Bad travelling in trailer...ideas

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apple88

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Hi,

My horse has taken to travelling badly after travelling like a dream and im just after ideas really.

She can sometimes be reluctant to load but once in she would travel fine.
I travelled her with another horse a few months back and the back swinging partition (ifor with centre pole) came unattached from the pole, since then she had a few trips out with clattering in the back when you went round a bend- i can only assume she lent on the partition and then freaked as something touched her or the rubber skirt bit did.
Anyways, after a few quiet and steady journeys she was back to travelling well again. A month or so ago i went to a sponsored ride, a friend drove and she had an awful journey and pulled a back shoe off in the trailer clattering around.
I went out with her last week and before i had even left the yard she started clattering and when I got out to check she was sweated up and stressy and had got the back swing partition off its hook again.
so.. im thinking that a few quiet slow short jouneys to try and build her confidence up, ive also got some NAF Magic syringes to try and see if it will help settle her.
Any thoughts or ideas? i need to travel with her to get to lessons etc, its really frustrating.
Ive tried closing the back top doors up and cross tying, no difference.
anyone with similar experiences?

thanks if you have got to reading this far!
Happy New year to all!!!
 
Before anything else, I would check the trailer. Floor, suspension, brakes, tyre pressures, partition fixings - anything there will affect the ride.

Next up, try her without the partition (but you need full width breast and breech bars). She may simply want more room to balance.
 
Try her without the partition. Some horses brace themselves by placing their feet wide apart and she can't do that if the partition gets in her way. I sold one like that and her new owner never had a problem once she travelled her on her own without the partition.
 
Definitely check over the trailer, horses are often sensitive to a change in tyre pressure or a floor that might be starting to fail.

Another thing to think about is whether you think are sure she is 100% sound, travelling badly can be a sign that they are sore.

She has obviously scared herself a bit, if she were mine I would be travelling her with a rock solid companion until she is confident again.
 
I had a bad loader once, in the US. Fabulous horse, scared stupid to get on a trailer. After a few weeks, we put her in with a camera, and discovered that for whatever reason EVERY time we turned right, she would drop down and fall. No matter how wide/slow you went, tied or untied, partition or box stall....she fell. No wonder she was a bad loader! Vet found nothing interesting, and in the end she just stayed home as a lesson horse.

May want to try a camera- even a little GoPro taped in a corner, and just watch- I'm not sure about other types of camera, but my GoPro will feed to my phone via bluetooth, so is very handy to do quick jobs like that. It will give you some good clues as to what may be going on.
 
Thanks guys! i knew i could count on you for ideas!

Trailer is sound, i have it serviced by my mechanic every summer and have alui floor. I need really to travel two horses so im trying to persevere with the partition in, but also at the mo i dont want to travel with another incase she injures them. When i have travelled in company the two i ever travel with are perfect and very calm and they dont touch.
She is sound, in regular work. ive had her 6 years and only in the last few months this has started, ive tried travelling her on other side and no difference.
View- im wondering if the partition has scared her and now when we corner and she touches it she gets upset. The trailer has the flexible skirt under the partitions so she can spread out her legs.
Ive never travelled with no centre partition, id be scared she might fall over! would it be ok to try taking out the back partition and leave the front one and centre pole and cross tying so she cant move around too much? ...obs with only her in. Then nothing touching her bum..
Ohmissbrittany-go pro is a good idea, i have a friend that has one... then i can see what she is doing!
Im going to try and just lead her into trailer, then lead her in and shut her in with some apples on a regular basis to try and associate it with good things.
 
All the horses I have encountered who travelled badly in a trailer (including my own) all improved dramatically when travelled alone with no partition. It is a pain if you want to travel 2 horses, as it is obviously not possible and you may need to look at a lorry. Good luck.
 
hi there, going through exactly the same with a mare I have had for 5 years. never a problem, then last year travelled really badly on the right hand side twice, treading all over herself and cutting herself. moved her to the left and she was fine until 2 weeks ago and has since had x3 bad journeys. she can't seem to balance around a corner, fine in straight lines. I put the start of the issue due to travelling with a narky companion. but as been out twice since with her best buddy and is still unsettled. going on her own without partition isn't an option as she is used as a companion ride. I am for now just going to keep to short journeys with her best buddy with loads of leg protection on and hope she an get over it. good luck!
 
I would suggest that unless the trailer has been serviced very recently, or you are a mechanic and have given it a once over, you cannot know if it's mechanically sound if it was last serviced in the summer
 
Have you tried travelling her on the opposite side to usual. May be if she is freaking out when she leans on the partition leaning on it on her 'other' side might work.

Does the partition move when she leans against it? If there is some 'give' it might make her feel less secure.
 
Remove the partition.

The is an excellent video somewhere showing a horse travelling with and without a partition. The with partition is hard to watch as the animal is clearly distressed. Without, they can find their balance and seem much more relaxed.

I travel everything without a partition, in trailer and in my 3.5 van conversion. My mare has gone from being a reluctant loader to happily going up and putting herself into position. My solution? I took the partition out.
 
If you only travel her on her own I would echo the others re taking the partition out. If travelling with another horse try her on the other side. My old section d would not travel on the left hand side but as soon as we swapped the horses around he travelled like a dream! It did mean the heavier horse was on the left but it was much more preferable than having Dylan throwing himself around each time we reached a right hand bend!

Good luck, I know how stressful it is trying to solve travelling problems in a trailer!
 
If your horse is getting the breech bar down, are you putting the pin in from the correct side? And using the other breech bar in its fixed position to make it sturdy? The pin needs to go in from the horse side otherwise they're able to push it out.
 
So an update..
I had a short journey out with her round the block yesterday with just the front partition in so she could spread her back legs, and she was fine! she moved around a little but no more than balancing, there was no clattering or freaking out and when i opened the ramp she was not sweaty and quite calm!
Trules-that sounds just like mine! its a pain but i think il be travelling solo for a while at least.
Bollybop- yes totally agree as with cars things can always go wrong at any time but the last two times travelled (in December) the trailer partiton needed repairs so my mechanic who i trust 100% with a vast expericence checked everything and said nothing seemed amiss.
Carlosmum-yeah i tried the otherside first and hoped but no difference.
scats- il have a google later for that! no experience of travelling with no partition and im a bit scared! ive heard of people that do but i worry she will fall, mind you im towing so gently at the mo you could do the egg and spoon in there!
9tails, its not the breech bar thats coming down, the breach bars are holding it all together i think, she is getting the actual partition off the center pole in the middle, she broke the bottom hook so it was swinging at the bottom, if that makes sence, i had it all welded back on and she did the same. it seems she needs to stand wide with her back legs.
Ditch-jumper- that had crossed my mind but she is only 14.1 and wouldnt reach over door so not enough room for her head that way round!


Thank you so much guys for all your suggestions! i really appreciate it, it may be trial and error but with a vast experience on this forum there are things i havent thought of!!!

Just wondering now is is ok to travel on her own with the centre pole and front partition in place but no back partition, with her cross tied at the front so she cant move too much? Im worried if i take it all out and get full width breach bars she might fall over as never done that before.
 
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Dont worry about her falling over without the partition it won't happen. If you cross tie loosely at the front, (she has to be able to put her head down to balance), and you have a full width breast bar for her to lean on she'll be fine.
You'll need a full width breech bar to be safe loading and unloading.
 
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