Tractors...

[Cazzabombazza]

My new loan pony is 17 years old and so has seen quite alot in his time. However, his owner has told me that he has had a bad experience with some idiot in a tractor, and now he despises them! Is there any way he can come to terms with this fear? Or will I just have to live with it? I hate seeing him scared... ):

 

[BlizzardBudd]

a man that i hack out with and his 16 yr old, has a massive fear of tractors. the amount of times he has been in ditches at the side of the road due to it!
he just lives with it, but it isnt a dangerous thing to him he just goes right into the side of the road

 

[-Cadence-]

You can desensitize them to phobias like this, but in my experience they never truly go away.
Our horses are kept near farms, so I asked if I could ride our scaredy pony around they storage compound, whilst all engines were turned off etc, gradually getting closer as the pony got more comfortable.
it is also worth wearing plenty of hi-vis whilst on the roads so that tractors have plenty of time to see you and slow down, remembering to thank drivers. If (as it is in our case) you see vehicles from one particular farm it might be worth next time you see them very nicely asking if they could possibly turn their engines off when they see you, which is what our neighbors now do. In fact, we're very lucky that drivers know the pony and will take alternate routes or pull into fields to let us past.

 

[hunting mad]

In my experience it will never go away.
I bought my horse knowing he had a phobia of tractors,and thought i could cure him ,as being farmer i could expose him to tractors on a dialy basis.
However,i think this done him more harm than good,and he probably got worse with them.
The only time he didnt spook,or jump at them was out hunting.