Afraid of Road Cones

barnbum · 03-30-08, 01:35 AM

One of the horses I work with is mortified of road cones. I'm not sure if its the color or the actual object that freaks him out, but he would crawl in my lap or up my leg if he could when he sees one. Which is just great until we get around the dressage ring come spring/summer when there are mini cones out to mark 20m circles. Any tips for getting him past the fear?

mimi31 · 03-30-08, 01:43 PM

I've never heard of this before. I would put cones all over the place for awhile. In the barn, by the water trough, here and there in the pasture, etc. One would think that over time he would get used to seeing them around.

haute_ecole · 04-06-08, 11:33 PM

I've heard of this alot. I can recall back when I started riding there was always a debate about whether it was the color or the intensity that caused them to be so cautious. Many horses can be conditioned to deal with neon colors. Generally just exposure over time with plenty of positive reinforcement is the key to getting them over the fear.

sandles · 04-12-08, 05:04 PM

I think the brightness is making the horse a little antsy. Its not like its a natural color or anything so it makes perfect sense to me. I am sure you could familiarize the horse with the color (even maybe with just a blaze orange jacket in the barn if you don't have access to cones, or something similar).

03-30-08, 01:35 AM	#1 (permalink)
barnbum Member Join Date: 03-07-08 Posts: 21	Afraid of Road Cones One of the horses I work with is mortified of road cones. I'm not sure if its the color or the actual object that freaks him out, but he would crawl in my lap or up my leg if he could when he sees one. Which is just great until we get around the dressage ring come spring/summer when there are mini cones out to mark 20m circles. Any tips for getting him past the fear?

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03-30-08, 01:43 PM	#2 (permalink)
mimi31 Member Join Date: 02-01-08 Location: NY Posts: 50	I've never heard of this before. I would put cones all over the place for awhile. In the barn, by the water trough, here and there in the pasture, etc. One would think that over time he would get used to seeing them around.

04-06-08, 11:33 PM	#3 (permalink)
haute_ecole Member Join Date: 04-04-08 Posts: 25	I've heard of this alot. I can recall back when I started riding there was always a debate about whether it was the color or the intensity that caused them to be so cautious. Many horses can be conditioned to deal with neon colors. Generally just exposure over time with plenty of positive reinforcement is the key to getting them over the fear.

04-12-08, 05:04 PM	#4 (permalink)
sandles Member Join Date: 04-04-08 Posts: 25	I think the brightness is making the horse a little antsy. Its not like its a natural color or anything so it makes perfect sense to me. I am sure you could familiarize the horse with the color (even maybe with just a blaze orange jacket in the barn if you don't have access to cones, or something similar).