advice pleeeease. pony reversing out of the trailer

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emmilou

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Hi all,
need some general advice and help really. my pony always used to travel fine untill he fell in a trailer one day when he was being moved to a new yard. since then i have not been able to travel him as he seems to reverse out the trailer as soon as you leave his side. he will go in and will stand with you but as soon as he gets any drift that you plan on shutting the ramp, he reverses out at 100 miles an hour. ive tried feeding him in there, letting him wonder in and out but everythings always very smooth and clam until i go for the ramp. it can be closed but im scared to in case he panics and hurst himself.
does anyone have any tips on how to calm him and stop him panicking?
thanks
 
Ive no advice Im afraid but just wanted to say I had exactly the same problem. My horse travelled great in the trailer after only ever travelling in a wagon. He had a great smooth journey but he shot off at full speed down the front ramp. Didnt think too much of it but he did it next time too when just practicing so I was told to practice reversing him out instead. This was a big mistake as from then on he was a nightmare, whizzing out at 100mph backwards, bent the ramp, whacked his head and was dangerous to handle so I eventually gave up. He is now slowly regaining his confidence in a wagon again after taking over an hour to load, whizzing out backwards each time.
I did spend weeks feeding him in it with the ramp down but each time we attempted to raise it he freaked out.
I really hope things work out for you.
 
no it doesnt have a front unload but i have tried that and it was a mistake. as soon as he realised he could escape out the front! that was it! pony on the rampage!
louby....that sounds almost exactly what ive got on my hands.....i suppose ill keep trying. its just so fustraiting that he used to be such an angel...
dam pony!
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My horse has had the same problem after a trailer 'incident' in a trailer with no front ramp and I much prefer travelling her in a lorry but on the odd occasions she goes in a trailer I undo the front ramp and the front bar so that when she looks for an escape route, the obvious one is in front of her - I stand her slightly more torwards the front than necessary while somebody quickly and quietly does up the breach bar and ramp and then I move her back a little and do up the breast bar.
Its not ideal and I do not relax until the back is done up, because I know how quickly it can all go wrong, but it is workable. Everytime you use this trailer with out front unload you are confirming to your pony that the way out is backwards so as soon as he feels worried he opts out and goes backwards - I would suggest that you use a trailer with front unload and attempt to convince him that the exit is forwards - if you are worried about him trying to rush out I would suggest that you do all this in bridle + lunge rein and be sensible, wear hat and gloves. You will need to stand with him while the back is done up so that he does not try to come out backwards with you. Horrible accidents can happen in these situations. Make sure whoever is doing up the ramp does so whilst standing at the side of it not directly behind it - just in case he does make a hasty rear exit.
Good Luck x
 
Have you investigated those breech bars that you can fasten single handed from standing by the horse's head? Not sure what they're called - Safety Bar or something - but they look a really good idea. Someone on the forum will know!!!
 
It's best to have 2 people to load this kind of problem pony.

You load your pony, once he is in, give him a small feed of something delicious, mix or nuts so he is distracted when the other person put the ramp up.

Practice this and also practice, having him come into the trailer, waiting with you and have the breaching strap across but the ramp not up, then tie him/her up and leave the trailer gradually, talking in a reassuring voice all the time.

Try to be relaxed about the situation as you will transfer any of your own anxiety to the pony.

Practice putting him/her on the trailer just for 10 mins as often as you can, using this safe method.
 
I have a TUI bar, which wasn't cheap but is a god send when you are travelling on your own with no help.

I had a mare that the moment you left her she was out of there, and even sometimes when you didn't.

I simply walk in with them pull the bar up and they are trapped!! Mine now don't even think of running out backwards (I do have front unload)
 
[ QUOTE ]
I have a TUI bar, which wasn't cheap but is a god send when you are travelling on your own with no help.

[/ QUOTE ]

CotswoldsSJ - could you tell me more about this bar please? I also have to load alone. I have a front unloader, and my mare has never reversed when she's in (I don't actually think she realises she can walk backwards!) but would be interested to know how it works.

Thanks
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I had this problem with my big lad who hated my trailer - I wouldn't say he likes it now but he tolerates it. I tried everything I could think of; loading in a chifney, in a bridle, feeding him on there, leading him in and out, unloading him backwards (mine has front unload), putting hay in, not putting hay in, brute force... All culminated in him nearly breaking my ankle trampling me to get out.

I ended up getting an IH (Kelly Marks) person out to sort it out as I used up every idea I had. I got a dually, did a couple of weeks of groundwork with him under the guidance of another livery who does a lot of IH stuff. My boy needed to learn to stand where I put him and some general manners. The IH associate came out and was really helpful. She said to me that loading problems are usually indicative of something else - in my horses' case, it was a general lack of respect and knowing he was bigger than me, so thought he could do what he liked. The dually is brilliant, occasionally he still buggers about in a normal headcollar on but the minute the dually goes on, he just knows and is a lamb. She did a lot of work with me getting him walking forwards, backwards, moving sideways, a bit of turn on the forehand. Then she worked on getting him walking up the ramp and back out, walking up and standing. We then tried walking him up, standing at the front ramp, then leading down the front (he used to take off down it, usually crushing me in the process and would then take off to the yard!). Once he learnt that he had to stand still til she let him move, he was much better. After that we practised with the breach bars up (had never managed it before), and finally with the back ramp and front ramp up. Before this, on the off chance I could get him to stand in the trailer long enough to get the ramp up, he would just panic and kick like hell in there. Within 40 mins with this lady, he was standing in there quietly without panicking. She got me to do some loading with him and also taught me some tricks (for want of a better word) to distract him while someone puts the ramp up. I do still need an extra person to help me load, but only to put the ramp up. I still can't put hay in the trailer before he's loaded otherwise he takes a mouthful and reverses out, but once he's in and the ramps are up, he will stand nicely and I can put his hay in then. She also told me that when we arrive at our destination, I should put the front ramp down, then the bar, stand at his side and then feed him )even if just a few mouthfuls) before leading him out. That way, his last memory of the trailer is something nice - and incidentally, doing this has also stopped him being such a git to feed!

It really is worth getting a dually and an IH recommended associate out to help. Best few quid I've spent and it wasn't as expensive as I expected. I'm not a complete convert and there's still a lot in there I don't agree with/that doesn't suit me, but it was really useful for sorting my boy out. We've still got practise to do and you do have to reinforce the groundwork regularly but it's worth a go.
 
I would practice loading him, and feeding him in the trailer but not actually going anywhere, so he eventually gains his confidence in being in the enclosed space, if he wants to back out let him otherwise you are containing his fear and he will always do it, he needs to stay in on his own accord, so just keep doing it every evening, so it feels like he's coming into his stable, dont tie him up, stick a lunge rein on him, stick some gloves on and dont shut him in until he learn to stand quiet with the ramp open and secondly reverses out when you ask him to not when he chooses to.

Takes time but you'll get there.
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hey thanks everyone for the advice. am going to try my hardest to make this work. have email someone (an IH person) to see if they can help. i definatly dont want to upset him but im sure he will get there with a bit of TLC
smile.gif

will keep you all posted!
 
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