How does your horse react to traffic

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AMW

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My 4yo just seems to go onto auto pilot on the road. No matter what passes her, be it buses, lorries, tractors with trailers she never bats an eye. Its like she switches off and pretends they arent there. Off road she spooks at the usual silly things. Despite her being so young I feel so safe on her, even as a 3yo she would hack out on her own. :)
Her older friend is scared of lorries etc on the road and hides behind mine.
 
BH is totally immune to traffic. Nitty I have yet to test extensively but thus far also pretty bombproof.

They're also bicycle proof which is more unusual I think.
 
A police horse in traffic, no matter how big, close or noisy. But a parked car - now they're dangerous. And as for big fat weeds suddenly growing where they weren't before, now that's scary. Am convinced he will kill me by spooking at a suddenly-sprouted flower and put me under the wheels of a truck that happens to be passing!
 
Ignores it 100%. I just cannot find another horse like him! You are lucky to have a lovely 4 y o who doesn't mind traffic, well done there!
 
Fine with traffic -- low flying helicopters, tanks, A roads, tractors all of it =D
However groups of walkers they ARE very scary! Typical.
 
Mine doesn't bat an eyelid at anything, we have low flying jets over the village frequently and he's not bothered about them.............however why is it that going passed a parked vehicle is scarey? especially when it wasn't there the day before!
 
Ginger horse: before accident utterly bombproof, used to let him be used for BHS Riding and Road safety training and awards. After accident generally good but would 'shrink' when something came too fast and close (he never spun, just moments of panic) and was uneasy standing waiting at junctions. I was very wary about who I would allow to hack him as well :(
 
Blaze is totally bombproof. Jas is very good for a baby, will occasionally 'dither' on the spot if something hurtles towards her at speed. Jas also enjoys a good old spook at drains, manhole covers, different colour road surfaces...........and flowers! :D
 
Star is generally ok to hack, Cars aren't so much of an issue but lorries and tractors we are still working on! She doesn't do a lot, just hurries past them! Drains, wheelie bins and the like are obviously horse eating monsters though...

I am currently trying to build up the courage to go lone hacking which I think I am going to attempt on Sunday! I am going to go out around 8am when not a lot of cars are about. I do trust her on the roads but I have a very "what if" attitude which I am trying to train myself out of :cool:

Wish me luck ;)
 
My arab is very good, but depends who is on her. She trusts traffic with me, but we have had some bad drivers and her confidence flies out the window fast. She also is not a fan of signs and all the little things.

My TB I was surprised how tense she is with traffic. We're getting better though. Drains, puddles, signs and things like that she doesn't bat an eye lid at. She seems too clever and knows exactly what to be alarmed by and what not.
Both above are when hacking alone though. Better when in company but don’t have anyone to hack with and I don’t mind going out on my own.
 
depends on if we're in company or alone, what mood we're in and whether the stars are in the right alignment:rolleyes: ;) mostly big girl is fine but tractors either make us freeze and quiver or run past them as fast as possible. TB ignores everything as long as he has company and the ginger boy tries to be brave but sometimes has a little wibble
 
Neither at all bothered by anything. Daughters isn't quite 5 yet so still pricks her ears at anything odd but not in a 'looky' way, just interested, carries on past without any other sign she's noticed anything. And by odd I mean a convoy of fairground rides with flapping tarpaulins on a narrow road, a load of workmen with pneumatic drills & jcbs, not standard stuff like hgvs or trailers.
 
Rising 3 and not scared of a thing, He used to spook at motobikes but soon realised they are harmless, We regularly have army hellicopters fly so low they just miss the tree tops, and you can see every detail of the pilots face and hat! none of the horses even flinch :D
 
walkers_dream said:
Rising 3 and not scared of a thing, He used to spook at motobikes but soon realised they are harmless, We regularly have army hellicopters fly so low they just miss the tree tops, and you can see every detail of the pilots face and hat! none of the horses even flinch :D
Click to expand...

oh and before any one says lol he has not been backed, appart from a teddy bear and my partner once sitting on him last week lol. All we do is walk...lots of walking -.- cant wait to ride though!:rolleyes:
 
Bombproof with the traffic


Likely to freak & bugger off at a carpet in a hedge or a burn out car (yea its a bit rough around here!!)
 
Mine is fine with any traffic.
My old horse didn't like cars coming too close to her and used to panick if they came towards her on a narrow lane. It was more a spacial awareness issue for her than being scared of the actual vehicle. She would happily pass a tank if she felt she had enough room.
 
I decided to buy her after seeing her ridden along a busy 'A' road, when an empty sheep transporter rattled past her and she didn't bat an eyelid.
She understands traffic better than any horse I've ever known. She walks out if she knows that a neighbour is waiting to set off and we are taking up the lane, she is ready to trot if someone waves us past parked cars.
However she is not 'switched off' at all. She is also the nosiest horse I've ever ridden, she looks at everything that moves, and plenty that doesn't, when we are out and about, with her head up and ears pricked, giving every indication that she is about to spook. The most spooky thing she ever does is to jump on the spot and that only rarely.
 
traffic not a problem! but butterflies and horse poo are another matter! also bits of tree that are on the floor instead of on the tree are very scary! crazy animals
 
He doesn't bat an eyelid, even when we're out alone, but things in the hedge often scare him, so I have to be ever-so careful.

Today, he couldn't care less about all the traffic (apart from when a car splashed through a HUGE puddle) but he spooked at some wooden planks in a field. Silly horse!
 
They don't :)

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On the other hand one of these crossed the road 20' in front of my mare and she threw herself sideways down a 12' bank in horror!

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I had one mare that would took on tanks everyday, as you do in Catterick ;) but white lines (not yellow) were the devil incarnate and involved much pratting about on tiptoes before closing her eyes and hurling herself across them, silly old girl she was.
 
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Bob seems to be the same as a lot of yours then. Rattling lorries, emergency service flying past, tractors.. no problem. But if a daffodil suddenly appears that's another matter.
 
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