I went for my usual short trail ride through the woods and up into a small portion of the cornfield on Saturday.
As we were in the woods, we saw a 4-wheeler go by on the path around the cornfield. I knew the barn owner had said that she had given permission for her neighbors to ride their 4-wheelers there. Wish had never seen one there before. He immediately got very tense (head up, snorting, etc.). BUT he stood in one spot and didn't move, so at least he didn't try to spin and bolt. It passed and once the noise died down, Wish settled down and we continued on.
As I was riding up in the cornfield, I had my ears tuned for it, and sure enough I could hear it coming up behind us. I knew the rider wouldn't see us until he was on top of us. So, I pushed Wish a bit faster until we reached a fallow strip. I turned him to face the 4-wheeler and jumped down.
The rider slowed (he wasn't going fast anyway) as soon as he saw me. I waved to him and he continued on. As he got closer we exchanged a greeting and pleasantries about the weather. He paused for a moment, and I asked him if he would be ok with me introducing my horse to his machine. He said ok with a bit of a hesitation. He stayed sitting on it and left the motor running. I led Wish up to it. To my surprise, once we got fairly close to it, I could feel him go "oh, THAT's what it is". He walked right up to the front of it and put his nose against it, sniffing it. I stood there with him for a minute, then told the rider I was going to lead Wish between it and the woods, which was a bit small but I knew at that point that Wish was fine. I led Wish past it and immediately turned him around so he could see it from the back.
I thanked the driver profusely, he said goodbye, waved and went on his way. I stood there with Wish as he watched it go up the hill and around the corner. We stood there so he could hear the noise without seeing the machine. I wanted him to associate the noise with the thing he had just "met".
I couldn't believe how nice this guy was in letting me give Wish this wonderful first experience. He kept sitting there saying "I've never been this close to a horse before". And since Wish was so well behaved, he came away with a good experience as well!
After that, I mounted and we headed down the trail toward home. Wish was as quiet and calm as could be.
When I returned to the barn, I made sure to tell the barn owner about the great experience I had. I wanted her to know that the neighbor was respectful and even helpful. She was relieved. She said she was a little concerned when she granted them permission, but since they are the ones who keep the area mowed, she didn't feel she could turn them down.
At the barn they have a golf cart type thing, so Wish is used to seeing that. I think seeing the 4-wheeler up in the field was just something that seemed out of place to him. Once he was able to walk up to it, I think he realized it was like the one he was used to seeing around the barn, and then he was fine with it.
Now I hope that we run into them again soon, so that Wish gets to see it again while the lesson is still fresh! How about that, I'm actually hoping to run into a 4-wheeler while riding!!!
You did good!! I am lucky that the horses at the farm see 4 wheelers all the time. I think it saved hubby's rump the other day when he was riding Belle home on the road (I don't like it either). As they were coming down a curved steep hill and steps from the front yard, the BO's son came up behind them at breakneck speed on a small bicycle. He hit the brakes when he saw the horse and it squealed down the hill. He whipped it around Belle and ended up in the yard in front of her. You never heard a kid apologize so fast in your life. Belle jumped, but we ALL jumped. Once she saw him in front of her she was fine - she has seen him on fast stuff for years. Keep showing that 4 wheeler to Wish and don't let it surprise him from behind for a while until he knows what is coming for sure.
What a great experience!! Yay to you and Wish! Once we went camping. THey were having bird dog field trials at the same place as we were riding. So many hunting dogs baying. The hunters ride gaited horses. Libby heard all the commotion, but couldn't see it. I walked her through the woods so we could go and find those monsters. She was very upset, but as soon as we found the dogs and riders it was as though she said.. "Pfftt is that all?" She was fine the rest of the weekend. After she had come face to face with those monsters!!
great story, Determined!! Good job to you both. When my horse was small I had 2 neighbors come by with motorcycles. One was a Harley. Don't know if he was thrilled with letting my horse check out his bike! I had him feed the horse from a small bucket while he sat on the Harley. The other neighbor had a small motorcycle-almost a scooter. He brought it to my arena and my teacher did a lesson with it. Her husband led my horse while the motorcycle zoomed around. If he stood and faced it then he got to follow it. Finally John jogged with him behind, then next to, the motorcyle and my horse kicked at it with both back feet! They weren't close enough to connect but that's my Spanish mustang for you. (I was comparing notes with my 2 friends-one had dropped her saddle pad when saddling. The 3 reactions we would get are 1. The appendix looking QH would freak out, pull back, then be ok. 2. the QH would ignore it and do nothing. 3. My horse would watch it fall and then stomp on it) Just be careful like the others said about something coming up from behind. I saw a gal get dumped at a Tom Dorrance clinic once with that situation of something coming from behind.
Hey Determined, good job ! It is really a good thing to have your horses used to the four wheelers Etc. We have a Gator and it I have used it to find Jethro when he got out of his pasture and traveled a long way from home during the night. I was unable to ride because of a back problem so I just lead him through the field and down the road to home while on the Gator.
Even if your horse is used to them be careful of them appearing out of nowhere. My brother's mules are very familiar with them but we have had some scares when they come speeding up out of a ditch. Not all drivers are so considerate.
Thanks, all. I can't believe what a great experience it was. I know this won't mean we'll have no future incidences, but it was such a wonderful introduction. And I'm very relieved to know that these neighbors are so thoughtful. I'll still have to be very careful because there are lots of places there where they would not see us at all when the corn is up, but it was a great start anyway.
It makes all the difference in the world when an animal can be introduced in such a good way. Once you have a dozen more such encounters, I doubt that 4 wheelers will ever be an issue. UNLIKE my Dixie.....sigh. She must have grown up on the "south side of the tracks" becasue she is unphased by construction equipment of any kind, well dilling rigs, fire trucks, UPS trucks, school busses, tractor/trailer rigs. But show up with a 4 wheeler, golf cart, or baby buggy and it's lions and tigers and bears, oh my! I'm sure part of the issue is that 2 owners ago the family that owned her got rid of all their horses in favor of 4 wheelers since their boys were getting older. Now what do you think the first thing a boy would do with a 4 wheeler and a horse/mule? You got it - I'm sure those boys chased Dixie til she was nearly mad with fear. And now, even though I can work very hard to get her to tolerate a small machine, she quivers with fear whenever one comes near. The only thing that keeps her from bolting is the fact that I have finally established very strong leadership with her about monsters of all kinds, so she is able to BARELY believe me that the thing will not actually eat her. But I don't think she will ever be calm with them. Fear memory is a very real thing with horses. If their initial experince with something is fearful, it will always be a concern in the back of their mind. For example, if the first few trailer rides are terrifying or cause pain, that horse is going to have a lot of problems with trailering. But it all the trailer rides have been calm and happy, then even a bad accident will not cause that horse to be afraid of trailers. So Determined, I truly hope you are finding lots of ways to keep desensitizing Wish to 4 wheelers, laym mowers, golf carts, leaf blowers, chain saws, and all types of higher pitched small engines. By doing it the right way, you are going to have a horse that is as bombproof as they come! Keep up the great work!
That is so excellent about Wish - I'm glad you had a good experience! We had our first experience w/ 4-wheelers EVER yesterday, they were really wonderful, the minute they saw horses they pulled over and shut off their engines and let us go by. Sarge was VERY worried and thought they might be horse-eating machines but we managed it with only a little nudging and a few quick steps. But I was really impressed with how respectful and cautious they were. Kudos to the atv-ers with a clue! Now if we could get the same response out of motorcyclists!!
