Can anyone help me? What would you do?

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mole

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ok so i buy a trailer and my horse is quite happy to go up front or rear ramp, walk thro the trailer, stand have food/eat haynet, have partiton up, have front ramp up and front breast bar up and will happily go backwards while on the trailer, mill around and make sure shes in comfortable reach of hay etc - think you get the picture - BUT as soon as you tie her up and go to put the breech bar across she panics and runs backwards.
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what the best way of tackling this? thanks
 
How about leaving the front breast bar and ramp down when you load her? That way she has a front escape if she needs it (surely safer than running off backwards!) Then when she seems happy, do up the front bar
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I'm assuming you've tried the normal head-in-a-bucket-of-nuts routine?
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not long really but she was getting on so well that i jumped a few levels - you think that might have scared her? cos she was quite happy until i went out of the trailer to do the back bar and her bum was in the way so got her to move forward a bit and still i couldnt do it up and so asked her to move forward again and thats when she had her fit.
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maybe i took it a step to far with her.

other thing is that im trying to do it all on my own as i'll have to do it that way when im off the yard.
 
Depending on your definition of panic, I'm assuming you get the rear bar across, I'd whack the ramp up and see what she did. This is if she was say pawing, stomping or rocking the trailer. If she was actually throwing herself around, I wouldn't do this! ... I'm not sure what to suggest!
Sometimes, they seem to make a lot of noise and hoo ha but once you have set off they settle.
 
if i leave the front open and front bar open shes fine with that but if i wasnt holding her when i went to do rear bar then she'd prob just walk off the front ramp
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it seems to me like she does want to be hemmed in

what do you do if they start having a fit and you've done both bars up?
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shes got me a little worried
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shes 9 now and had her 1 1/2yrs but first year i was pregnant so cldnt do much with her.

she came to the yard in a trailer that had a partiton in it. but i didnt travel with her or see her be loaded.

i do have a full width breast bar but not a breech bar and shes happy with the partition. its just doing up the breech bar that she doesnt like
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i think when you say panic, not in a rude way but i dont think she really panics, ive seen a horse properly panic and that was scary, broke my friends mums hand, got its legs stuck etc. etc. that was panicking, kicked a massive dent in the trailer, bolted out of the trailer and across the feild, i think that she isnt really panicking as you say she would WALK off the trailer and although this may seem horrible but maybe just shut her in, just do it for like 10 secs, and then quickly get her out, dont try it again for a bit and next time try 20 secs and so on, but if she really is throwing herself about, stubbling about, rearing and kicking out dont do it!
 
i would say slow up big time before she panics completely and has an accident then she really will be scared of trailers. i would suggest at this stage you certainly need a hand to do up the tail bar and ramp whilst you quietly reassure her with her head in a bucket of nuts, personally i wouldnt close her in completely until you are ready to take her for a short journey, when concentrating on balancing will make it more difficult for her to leap around in there and hurt herself. my advice is dont rush it and just feed her in there each day until shes really relaxed.
 
Can you do the breast and breaching bars up with the rear and front ramps still open? if she is reasonably OK with this I'd take her in and do this every dinner time, so she got used to that with a pleasant experience, and then I'd progress to rear ramp up first then front then both together, still with a feed. I'd hold the dinner up to her when tied up though rather than untie her and risk her getting her neck under the breast bar.

I really do think you need a friend to do this, as so much can be prevented with someone at her head when you do the rear bar. Is she able to turn her head to see what the noise behind her is?
 
Continue to practise, walking in & out, with all partitions open. Then practise the command for her to stand whilst you raise the front breast bar, then reward. Remove front breast bar & walk off. Keep practising this & then introduce friend to put up the rear bar. Then if you are with her at the front you extend the time she stands before her reward whilst you walk off front ramp & then return. this is to get horse used to you walking out of sight (eventuallly you will be the one putting rear bar up. Have a lead rein already tied at the front ready to clip onto headcollar, I have experienced the same that when a horse is tied up at the front & pulls back (feeling pressure) then this can cause them stress fright & flight. Sorry for so long but it takes time & practise. Also bear in mind even if you are on your own at most yards, competitions, hunting etc there would always be a willing helper to put the rear bar up whilst you stand at the front. Stay calm and your horse will too. Good Luck & enjoy.
 
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but she was getting on so well that i jumped a few levels .

I think you've found your answer. Slow down and go back a few steps to something she is comfortable with. Make sure that you cover every steo, even if you don't need to spend long on some steps, at least then you'll know that she has completed every step and so has a firm foundation and if she isn't happy you can just go back to the last step she was happy with.
 
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if i leave the front open and front bar open shes fine with that but if i wasnt holding her when i went to do rear bar then she'd prob just walk off the front ramp
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it seems to me like she does want to be hemmed in


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One thing I would say is this: dont load her on your own! You need someone there to hold her and reassure her, whilst the other person calmly and quietly puts the ramp up
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