[QUOTE=SmartAlex;4632582]
He’s also “afraid” of very large rocks.[/QUOTE]
You do realize that those “very large rocks” are in fact cow eggs. 
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My horse and i are both afraid of cows, so when we encouter them the urge to bolt is mutual :lol:
On the ground, in the arena: Stand in front of him toward the fear object, not towards him. Talk to him while looking at the boogie monster, then relaxed, meander forward and see what he does.
Thanks for all the advice!
I’m pretty sure it’s not me. He does this with everyone. I normally am just riding along and then he’ll try to spin and bolt and I won’t even realize why at first. He got kicked off the IHSA dressage team because he won’t go in the ring anymore… there is a plastic cow lurking in the corner. :lol:
Unfortunately I don’t think turning him out with the cows is going to be an option. I don’t know anyone with cows, but I’m mostly afraid of what he would do to them. He can be aggressive towards other horses and I’m afraid he’d attack the cow and hurt it.
But I will definitely find someone to ride with so he can have a good role model! And I will try to build up his bovine bravery and confidence.
I am strongly considering the idea of taking him to a penning event. I think he might have a heart attack and die, but he’s getting old anyway (just kidding, I love him).
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Oh wow, the cows are gone and your horse is still spooking by the pasture?
Have you tried leading him around the pasture or feeding him out there? (To give positive reinforcement.)
I grew up a few miles from Bethesda, the oldest orphanage in the US, and they had a herd of Holstein milk cows. My horses were always fine with them. In fact, my 2nd horse had a holstein girlfriend who lived right down on the boy scout road near my house and his barn. Every day we had to stop for Fireball to visit with his cow girlfriend. (He also had mare girlfriends.)
My horses have never had problems with cows or gators or wild hogs or deer. (All my geldings have been pintos altho all mare mares have been solid colors, so no “colour” discrimination with my horses.)
So I guess try to desensitize your horse to that pasture, and then if the cows move back there, maybe let him hang out with a cow or calf who is friendly?
I know one mare that so far cannot be cured of her cow phobia. They tried letting her work it out in an adjoining field turned out with some cow ponies. Found her the next day so badly tied up they almost lost her.
A few months later tried her father away but within viewing/hearing distance and kept a better watch over her. She went into some sort of catatonic state, started shaking and tied up, mildly, again.
They’ve given up and just make sure she’s not within sight of a cow. But she’s a broodmare and they don’t have to worry about her phobia interfering with riding.
Here’s a funny story involving cows. First time the neighbor turned some cows out in the adjoining pasture, my “fearless” gelding who thinks he is king of the world went marching right up to the fence to check them out. He was looking pretty pleased with himself when all of a sudden a calf slipped between the boards. Well, he let out the biggest snort/bellow, spun 180 degrees and took off as fast as he could go in the other direction.
Of course, the calf ran after him, and they went around a few times until his lazy nature finally got the better of him and he put on the brakes and turned to face the “devil” calf. At that precise moment mama cow finally succeeded in calling her calf back and he ran off. So to save face, my gelding puffed up and chased after the calf back to the fence. Anyway the farmer sorted the cows out and now my gelding is quite fond of cows.
So maybe let your horse chase a few cows!! :lol:
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An SO who was a horse trainer had a nice App. QH gelding who was lovely in all ways, EXCEPT when anywhere in sight of a cow. I remember riding out over hunt country, and coming up to a pasture fence that had hedges and a coop. I could see the cows, I think he smelled them but didn’t quite know where they were (very near that fence, about 20 of them, Angus). We jumped the coop and his body actually FROZE in time over that fence, he was like a photo…we seemed to hang there still FOREVER!
When he came down, and 2x10 stiff board feeling, he lifted his head and bolted for the woods…lovely…
SO decided to buy a cow at Marshall sale to put in the paddock with him. Paddock was about an acre, I guess. Poor horse was terrified. He wouldn’t come anywhere near the cow, had trouble drinking from the same trough.
So, now SO decided it wasn’t happening fast enough and put the cow in a STALL next to poor horse. The horse about had a coniption. HOw he didn’t hurt himself trying to climb over the wall I’ll never understand. THEN, about 3 days later, SO put cow IN WITH HORSE!!! :eek::eek::eek::eek:
There was a very fast commotion, pinned flat ears, grunting, lugning, and a piece of Mr. steer’s ear now missing, while both four-legs were trying mightily to get away from the other in a 14x14 stall…oi…
Yeah, that didn’t work at all. And made it worse, quite obviously If they’re scared of them that’s it.
I had a QH mare that I wanted to learn team penning on. She was WP bred, may have never really seen a cow up close. The first couple of clinic tries she was reluctant to go in the herd or even follow one around, but I could get her to do it. But the 3rd clinic day, she would NOT go in the herd, and started to reach out with bared teeth if we even got close enough to one. And then she’d quickly spin and get away. She did NOT like cows and was not going to. But she at least tried for me a couple times.
I’ll send you Asp over. She -loooves- cows. She loves them enough to go visiting when they’re turned out next to her, leading to phonecalls from the farmer telling me my horse had moved in with his cows again, and he was thinking about charging me rent. :lol: :rolleyes:
No answer, but lots of sympathy. In 2007 I lost a 5yr old Arab I had been training for a year. He was at the trainers place and hated the cattle nearby. One day a calf got loose and they cornered him in a large paddock. The trainer and I went in with our horses on lead lines. I should have listened to the voice in my head instead of the one in my ear. The calf came towards him, he bolted and instead of running away the lenght of the paddock to safety, he ran across and attempted to jump out, breaking the fence and his leg in the process.
He was the first horse I ever rode that was so scared of cattle.
My next horse is coming from the zoo.
I have a horse thats terrified of cows too, she wont go near them. She used to be fine with them and not worry, but now for some reason she doesnt like them. I cant take her to the gate because the cows are there, and even if their not she still wont go near it. We have a hacking place round the back where the cows are, meaning we have to go through the field but I cant.
One night in the winter she was put in the yard with two other horses, and cows next to her. Big ones and calves… but it didnt help her at all, she would keep spooking at them. I’m also having trouble trying to find ways on how to sort it, but nothings worked so far!
It’s an easy fix. You work the horse away from the scary area and let him rest as close to the scary area as he will get. You’ve actually taught him this behavior because you pressure him (force him to go into the scary area) and then when he spooks and shies you allow him to leave the scary area, which is a release of pressure. He is looking for the release of pressure.
Ride in the ring on a loose rein and allow him to stay in the area where he is comfortable. My guess is he will circle near the gate, or as far from the cows as possible. Ride at the trot on a loose rein and let him go where he feels like going. Do not steer. Keep him trotting (pressure). If it’s apparent that he has an area that he favors and sticks to that area, trot around for a few minutes in that area and then let him halt and rest when he is facing the scary area, at the outer edge of the area where he is comfortable. Do not steer, allow him to go where he wants. Keep doing this, only allowing him to rest when he is moving in the direction of the scary area, so you are linking “rest” (release of pressure) with the scary area. You never force him towards the scary area, just let his wanderings take him wherever he wants, but only allow him to rest when he is going towards the scary area and away from his comfort area. It can be a long process and it’s quite boring trotting circles (usually in his favorite direction) for thirty or forty minutes, and you may have to repeat this for days. But he will wander closer and closer to the scary area because that is where you let him rest (release the pressure of making him trot).
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Years ago I had a fun Pinto gelding that shared a variety of adventures with me - we did some dressage, some fun shows and hit the trails all over our western Rockies foothills. Nothing fazed him. Not fresh bear poop. Not crossing through a meadow full of elk. Nothing.
He was fine with cows and often sniffed them over the fence with interest.
The planets finally aligned and one fall I was able to join in the Sweep - a large cow and calf ranch nearby had a couple of days where everyone joined up and helped bring the range cattle down from the foothills into the valley pastures for the winter. This was not a big round-up as the cattle started moving down as close as they could get as September ended… so you mainly just pushed them down the logging roads to the ravines that ran down towards the ranch, then down the road and home.
My gelding set out bright and happy, ears forward and we were having a great day… until a friend called on the walkie-talkie and let our little group know that a small herd was coming down a ravine towards us. We all galloped up the hill to divide and send the cattle down but just as we got near the top, a wave of Very Agitated mean old range cows with huge, naughty calves at heel came over the crest of the hill like a bovine tsunami. Something had set them off and they were running and MAD. My gelding froze. I felt his whole body turn into a tense, coiled spring and WHAM! - he bolted sideways and down through the trees and there followed an epic downhill run Snowy River style but without the balance and slow-mo and soundtrack. Not sure how I stayed on but it was more luck than athleticism and superb horsemanship. At the bottom of the hill was a creek and as we splashed into it, my gelding recovered a bit of brain matter and realized that the angry horde was not chasing him.
But after that, even cows across a fence horrified him - not to the point of bolting or spinning, but jigging, blowing in alarm and tensing up until well past the satanic beasts.
Pam Beach has said pretty much what I would suggest - good advice!
This thread is 8 years old. zombie
My horse is generally not afraid of cows. But I remember riding her past a field of long horns and she didn’t like the looks of those things one iota. Fortunately they don’t use long horns (to my knowledge) for any sort of ranch sorting or other cow events. My horse is an OTTB that I mostly use for trail riding english events (hunter/jumper, low level eventing). But sorting is fun so we do it when we can.
Try riding past some alpacas or llamas :lol:. One road over where we frequently ride down the alpacas ALWAYS make at least one horse come unglued. We call them the zombie alpacas
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And try the riding past the neighbor who has peacocks. :disgust:
We often ride by an Alpaca. It is cute and friendly. Angel does not mind her. When I was a teenager, my horse did not like the looks of my brother giving me a piggy back ride. Horse probably thought “What is that thing with four legs, four arms, and two heads galloping toward me?”
My first assumption is your horse has learned to avoid work or what you’re of asking him by using fear of cattle as an excuse.
Besides that, the best option in my opinion, is seek someone who has cow horses and is handy with horses and cattle. That person riding a confident horse, you following with the confident horse between you and cattle. The person moving the cattle slowly and not working them can create some interest and confidence in your horse by keeping the situation controlled by reading your horse and the cattle adjusting distance and speed if need be. Eventually your horse will figure out he can move them and control them on his own. Do not try to stop and turn them in the beginning just let him figure he can push them. You don’t your horse to feel beat by them.
I realize going to a team penning practice may be the only option for people to expose their horses to cattle but it has been my experience team pennings are not the best place to find good horse and stockmanship. With a horse who truly has no confidence, the fast pace and lack of etiquette can cause a wreck. Honestly, one would be better off in the back with contractor/cattle owner switching out pens of cattle if that was their only option for exposure.
Try having the peacocks come through the riding ring while jumping.
