Horse terrified of cows.

[badgerdog]

My recently backed 3 year old is going like a dream (the coloured one in my sig.) She is sensible about traffic, plastic bags etc but she is terrified of cows. I've been on a few light hacks with her with a friends horse and she is fine until she sees any cows. I can feel her heart beating and she panics, leaps about and tries to gallop off.

I've decided to send her to a friends who has horses and cows grazing together.
Is this likely to work? Most people said this would be a good solution but one person said that it didn't work with their horse.

Has anyone else got any similar experiences?

 

[Ani]

I had a mare who was scared of cows. I moved her to a livery yard which was also a dairy farm, they did not go in the field together but the cow barn was right next to the indoor stables so she had to get used to the noise and we had to walk past the barn to get to the school, she never liked them but learned to tollerate them.

 

[lucy1984]

My newly backed 3 year old had a simular experience - she hates sheep! Ive always hacked her out alone from the start, went past a field with sheep, something spooked them, they started running for the hills and she flipped! I honestly thought i was coming off! it was so scary! luckily there were no cars around. other than that she is fine with horse lorries, buses, cars, noisy morotcycles going past!! she has never had the opportunity to be amongst sheep so I cant blame her lol wimp!

I suppose you could always try it, she will be able to suss them out then!

I'd just hacked her out the next day past the same spot and although she felt a bit tense she only spooked a little bit not like the previous day!

 

[flyingfeet]

One of my youngsters (now 10!) had a cow complex caused by the girl who rode him out as a youngster.

I borrowed 6 cows for him to live with (just one didn't work as he drove it out of his paddock, making it jump electric fence and a wall....). He was vile to them. I had to feed him when I wanted to check them as otherwise he drove them away, they all left our farm with a healthy horse complex.

So despite living with them, herding them he still stiffens and bulges every muscle when we walk past a field of them. Better with normal cows, although scared of pure charolais herd as they are "evil and white".

So he does still get tense, but no rearing or spinning now (though that might be because he knows I'll beat him him up for being a prat).

 

[badgerdog]

It sounds like there is some hope! I could live with her not liking them and getting tense but it's the blind panic I can't cope with.

Lucyfer - you sound like you're at the same stage as me. I hack mine out alone as well and she's been so good. One of our bridlepaths goes through a caravan site and she doesn't bat an eyelid. The cows though are turning out to be such a problem. She actually bronced me off a few days ago because she wouldn't pass them so I'm now getting worried about going out on the roads.
Good luck with yours - is she chestnut on your sig? She looks lovely.

 

[lucy1984]

hi Sunnymane, yes thats her in the pic! thank you!

 

[alison_oliver]

My lad is terrified now too after being chased the other week out on a hack

He used to live next to a herd too! Farmer has moved the cows closer for me & away from the bridelpath, but not allowed to turnout with them.
Have been walking him in hand past them everyday, seems to be helping a little but he is still so scared he shakes and his heart pounds.
I am hoping to ride him past this weekend see how we get on..
If anyone comes up with anything be interested to hear...