Post by SarahW on Nov 3, 2009 8:41:14 GMT 1
This article first appeared in the Listening Post a couple of years ago.
When a really brave rider and a really brave horse say that they have a problem with tractors, you know that it is absolutely genuine. Nikki and her New Forest pony, Maddie, hunt all winter and have been out drifting on the Forest. Drifting involves rounding up the wild New Forest ponies and let me tell you the riders always take the direct route. The rider’s job is to look at the skyline and the drifting pony’s job is to look at the floor. In this way no-one ends up in a heap.
Maddie was born on the Forest and had been run over by a vehicle when she was a foal. Ever since then she has been petrified of noisy vehicles and has taken a particular dislike to tractors. It must have been a terrifying experience.
Maddie turned up on the day of my “Turning Fear into Curiosity” course and so we made an excellent start when we were able to ask her to follow a little grey Ferguson tractor around the field. At one stage we had a conga of five ponies weaving in and out of traffic cones behind a noisy trail bike. The following day we took her out onto the Forest with the tractor and walked and trotted her up and down the wartime airfield behind and beside the tractor. Nikki was sat in a little trailer at the back and every so often we would all stop for a rest and give Maddie a little feed. I think that is when she started to like the tractor.
The next day she graduated to a bigger red Massey Ferguson tractor with cab and she followed this up and down the runway even when it had a cattle trailer attached. Thursday came and this time we took her out on a narrow lane by the yard and had the tractor passing her on both sides, from in front and from behind. Every so often we would turn round and “chase” the tractor up the road. Maddie thought this was marvellous. On her last day Nikki rode Maddie behind, in front and beside the tractor as it trundled up and down the lane. As they returned to the yard, Nikki asked Maddie to canter on the grass at the side of the runway as the tractor led the way home.
Nikki was extremely pleased with her pony and was already making plans to shape her pony’s behaviour even further. She had asked her local farmer if she could follow him around the fields when he was rolling the grass. However, before this could happen I received this e-mail from Nikki: Hi Sarah! We hadn’t met any tractors at all out on our adventures (quite disappointed) until Friday night........ I had a young girl on Maddie, who rides her occasionally but is very savvy. She was in front of me and I was on a pony, which belongs to friends of mine, that hadn’t left the field she was in for 14months!! All was going ok; my pony was very spooky, understandably!! We were walking along a very narrow lane with high hedges, dappled evening light, when this really loud rumbling noise heads towards us. Maddie has her head up on high alert status!! My pony stops dead and my friend turns round to look at me, as if to say “Well it was nice knowing you!!!” Round the corner comes the mother of all tractors, lights on, the whole works and to top it all a massive flat bed trailer on the back, making a hell of a racket. Luckily I had briefed my friend on the tractor training so she gave Maddie her head, the grumpy tractor man slowed down, and Maddie walked passed and waited in the driveway just by the trailer part. Thank goodness she did otherwise there was no way that the pony I was on would of gone past on her own!! So, Maddie showed the way, whether it was just bravado, showing off to the new pony or a fluke, or is she really just a superstar!!! LOL! Very pleased and my young friend was impressed. I find myself actively looking out routes that we might encounter a tractor, but maybe not one that big again!
Now, I wonder if I can get a tractor firm to sponsor me ?
When a really brave rider and a really brave horse say that they have a problem with tractors, you know that it is absolutely genuine. Nikki and her New Forest pony, Maddie, hunt all winter and have been out drifting on the Forest. Drifting involves rounding up the wild New Forest ponies and let me tell you the riders always take the direct route. The rider’s job is to look at the skyline and the drifting pony’s job is to look at the floor. In this way no-one ends up in a heap.
Maddie was born on the Forest and had been run over by a vehicle when she was a foal. Ever since then she has been petrified of noisy vehicles and has taken a particular dislike to tractors. It must have been a terrifying experience.
Maddie turned up on the day of my “Turning Fear into Curiosity” course and so we made an excellent start when we were able to ask her to follow a little grey Ferguson tractor around the field. At one stage we had a conga of five ponies weaving in and out of traffic cones behind a noisy trail bike. The following day we took her out onto the Forest with the tractor and walked and trotted her up and down the wartime airfield behind and beside the tractor. Nikki was sat in a little trailer at the back and every so often we would all stop for a rest and give Maddie a little feed. I think that is when she started to like the tractor.
The next day she graduated to a bigger red Massey Ferguson tractor with cab and she followed this up and down the runway even when it had a cattle trailer attached. Thursday came and this time we took her out on a narrow lane by the yard and had the tractor passing her on both sides, from in front and from behind. Every so often we would turn round and “chase” the tractor up the road. Maddie thought this was marvellous. On her last day Nikki rode Maddie behind, in front and beside the tractor as it trundled up and down the lane. As they returned to the yard, Nikki asked Maddie to canter on the grass at the side of the runway as the tractor led the way home.
Nikki was extremely pleased with her pony and was already making plans to shape her pony’s behaviour even further. She had asked her local farmer if she could follow him around the fields when he was rolling the grass. However, before this could happen I received this e-mail from Nikki: Hi Sarah! We hadn’t met any tractors at all out on our adventures (quite disappointed) until Friday night........ I had a young girl on Maddie, who rides her occasionally but is very savvy. She was in front of me and I was on a pony, which belongs to friends of mine, that hadn’t left the field she was in for 14months!! All was going ok; my pony was very spooky, understandably!! We were walking along a very narrow lane with high hedges, dappled evening light, when this really loud rumbling noise heads towards us. Maddie has her head up on high alert status!! My pony stops dead and my friend turns round to look at me, as if to say “Well it was nice knowing you!!!” Round the corner comes the mother of all tractors, lights on, the whole works and to top it all a massive flat bed trailer on the back, making a hell of a racket. Luckily I had briefed my friend on the tractor training so she gave Maddie her head, the grumpy tractor man slowed down, and Maddie walked passed and waited in the driveway just by the trailer part. Thank goodness she did otherwise there was no way that the pony I was on would of gone past on her own!! So, Maddie showed the way, whether it was just bravado, showing off to the new pony or a fluke, or is she really just a superstar!!! LOL! Very pleased and my young friend was impressed. I find myself actively looking out routes that we might encounter a tractor, but maybe not one that big again!
Now, I wonder if I can get a tractor firm to sponsor me ?