Hi beth

Hi I just joined the University a few days ago.

I do have the same problem with my mules. I will try the thing with the river and the lake. I hope it will work then. Did you try the thing with the river that grows and the lake?

Regards Urs

Monty suggests to create a distraction for them so that they are not focused on the thing that scares them.

The problem is how. If you are on a narrow road and the truck is driving towards you. My mules do fix them and suddenly they go off where ever they think is best and now imagine there is a cart they are pulling not a nice picture at all.

Urs

I am having the same problem, my horse is so gentle and loving but as soon as i expose him to heavy traffic he becomes very anxious, if we are in a lane and a 8 wheeler milk tanker comes by i have to be prepared. If i have at least 10 feet space then i can contain him, but this is not always possible, usually the lorry gets half way past then my horse looses it and spins. I am aware that this is dangerous so i am trying hard to fix it. I have spent ages doing ground work working with spook busting stuff, i had some one come out in the hope to help but she advised i might have to accept he'll never cope. However she did suggest talking to him quiet loudly ( over the trffic noise) and i took him out today and he definately was better but we didnt meet any lorries but we did go pass a tractor. I am thinking of contacting a local haulage firm to see if i can hire a truck and driver for an hour every day for a week to see if it helps. ( i 'd need to save money) but i cant bear to sell my horse so i would try any thing to know we could go out for a hack and face any thing.
Any ideas gratefully recieved

Hi Julie,
What you describe sound pretty dangerous, I suggest you work from the ground with a Duallyhalter until you solve the problem. I know Monty would tell people to have their horses on a pasture or paddock near a road with heavy traffic, maybe you could arrange a temporary stay for your horse in such a place? This way they can desensitize over time and see that the other horses don't panic. Duallywork when confronting your horse with trucks and tractors on narrow roads can be dangerous too, so build it up gradually, always congratulating your horse when he gives it a try. Small steps build up to big results if you take your time. Safety first!
Keep us posted,
Miriam

Julie
The first thing that Monty tells you is always be safe. Riding or driving a horse or mule that bolts or becomes uncontrollable is not safe for you or the animal. Having said that, I think that Miriam is on to the right solution. By desensitizing them to the thing that sets them off so they know that they are not in danger as long as they stay calm is the goal. Safest why is to start on the ground and progress from there as you horse or mule becomes more confident.
One thing that we need to remember when approaching moving trucks and tractors is we judge the speed and distance to keep us safe but horses do not have that knowledge or experience. Big noisy things moving fast scares them. One of my riding partners lived not far from the Queens horse guards and she could hear them practice on the street in the middle of the night so the horses would become familiar with working around cars and trucks and intersection and crosswalks. With all they expert training these horses get one of the horses threw his rider and bolted back to the stable during Prince Williams marriage ceremony!
Good luck and I hope you do well.

Cheers

I had a lesson recetally with a riding instructer and she said, when your horse is a little nervous then get him thinking, like turning in a circle (disingaging) or move him off get his feet movig so he has the feeling that he is fleeing, (horse instinct) or try to get him used the noise strat little like with a car engine or the lawn mower or something that makes an engine noise and that will desensitise him a bit more and will help him not to be so nervous next time around.
Hope it helps,

HorseCrazy

getting them to turn and follow the scary truck really does work, but of course you have to be able to get it to stay while it passes. If it's coming towards you make sure someone riding with you is aware of the problem and can help with the other traffic so you can turn and chase off the bad truck. Before all this on the road try using a ride on mower or quad in a field get them to really chase it away in trot as it passes you. Push bikes and motobikes too.

We have the opposite problem at my yard.
There's a pony who will chase vehicles on the road. He is quite strong and not easy to stop, so no one will ride out with him and his rider. (It wouldn't surprise me if his young owner taught him this - she can be very foolish and reckless.)