Took me a while to work that one out!

i think the ‘noise’ is an issue… Land Rover tyres can be slightly scary in the wet etc. But, I’m sure it’s more of a claustrophobia thing with tractors..the sheer size! The first time we got into a situation, years ago, was a tractor with the bucket raised up on a narrow road.

 

[sky1000]

Oh yes Julia my pony who was very good in traffic of any sort (slightly less so with rubbish in the hedge but not too bad) was absolutely terrified when we once met a horse being driven.

 

[Ratface]

Old Horse is not keen anything with headlights coming at him.
Where we are is quite hilly - on the side of downlands. One unavoidable bit is shaded by trees, whose branches meet over the road. Going from daylight, downhill into Stygian gloom, to be met by noisy flashing-eye dragons coming at him can sometimes be the last straw.
I ask for some lateral work, which usually deals with the "eyes on stalks, growing to 18.2hh" shenanigans.
Well, usually.

 

[Wizpop]

Tractors are so much bigger now roo! Quite claustrophobic as Welsh boy says. My previous horse was sold to me as good with tractors- which he was, until he started to meet the new larger ones on our narrow lanes! I can totally understand it though, quite intimidating. The thing that helped us was turning him so the tractor was coming from behind.Not recommended though if your horse is likely to bolt! Worked with him as he always used to spin round and face the opposite way if he saw something he didn’t like- never ever bolted though.

 

[Welshboy]

Tractors are so much bigger now roo! Quite claustrophobic as Welsh boy says. My previous horse was sold to me as good with tractors- which he was, until he started to meet the new larger ones on our narrow lanes! I can totally understand it though, quite intimidating. The thing that helped us was turning him so the tractor was coming from behind.Not recommended though if your horse is likely to bolt! Worked with him as he always used to spin round and face the opposite way if he saw something he didn’t like- never ever bolted though.

This is what I have to do .. turn back, before he clocks it too closely, find a gap/gate and let it pass with his back to it .. occasionally if it’s all to close, he might still run .. for 50 metres or so… That’s when it’s narrow and I can’t find a decent enough gap to put his head in !