The idea of a road-safe horse appeals to anyone who must ride down the road to connect one trail to another, go to their riding partner’s house, or cross the road to get the mail. Building a road-safe mount isn’t as difficult as it sounds, but it takes a good plan and some patience.
Having been a mounted police officer, I’ve trained a number of horses to accept the “street”. Admittedly, my idea of road-safe and yours are probably not the same. Most people hope to have a horse who can handle a truck or car going by while I needed a horse that could handle a steady stream of traffic, sirens, and the constant noise associated with a large city. However, the same training methods that I used in my work can help you with your trail horse.
Making a horse road-safe doesn’t start with riding on the shoulder of a road with cars zipping by. In fact, it doesn’t need to start with a car and a road at all. It starts with a round pen or corral, and a flag or other noisy object. If the horse can handle a flag moving around it and touching it, then trying to make him truly road-safe is much easier.
While many people do some “sensory training” (bomb-proofing) with their horse, they often don’t carry it far enough or do it properly. It isn’t enough just to touch the horse with the flag, wave it around them, and touch their legs with it. The most important part of the training is to get the horse to readily accept the flag under many different circumstances and to help the horse recognize objects in both eyes equally without being disturbed.
How many of us have been on a trail ride and passed an object off the right side of the trail that made our horse nervous? Then when we passed the same object on the way back, our horse was nervous about it again as he viewed it from his left eye. Because of the way a horse’s vision works, what he sees in his right eye doesn’t necessarily connect as a memory in his brain when he sees the same object in his left eye. Horses have independent vision in each eye to keep them safe from predators.
You must help your horse learn to “switch eyes.” This is what will help him track cars approaching from the rear. The training is easy, but you must understand the goal of the exercise, and you must implement it carefully to get it right. Do each exercise from the ground first and then while mounted.
Step 1
With an assistant holding the horse and stroking his neck to reassure him as he needs it, use a flag in a neutral position as you walk behind the horse from right to left and back again. This exercise should be done at a distance of approximately 20 feet at first, reducing to approximately 10 feet as the horse progresses. Don’t approach closer than kicking distance.
As you move from one side to the next, the horse should follow you with his eyes. He’ll have to move his head, but not his feet, to do that – let him. This way he can follow your motion as you pass behind him. As he progresses, wave the flag as you walk back and forth. Now mount up and have the assistant repeat the exercise. When you can walk all around your horse waving a flag, including behind him, and he accepts it without moving his feet or getting tense, then you can think about going on to the next step.
Step 2
Start with getting him accustomed to a vehicle. You can do this in a driveway or pasture.. First, lead your horse around the vehicle while it’s parked and let him look at it. You don’t need to let him go up and sniff it. But you do need to walk from right to left around the car, and then left to right. This gives the horse all of the views that he needs to see the car as he passes it. Now comes the part most people miss, you need to lead the horse along the side of the vehicle and then turn away from it and immediately stop. This puts the vehicle directly behind the horse. It’s large enough that the horse has to pick it up in both eyes. Make sure that the horse will stand quietly for several minutes. Repeat this entire exercise from the saddle. Don’t proceed to anything else until you can accomplish this first exercise calmly.
Step 3
Lead the horse beside the car as close as you can. You should be able to touch the side as you pass. Begin by touching it without making any noise. If your horse stays calm, then tap the car with your knuckles. If your horse skitters away, then you have more sensory training to do and you should leave the car alone for now. Under no circumstances should you punish, spur or whip your horse to get him back near the car. You will only succeed in making him scared to death of vehicles. Repeat the exercise from the saddle.
Step 4
Now it’s time to have someone in the car ready to drive away at your signal. Have your helper start the car and lead your horse around it again, stopping at the rear of the vehicle, facing it. You should be about two horse lengths back. At your signal, have the car move directly away from the horse. If your horse moves around a little, make sure that you pet him and reassure him.
It’s not surprising to those of us who have done this many times that the horse might be nervous as the car moves. There’s nothing in your horse’s experience that tells him this object can move on its own. He has no idea there’s a human driving it. Even if he sees the human get into the vehicle, he doesn’t understand that the human caused it to move.
Once your horse can watch the car drive off without being fidgety, it’s time to ask him to follow as it drives away. Again, do this exercise from the ground first and then progress to riding. Keep at least two to three horse lengths back, have the vehicle drive slowly and follow it for 10-20 feet and then stop, letting the car continue to drive away. Have the person slowly back up towards you and stop the car 15-20 feet away. Pet the horse to reassure him as the car approaches.
Step 5
Stand with your horse in front of the vehicle (approximately 10-20 feet) facing away from it. Start the engine. Make sure your horse doesn’t overreact to the sound. If he does, then go back to the previous exercises. Now, ask your horse to walk forward and have the vehicle follow you at a distance. This is the first stage of getting your horse used to the sound and sight of a car behind him.
Now it’s time for the horse to learn about vehicles passing him. Stand with your horse on the shoulder of the driveway, facing the center, and let the vehicle drive past slowly. As the vehicle approaches and goes by, pet your horse and then let him follow. Once you’ve done this a few times and the horse is settled with it, try this: Have the car follow you and your horse, guide your horse to the shoulder area, and continue to ride forward while the car slowly drives past. Once the car has passed, follow it for short distance. Repeat this exercise several times in each direction.
Step 6
Once you’ve successfully completed all of the exercises, then you can take your horse down near the road that goes past your house or barn. Take him down with a lead rope and stand in the driveway next to him while some vehicles pass by. They will be going by much faster, so don’t be surprised if he reacts differently.
If you have a “hidden” driveway that obscures the horse’s view of the approaching car, then this isn’t the best place to help your horse get accustomed to traffic. Imagine trying to learn about this new obstacle when it suddenly appears doing forty miles an hour and then disappears almost as fast. The new noises and smells (tires, road, engine, wind) will be new enough, let alone having the car suddenly come into view and then disappear. In this case, you’ll need to haul your horse to a better location.
Once you have accomplished this, walk back up the driveway a short distance and turn your horse’s rear to the road. Gradually you should be able to have your horse stand facing, away, and sideways to the road as vehicles go by. Make sure he sees them from both eyes.
Now it’s time to saddle him and ride down the driveway to the road and do the same thing all over again. If you don’t have much traffic going by, have your friend drive a vehicle back and forth on the road at legal speed. If it is a very lightly traveled road, then you can have your friend follow you and then pass you several times. If traffic approaches from behind, have your friend slow and use the vehicle’s flashers. I don’t recommend you do this unless you are on a rural road and the speed limit is 25mph or less. And don’t do this if you’re on a curvy road. Use common sense!
If this seems like a long, slow way to train your horse, it’s not. If your horse has the aptitude for vehicles, you will have the training done in a few sessions. If your horse doesn’t have an affinity for vehicles, then take the training as slow as your horse needs.
Don’t forget that the first big tractor trailer to pass is going to bother your horse. Suddenly the vehicle is three times the size of the “training” vehicle, twice as loud, and substantially taller than the horse. Remember, the larger and faster the vehicle goes, the more room you need on the shoulder to ride safely.
And remember to always wear your helmet when you’re out riding.
The detailed steps for this type of training and making sure your horse is road safe are covered in a training video available at www.HorseThink.com. Look in the “Products/Videos” section for “Making Your Horse Road Safe.”
About the Author:
Scot Hansen is a retired mounted police officer who now provides training for horses and riders throughout the U.S. and Canada using the same techniques he used in the police department. He teaches his students how their horses think and learn, making it easier and more effective for the layman to train his horse to be a solid mount under all conditions. He also has several training videos available, including “Dealing with Dogs on the Trail – Training the Mounted Police Way.” Read more about him at his website: www.HorseThink.com.
Copyright © 2008 The NW Horse Source, LLC
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