Advice on loading before I get killed please :)

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tanyajade

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Hi all.

I've had my mare for 14 months, I bought a trailer on Saturday. I was told by previous owners that she was awful to load.
I thought she'd be scared, she is scared of everything else. But she wasn't scared. She was just being a bitch.

So I put the control head collar on and she went on the trailer fine. But shot down the front ramp. I got her to stand still for a few seconds twice. Then she ran down again.

Last night, I counderstand not get her to stand at all, she absolutely leaped down that front ramp every time. I ended up being crushed against the trailer wall.

Should I shut that front exit? I'm just worried if there's nowhere to go, she'll get in and freak out and kill me!

Thanks
 
I would get some help, it will be safer for you.

When I teach a horse to load I only let it put a foot on the ramp, and then pause and ask it to back off again. Then repeat until it is boring. Then 2 feet on the ramp and pause, reverse back off again. Repeat....... you see where I am going with this.

By this method you could quite safely have the front shut or not shut, because you are taking it one step at a time, and repeating.

HOWEVER I would still ask for help from a pro, as without seeing your horse I could not say if your trailer is big enough, if your horse is responsive to the headcollar, if your loading area is safe, if you are using the correct equipment.

The thread title would make me very wary to advise anything other than to contact a pro.
 
Be careful and get someone to help you this or would she be better if she had a experienced horse already in the trailer to give her confidence.
 
First option get an IH RA out to help you second option get someone who knows what they are doing to help you and thirdly make sure you are kitted out with hat boots gloves and body protector. Close the front and teach her to go in stand and reverse out but make sure she cannot rush out backwards and make sure no one ever tries to lift the ramp until she is standing quietly and even then they lift it from the side not behind it. Safety first if you cannot do it yourself get help
 
Get a lunge line (or long piece of rope) and some gloves. Shut the front door and take the partition(s) out. Feed one side of the lunge through the tie ring at the front before clipping the other to the horse. So now you should be stood at the mares head with the other side of the rope in your hand. Stand behind the mare whilst GENTLY encouraging her to move forwards by tugging on the lunge. As she goes on you need to take up the slack in the rope, don't go in the box yourself at this stage, let her take her time and if she shoots back off the box you simply stay out of the way, give her more rope and ask her again. Don't try to haul her in head first or stop her backing off, just quietly keep asking till she gets it right. Don't get in to any tug of wars of let any helpers come hassling her, it might also help if you put a bucket of her favourite food in the box, she might be in less of a hurry to get out then.
Then when she's going on and standing still, take her a little drive then do it all again when you get back. And then again at every opportunity. You might want to put a poll guard on if she's the type to get her knickers in a twist and rear up.

This has worked with several of mine, and as the handler stays outside the box it until it is safe to go in it is useful for preventing injuries. Much better than the pushing, pulling and yelling nightmares we see at shows.
 
I'm a year into dealing with a bad loader and I have to say that firstly, you cannot say that's she isn't scared. You never know what's happened to them in the past.

Make sure you have plenty of time, put some feed in the trailer, have both ramps open and just go with her. If she leaps off, do it again. Don't pressure her to stay on, let her find out for herself that its safe. You'll probably find that she will grab a mouthful of food and rush off again. That's fine, that isn't her winning, eventually she will relax.

It takes a lot of patience and people always have different ideas, the above worked for me.

Always make sure you wear a hat and gloves and preferably use a lungeline. Sorry but I don't think these 'control' head collars work... You may as well have a bridle on.
 
Safest way to load a horse is never to enter the trailer yourself. Use a lunge line and walk horse to ramp then while u stand at the side of the ramp ask the horse to walk into the trailer using the end of the lunge line repeatively (and gently -think annoying fly rather than beating horse) tap the lunge line against the horses flank ... If the horse steps forward stop tapping and praise verbally and repeat...if he/she steps backward just go backward with the horse continuing to tap. Once the horse is in the trailer praise like mad ... And then unload horse backwards and repeat the load several times ... The first load can take a long time (the longest I've had is 2 hours) but that horse loaded the second time in less than 2 minutes and has walked straight on ever since...
 
I always have the breast bar in place when I load my horse but I as I don't know your horse I have no idea whether it might panic and jump the breast bar. I would definitely get professional help as you obviously have safety concerns as its just not worth the risk IMO.
 
Haha, I've been there in the past. You really do need someone good to help you, but as a thought, if you accept that horses learn from the release of pressure, I suspect that when the horse runs down the ramp, you release the pressure and so they learn thats a good thing!

So, all the above are helpful thoughts, but just remember, if you can, to hold onto the rope until the horse stops, then immediately release for standing still, even if just for a second.

For example, my horse used to load, then run backwards and rear (when I would release the rope). It was explained to me that I was unbeknowingly rewarding her for rearing(!) So, the next time, when she ran back and reared, I just kept the pressure on the rope and only released when she came down and stood still. It only took a few times for her to realise her trick didn't work and she has never been a problem since.

Other bit of advice was to treat it like a spook and always keep the horse facing the trailer, easier said than done maybe, but worth bearing in mind!
 
I'm not going to advise as it sounds to me like you could do with a bit of professional guidance.

The only thing I would say is that I once watched a horse being loaded and the owner said the exact same thing....'she isn't scared she's just being stubborn & naughty'. Unfortunately, she had failed to notice that the horse was shaking from head to toe, eyes wide with fear. That poor horse was terrified but no-one had noticed.

I don't think horses refuse to load through naughtiness. I do think that sometimes they are genuinely very, very scared and I think that sometimes they just don't think that it's in their interests to go in that box and it's our job to help them and motivate. :)
 
southerncomfort said:
I'm not going to advise as it sounds to me like you could do with a bit of professional guidance.

The only thing I would say is that I once watched a horse being loaded and the owner said the exact same thing....'she isn't scared she's just being stubborn & naughty'. Unfortunately, she had failed to notice that the horse was shaking from head to toe, eyes wide with fear. That poor horse was terrified but no-one had noticed.

I don't think horses refuse to load through naughtiness. I do think that sometimes they are genuinely very, very scared and I think that sometimes they just don't think that it's in their interests to go in that box and it's our job to help them and motivate. :)
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Excellent post. Some animals cope with fear by simply shutting down. One of mine (bought in) would plant when she got within 25 yards of the trailer and refuse to move. Three of us almost lifted her into the trailer one day when one of us notice she actually appeared to be asleep -- the ultimate shut down! I did eventually train her to load on command but it wasn't easy and took awhile.
 
muckypony said:
I'm a year into dealing with a bad loader and I have to say that firstly, you cannot say that's she isn't scared. You never know what's happened to them in the past.
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This. And saying your horse is 'just being a bitch' makes you sound ignorant and a bit novice. Horses never 'just do anything' for the sake of it. Get someone experienced and PATIENT to help with this.
 
I know my horse and I've seen my horse genuinely scared, about a lot of things. I've had a lot of practice in spotting her fearful behaviour. But she isn't scared about going into the trailer. She just doesn't like it. Which is understandable.

Thanks for all those who've posted helpful replies. I appreciate it.
 
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