Horses and traffic - where to start

Caramac71

Caramac71

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My daughter got her horse as a very green 5 year old, about 18 months ago. She'd not done much road work but previous owner said she'd been fine with cars but anything van sized or bigger worried her.

So we took it all really slowly when she came to our yard. We used to stand her at the yard gates to watch traffic on the main road. We took her to shows and walked her around lorry parks. Then we progressed to doing a short hack with another horse that took us down a very quiet road, then built it up to going through the village at the quietest times and gradually exposing her to a little bit more.

We discovered she didn't like bikes so have on/off done a bit more desensitising with those as that's quite easy to set up at home. Vans/lorries also worried her but as long as she can see them and stand a small distance away, she's ok.

Back in June I posted about a minor incident we'd had on the road. I wont repeat the full story, but a car approached too close, from behind, and she stepped sideways and connected with the rear bumper, dislodging it. Driver has subsequently put in an insurance claim against us, which has been dragging on ever since. Our insurance refute it as the horse was not out of control, and the driver was at fault for passing too close.

Horse was going in for a bone scan that week and subsequently had the whole summer off for treatment and rehab (facet joint arthritis). Since mid September we are bringing her slowly back into work. We have offroad hacking so haven't attempted any roads - however the fields are now starting to get boggy, we are limited by daylight and people to ride with, so she isn't hacking out very often now.

The incident we had in June was unfortunate and not something we could have prevented, and I'm not sure she was even aware that she'd connected with the car, or that traffic will be any more of a problem than it was. But the thought of taking her (and my daughter) on the roads again really worries me. I feel we "should" get her more used to traffic but I'm not sure our roads (or drivers) are the safest. I'd just like to start again in situations where we can control it to a degree but I'm not sure how to go about this.

My daughter (the rider) is generally confident and unfazed but the whole experience, plus the overhanging insurance claim, has put us off taking the horse on the roads.

Does anyone have any advice on where/how we can start?
 
Really the best thing to get them used to traffic is traffic.

When one of ours was being broken to drive we had gone over to where he was one weekend to see his progress - whilst out with him (on narrow country lanes) some *insert word of choice* tried to overtake where there really wasn't enough room and ended up hitting the shafts of the carriage. We honestly thought that horse would have a fit - he stood there as good as gold at the time.

We got him home and he had a couple of wobbles where vehicles got close to him and he kept wanting to swing his back end around (this was under saddle not driven) - me and hubby long reined him out with me walking at his head a couple of times which he was fine with and then we did a week of intensive traffic work where I literally took him out in progressively heavier traffic each day. Since then we make a point of him seeing traffic a couple of times a week at least - he's been fine.

If you are nervous about your daughter would it be feasible for you to walk with her - that way you will be reassured that all is OK plus you are on hand to help should anything go wrong - if you walk on the off side at the back in high vis then you are between the horse and traffic then that should help. The only thing I can suggest is to do as much work in traffic as you can - once you are confident that the horse is safe in traffic then it's something that you only need to maintain.
 
Do you not want your daughter to go out alone (or is she young and can't?) if she is not phased by it all, then she should be taking the horse out. Before she does though, have her work on yielding so they can work the back end. They need a confident rider to just make them get on with it i think. I agree with madlady, the only way to get used to traffic is traffic. Just go out lit up like a christmas tree.
 
A really good nanny horse to start with and then is there anywhere you can practice driving past her yourself (or your OH etc)? The other way is to put her in a field next to a busy road.
 
I had a similar incident with my, confident in traffic, gelding earlier this year, car was far too close horse went to move forward when asked but as he picked up his hindleg it touched the passing car, I think he scratched the side but the car did not stop despite a clear bang as they connected and I heard no more, luckily there was no damage to my horse and it has not bothered him in anyway although it made me a bit careful for a while so I would hope it has not upset your mare either as they often do not connect what happened if there was no injury or pain to them.

I would try to put it to the back of your mind, easier said than done but you need to put on a confident front for both your daughter and the mare so they can move forward, if I have anything that is nervous then I find the more you expose them with a positive outcome the better, you need to decide how you will tackle it and make an effort to go out several days close together in order to build up the confidence and get her seeing as much as possible.
Either you walking or another very steady horse is required, plenty of high vis on everyone, have a plan of what to do and how to let her see the traffic but how best to "protect" her when something comes along, it is no good seeing or hearing an oncoming vehicle and then having a "meeting" to decide what is best to do it needs to be automatic from everyone.
If she is best seeing it coming towards her then stop if it is behind and slightly turn her head into the middle of the road so she can see it clearly and there is less risk of her swinging her bum in towards it, if she is best in a gateway then again make sure she sees it and really watches, plenty of patting if she relaxes as it goes past, ignore any fussing or tension that is unwanted so no patting or praise if she is not totally still and accepting.
Stopping every time you meet something is not ideal long term but I have found it works with genuinely nervous horses as the vehicle passes more quickly, if coming from behind, it gives them time to relax and the rider only has to think about maintaining control and not trying to keep going when there may be another hazard, a bag in the hedge or puddle full of crocs, to deal with which complicates matters.

That would be my starting plan, it has worked well with one pony recently who was getting worse rather than better when his rider tried to keep going, she was also patting when he got tense her theory being it would relax him but it definitely made him more anxious, after a few hacks where he was allowed to stop and watch every vehicle he was happy walking when cars went past and just stopped in gateways for anything bigger and made to watch, he was getting better every ride but was always protected to a degree by my horse, we did similar with a tb who was not great with lorries coming towards him, a bit of care to take him slightly away from them but watching while the other horse was between him and the lorry has enabled him to become more confident.
 
It may not be convenient now, but a good way to get them used to traffic is for them to live in a field next to a main road where they see lots of cars and lorries every day. I know it isn't the same as something coming towards or up behind, but it is a good start.

Other than that, there is a chap who lives next to the M42 who will take in horses for traffic proofing!
He will take them out where there is a very wide verge and just let them stand and watch for hours. They have to be safe for him to ride, though, obviously. He took in a friend's horse who was an older animal but that had always been a bit nervous, and having started very gently being turned out in the field next to the motorway progressed to ridden.

The person riding must feel confident and calm though, otherwise the horse will feel nervous.

I once had a very spooky horse that wasn't frightened of traffic, but would shy at things in the hedge. So I got in the habbit of making her stand still when something was approaching from behind, and made her get into the side first. Then waved the cars past. This had the added advantage of getting a very responsive horse that would halt immediately!

As well as that, horse and rider wear lots of High Viz.
 
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i train youngsters or unhappy adults to traffic by long reining. I park my car plus OH in either a quiet road, private road or even corner of yard then long rein horse round it forwards, all the way round reining back and the round the vehicle in lots of tiny circles. Then he starts the engine and repeat the performance, then rev up engine and repeat, then revving engine and sound horn, slamming doors etc. Having done that we park car so the gap between the car and edge of road (wall/hedge) is narrower and repeat with engine off, engine on etc. Then we narrow the gap so horse is basically brushing the wall as he squeezes past. The we do the whole thing again he drives back and forwards and I long rein past. We almost have the vehicle and horse dancing around each other. Then he pretends to be a boy racer, sounds horn, emergency stop etc etc. Then we go around the lanes doing this.

We don't use a lead horse or person leading. The horse has to do it itself getting confidence from the handler. You also need a driver who understands horses and can switch off immediately. We also give the horse titbits off the vehicle. He learns with the tractor for example it is not something to be afraid of, he can go up to it and touch it and eat nuts off it. (that doesn't work too well in the future when a strange tractor is carrying hay and horse thinks it's dinner has arrived!)

Horse by then is totally bored stiff. Then we repeat with a landrover/small van or something bigger. The we repeat with the tractor, loader up, trailer etc etc. Would use a horse box lorry if I had one or any other vehicle available. A bike or a quad bike or a motorbike. If you don't have access to a tractor it is almost worth paying someone just for a bit of help if you are going to meet them out riding.

Having done that lot and horse has totally fallen asleep I would repeat the whole thing, building up one step at a time riding the horse until I was trotting and car was doing emergency stop, sounding horn etc etc.

this way doesn't take as long as it sounds, an hour and you have made a lot of progress and a couple of follow up sessions. It is also safe for both the horse and rider and doesn't involve damaging any motorists.
 
I would find a lane or private road and drive your own car past the horse and do it as often as you can .
Personally I would not hack the horse out alone I would hack two abreast with a really good horse on the out side , if you need to single file put the other horse behind if the hazard is from behind and in front if it approaching you.
Hi viz up to the nines including flashing lights in my experience drivers really respect lights .
The living in the field next to a busy road has really worked with some horses I know if there's a stable that is next to where the deliveries come in try to get that one I deliberately set up my yard so the stables get all our traffic right in front of them .
You need to be very careful as the claim will show up if anything happens in the future .
 
Whilst having them in a field next to a busy road helps, I can vouch for next to a Motorway does not! My mare came from being tethered on the embankment of the A1M and she is pretty good with traffic whizzing past at high speed but can panic like crazy when anything slows down to go past her at an appropriate speed!

It takes time and lots of experience of traffic, I do a lot of walking out in hand with my mare (with the pair of us high vized to the nines) to help her build up her confidence and hubby will also come out with me on foot and this helps. Sadly I don't have a nanny horse to go out with which Ive had great experiences with in the past with spooky horses.

Above all, don't put pressure on yourselves, take it slowly and lots of exposure and it will all come together.
 
definitely some practice on a quiet lane or private trackw th your OH or a friend driving past a few times.

then venture out with a foot soldier(you, if daughter is better riding) and for some reason whilst idiots are perfectly happy to mow down a horse they will NOT ram a human, so by walking well out to the side you make them give the horse room.

a few repetitions of that and she should then be ok to go out with an A* lead horse.
 
Horses either have the temperament to be ridden on the roads by themselves or do not. End of.
Then you have got some horses that will be fine if ridden out with another horse but can not cope with being ridden out by themselves.
And then there are others that just can not cope with it at all.
Before you buy a horse which you may wish to ride on a road make sure that you see it ridden on a busy road.
 
OWLIE185 said:
Horses either have the temperament to be ridden on the roads by themselves or do not. End of.
Then you have got some horses that will be fine if ridden out with another horse but can not cope with being ridden out by themselves.
And then there are others that just can not cope with it at all.
Before you buy a horse which you may wish to ride on a road make sure that you see it ridden on a busy road.
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That's not quite true you train horses to be traffic proof and humans have the talent for it or they don't .
 
[deleted user] said:
Do you have to ride on the roads? Why not just not do it? I won't ride on the roads any more. It's just not worth it.
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No, we don't. We have (limited) off-road hacking and we have transport so can box up and go elsewhere.

I just feel we owe it to the horse to not create any 'issues' with traffic. But reading he responses there are some good ideas but I'm not sure we have access to suitable roadwork to create safe situations. We do have a large driveway at the yard, and a private road we can access via fields, so will definitely set up some scenarios over the coming months. But I'm really not keen to chance the busier roads for a long time.

Daughter is old enough and capable enough to go out on her own but I always went on foot as we know the horse is inexperienced and can be nervous. We were always in hi viz - horse, rider and me on foot. We always went out with another horse and I walked behind to control traffic as necessary. Unfortunately although the other horse is completely unflappable on the roads so great to accompany our horse, we know she would kick if our horse got too close so we never tried to ride them side by side.

Thank you everyone for the advice
 
Tbh as the owner of five excellent traffic proof horses and I do have a talent for teaching horses this I would say if your situation is not good for dealing with the issue I would go round it .
 
Goldenstar said:
That's not quite true you train horses to be traffic proof and humans have the talent for it or they don't .
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Thank you, I feel a bit more positive that you've said that. We will get professional help in due course, and meanwhile have some ideas of what to do to create safe situations to practice.
 
My friends horse is a little nervous and we have busy roads. I am lucky enough that mine doesn't bat an eyelid. And big.. so we have been hacking out when the roads are quieter and when there is a large van or lorry, then my friend simply sticks her horses head on the inside of my horses inner flank. He has improved immeasurably and gained confidence.
 
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