Difficulty loading onto 3.5 tonne horsebox!

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patp

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My friend has recently bought a horse who is proving difficult to load. He was ok the first couple of times they went to a show but is proving to be very difficult since then. My friend has been using Parelli training methods to try and load him, but these seem to have no effect. The horse seems to be ok once he has got on the box and eats his food and hay when he travels but he obviously has an issue about actually going onto the box.

They have taken to practising trying to load every single day which I personally think is not helping at all and will just make the horse dislike even the sight of a horse box. It is a real shame coz he is a lovely horse aside from this problem and they really love him. However, they like to compete so they need to try and find a way, if possible, to resolve this loading dilemma!
(Apparently the horse did show signs of not liking to load at his previous home but those people did not compete much so it wasnt really an issue with them.

Has anyone got any suggestions that might help my friends please?
 
Look up edde modde on youtube. My horse was a problem loader for 15 years before i tried it. Watched the video and read the free ebook. My horse was the worst loader anyone i have ever met knew! Pm me if you like and good luck!
 
Where in the country are you/friends?
Its prob a good idea if they called in a professional to give them a session for assistance - they can then have 1st hand advice & the pro will be able to also see what they might be doing & offer alternative suggestions.

I know its easy to ask for advice on a forum, but those who truely are 'masters of problems' will possibly not add to threads on here.

Good luck & hope friends can get the help they need :)
 
I have had many tricky loaders over the years and all except one i managed to solve. It is finding the key for each horse. My current one would load one time, then not the next, but for no apparent reason. After much trial and error found flicking a lunge whip on the ground behind him did the trick. Now all i do is prop the lunge whip up against the horse box next to the ramp and he loads himself. Good luck and keep trying
 
caseycat said:
are you pat parelli?
sorry couldnt resist asking that :D
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Hi. No, I am definitely NOT Pat Parelli, I would never deprive my horses of water by only allowing them access to it twice per day - which it is alleged in the USA that Mr Parelli does - cruel I call it, if its true!
 
I think the best thing your friend can do is to drop the Parelli 'stuff' and get a good trainer to help her load the horse.
 
How does the horse lead at other times? Must say, I don't really rate the Parelli system. If it's not done right then it just leads to confused horses.
 
DanielleP said:
Look up edde modde on youtube. My horse was a problem loader for 15 years before i tried it. Watched the video and read the free ebook. My horse was the worst loader anyone i have ever met knew! Pm me if you like and good luck!
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Thanks for your reply and suggestion. I have not used You Tube before (I am an old nag!) but I will have a go - perhaps I will google the name as well!
 
The Fuzzy Furry said:
Where in the country are you/friends?
Its prob a good idea if they called in a professional to give them a session for assistance - they can then have 1st hand advice & the pro will be able to also see what they might be doing & offer alternative suggestions.

I know its easy to ask for advice on a forum, but those who truely are 'masters of problems' will possibly not add to threads on here.

Good luck & hope friends can get the help they need :)
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Hi. Thanks for taking the time to reply. Yes, I agree with what you say and they have already decided to hire in a professional. Sometimes I find that long term horse lovers have often experienced similar problems and I like to take all the advice I can get. Nothing is too much time or trouble to solve a problem for a horse - time and patience being the operative words!
 
amymay said:
I think the best thing your friend can do is to drop the Parelli 'stuff' and get a good trainer to help her load the horse.
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Thank you for your response. I totally agree with you. Personally, I actively dislike the Parelli system, and the man himself! (see my reply to another responder!). However, my friend thinks its amazing (she was Parelli trained)
and wont hear anything against it! They are going to hire in professional to help with the loading, so they tell me, but he/she will probably be a Parelli 'expert'! They are also attempting to load the poor horse every single day - how they think that this will help, I have no idea. Apart from making the horse miserable and them frustrated! I have to bite my tongue!
 
meandmyself said:
How does the horse lead at other times? Must say, I don't really rate the Parelli system. If it's not done right then it just leads to confused horses.
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Thanks for your response. The horse leads perfectly fine at all other times. I dont rate the 'Parelli' system myself (see my reply to Amymay!), but my friends swears by it. However, it hasnt solved her problem with loading her horse!
 
I have found a 'Dually' halter a godsend when loading - it puts pressure on the horses poll and by walking forward this pressure is then released, therefore encouraging the horse up the ramp.

My new chap was awkward loading initially in my side loading 3.5t - only a youngster and only ever travelled in a forward facing lorry with a rear ramp. I think he found it very confusing but after using the above halter, I resolved his loading issue and he goes in first time, everytime now.
 
Patp, my guess is that it is to do with the actual travelling. My horse loads and travels fine in a box, but is reluctant to load and travels poorly in a trailer. He is otherwise well mannered, i think he feels that there is not enough room in a trailer to spread is legs, the more frequently he goes in the trailer the worse he is to load in it. Richard maxwell is in the east of England and has a website.
 
If it's a big horse, perhaps it feels claustrophobic? One of the girls on my yard has just sold her trailer and bought a wagon because her horse didn't like to load. He goes fine in a wagon. Best of luck, hope you get it sorted xx
 
The Fuzzy Furry said:
Where in the country are you/friends?
Its prob a good idea if they called in a professional to give them a session for assistance - they can then have 1st hand advice & the pro will be able to also see what they might be doing & offer alternative suggestions.

I know its easy to ask for advice on a forum, but those who truely are 'masters of problems' will possibly not add to threads on here.

Good luck & hope friends can get the help they need :)
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Ditto getting a professional in; mine was a proper Toad to load and I got a professional in and she loaded the blighter in under 10 mins, THEN showed me how to do it and keep him good to load.

The problem is that the horse is getting the idea - at the moment - that loading involves an "issue", and that cycle needs to be broken asap. Personally I wouldn't try loading the horse again UNTIL an expert is there to see what's going on and offer advice, so that a habit pattern isn't given the chance to develop.
 
Sidney said:
I have found a 'Dually' halter a godsend when loading - it puts pressure on the horses poll and by walking forward this pressure is then released, therefore encouraging the horse up the ramp.

My new chap was awkward loading initially in my side loading 3.5t - only a youngster and only ever travelled in a forward facing lorry with a rear ramp. I think he found it very confusing but after using the above halter, I resolved his loading issue and he goes in first time, everytime now.
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Hi, thank you for your help. I will suggest they try the Dually halter and see if they will listen!
 
fjordhorsefan said:
If it's a big horse, perhaps it feels claustrophobic? One of the girls on my yard has just sold her trailer and bought a wagon because her horse didn't like to load. He goes fine in a wagon. Best of luck, hope you get it sorted xx
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Hi. Thanks for your reply. My friend hasnt got a trailer it is a side loading horsebox. He is a big horse and I agree with you that he may feel claustrophobic even though its a box.

I am hoping they will give the horse a break now and wait for professional help, but I wont hold my breath!
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite said:
Ditto getting a professional in; mine was a proper Toad to load and I got a professional in and she loaded the blighter in under 10 mins, THEN showed me how to do it and keep him good to load.

The problem is that the horse is getting the idea - at the moment - that loading involves an "issue", and that cycle needs to be broken asap. Personally I wouldn't try loading the horse again UNTIL an expert is there to see what's going on and offer advice, so that a habit pattern isn't given the chance to develop.
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Hi. thanks for your comments which actually mirrored EXACTLY what I suggested to my friend, that by constantly trying to load the horse every day, she was actually creating an 'Issue' for the horse. She rejected my suggestion and said she wanted to do it 'her way'. I understand what she says as there is nothing worse than a 'horsey know it all person' telling you what you are doing wrong, is there! However, they are going to get professional help and maybe they will discontinue their efforts until the helps arrives! Here's hoping!:)
 
Has your friend's 3.5 got a split ramp? And could the top ramp be a bit 'saggy', i.e. not springing to full open height? Those springs do wear out quickly and my perfect loader became quite reluctant until I worked put that he thought he wouldn't squeeze under!
 
I cured my horse of refusing to load in side loading 3.5 tonne, I did it every day but only when I had hrs so time was never a issue. I used a rope pressure halter a lunge line and created barriers each side ie a lunge line that would fall if needed. Once she would go in we did small drives I also took out the partition to give her more space and always have a lead rope ready to tie her too. It was always her decision to go in though.
 
sidewaysonacob said:
Has your friend's 3.5 got a split ramp? And could the top ramp be a bit 'saggy', i.e. not springing to full open height? Those springs do wear out quickly and my perfect loader became quite reluctant until I worked put that he thought he wouldn't squeeze under!
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This is worth checking, I noticed my horse was a bit reluctant to load but the struts holding the upper section up weren't working properly, as soon as I sorted that, he was fine. Not all 3.5kg boxes are suitable for bigger horses, my 16.2 travels fine etc but I wouldn't want anything bigger, some of the ones I looked at prior to buying this one, were really only suitable for ponies! I can def recommend Richard Maxwell halter and training method. i sorted a really difficult loader in a weekend and never had an issue with her again. My current oldie can take the mick, but I put the RM halter on him and he walks on the lorry no problem.
 
I don't post often but thought I would add, my cob has a problem turning to face the rear of the box, she would walk straight up, then when I would ask her to turn to face the back she would back out and get rather angry with me. I now turn her yo the front
 
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