Tractors towing equipment or loads of hay on the back.
Tractors working in the fields disking and rolliing. Trailing 30ft of equipment behind the tractor rattling along.
Combines and sprayers. Parked up in the farm or out working with the arms out open moving.
Overhead cranes.
Building sites.
Big diggers on building sites. Leading under the arm, and round.
Grain driers.
Artics
These new scooters parked on street corners.
These are all situations Billy has experienced.
Recently experienced last week these new scooters you can hire. All lined up on street corners. Billy saw them one day on our regular road hack. Never been parked there before so he glanced across the road at them as we went past. So next ride i took him over, walked onto the pavement to introduce them up close. Billy stretched his head out and touched one and it set a flipping alarm siren off. He freaked, spun round and bucked. I didnt know the things were alarmed. Whoops.
I sort of agree wait and see what life throws at you, rather than setting out with a must do list. I myself will use things/situations to train the horse. In that respect im a firm believer in using the opportunity in front of you. I don't think Billy will ever accept the moving tractors or buses. Even though he has seen them quite a bit over the last few years.
It gets me when people i know say my horse doesnt do road works. So they hurry past as quick as they can. Whereas if its safe I'll stop and prat about walking the horse up to them and letting him sniff this or that. Picking up a road cone and swinging it. Other riders i know will hurry past because there horse hates them. I think as long as its safe use that opportunity to bombproof your horse.
There was a big ten tonne digger parked on the edge of a field. Billy hates things over head, so one day i walked him under the stretched òut arm. To start with he wouldnt go near. Then looking above him i managed to coax him under the arm, but as i got under he ran it. So i just kept walking round it, under it. Eventually he stopped trying to run under the arm, and i got that lovely walk under. Must have been there a good 20 minutes. Its not something that you would normally experience on a hack but I'll use it as practice.
Ive had people in the past who've stood watching me. Thinking my horse is freaking at something. Some even offer to help me past. I laugh and say no im just using the obstacle to train the horse. We're fine thankyou.
I remember a lad bouncing his football along the pavement. I was hacking along behind. His parent told him to stop as a horse was behind. I said actually no you carry on im using it to train my horse. Think they thought i was nuts.