Following on From Leaving ponies alone at shows....

3Beasties

3Beasties

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Didn't want to hijack that post!

How do you go about teaching a horse to stay on a lorry on their own?

I've recently started competing and most of the time will be going out and about on my own. Yesterday I left my horse tied to the lorry whilst I went to get my test sheets (there where no horses/cars close by that she could damage) and she stood quite happily munching on her hay net. I am however aware that this is not the ideal situation and she should be stood on the lorry instead.

It's not something I have tried with her so she might actually be fine about it but so far I've not felt brave enough to do it!

Loading is still a bit of an issue with her which does make it difficult to put her on and off the lorry but hopefully over time she'll get used to it.

I've been practicing loading at home so shall I now incorporate leaving her on-board whilst I'm doing yard chores or something?
 
As you say, practice makes perfect.
Try as often as you can - before a ride, after a ride, the opposite end of the day to riding, while tack cleaning etc etc
Take a friend when not competing & practice leaving horse on lorry while you are in earshot/sight at a local venue - even a car park a short drive from home.

Its always best if competing/travelling on your own, to:
a. ask the people with boxes/transport either side to keep an eye on your box for you if you have to leave it, and
b. leave your mobile number on a laminated sheet firmly stapled to the partition or ramp doors as an 'in case of emergency' and a 2nd one plonked on the dash.

I have another sheet that I put on the dash, if am out riding from the box - it says 'in any emergency with rider or horse, please telephone.........' - I have my DH's work & mobile numbers on it, sometimes adding a good friends number if needed (like if going hunting etc)
 
We had to take my husband's 4yr old when I was eventing my mare as she got stupidly stressed alone in the trailer. Initially my husband used to stay with him and make a fuss of him. He neighed and pawed the first time, but soon realised that it was quite nice watching the world go by from his vantage point. We always made sure he had really good hay or haylage to keep him interested. I've got a lovely photo of him at a show with a really busy carpark, and all hell going on around him, and he is asleep with his head resting on the trailer front ramp and his lip drooping. Definitely try and rope someone with a clue of how to calm a hyper horse down into going with you the first few times. Try and find really quiet, small shows initially rather than throwing him in at the deep end with loudspeakers, tents and bunting..

Tips that may help -
Always park the trailer/box so that the horse has a view of what is going on, they're much happier. Usually when they can hear but not see is when they get worried.
If your horse has haylage try and get some hay to take, or if he has hay try and take haylage. My two always seem more engrossed in a "new feed". I also tip a bucket of water over the net to keep them from feeling agitated due to thirst.
If it is a hot day try and park the box/trailer under a tree or in a breeze. I open the back ramp to allow air in if its a warm day, but still keep the front ramp up (top bit open).
Echo the above points, leave a phone no on view.

Also, with my more highly strung mare, I find she stands on the trailer alone better if she has been off and done some work first. I would also get them used to going and standing on with more experienced horses first if they've not been to a show.
 
Thank you, great idea to put contact numbers up for when I'm not there.

Will start practicing leaving her on the lorry this week as am hopefully competing again at the weekend :)
 
When we eventer, and had to walk course or go to get numbers ect, we left horse on lorry with hay, and stuck a notice on lorry with mobile number for emergency contact, no one ever called us!! But that was just in case horse kicked off or something, we never left tied to lorry unless one of us stayed with him.
 
All of ours HAVE to be reliable left tied to lorries, trees, picket lines, whatever: anything else is not an option, just the way we have to be able to manage our horses. So, they MUST tie, MUST be sensible left alone, MUST be happy left on lorry/trailer, etc. Any nutters are swiftly dealt with (i.e. ignored until they settle, or sold on).
 
Honey08 said:
We had to take my husband's 4yr old when I was eventing my mare as she got stupidly stressed alone in the trailer. Initially my husband used to stay with him and make a fuss of him. He neighed and pawed the first time, but soon realised that it was quite nice watching the world go by from his vantage point. We always made sure he had really good hay or haylage to keep him interested. I've got a lovely photo of him at a show with a really busy carpark, and all hell going on around him, and he is asleep with his head resting on the trailer front ramp and his lip drooping. Definitely try and rope someone with a clue of how to calm a hyper horse down into going with you the first few times. Try and find really quiet, small shows initially rather than throwing him in at the deep end with loudspeakers, tents and bunting..

Tips that may help -
Always park the trailer/box so that the horse has a view of what is going on, they're much happier. Usually when they can hear but not see is when they get worried.
If your horse has haylage try and get some hay to take, or if he has hay try and take haylage. My two always seem more engrossed in a "new feed". I also tip a bucket of water over the net to keep them from feeling agitated due to thirst.
If it is a hot day try and park the box/trailer under a tree or in a breeze. I open the back ramp to allow air in if its a warm day, but still keep the front ramp up (top bit open).
Echo the above points, leave a phone no on view.

Also, with my more highly strung mare, I find she stands on the trailer alone better if she has been off and done some work first. I would also get them used to going and standing on with more experienced horses first if they've not been to a show.
Click to expand...

Thank you, some more great tips.

All our shows are quiet at the moment so hopefully that is a good starting point :)

Unfortunately I don't have an experienced horse to put with her.

I was told when I bought her that they used to leave her on the lorry alone when they were riding the others so it might e me rather than her that is the problem, will have to try it and see.


When leaving them on a lorry would you give them more room than normal? or the same amount as they'd travel with?
 
Trailer story not lorry but my last hunter used to go mad if stood on the trailer on her own at the meet or whatever. I used to ignore it - the screaming, banging and frantically rocking trailer - and after a while she got much better, although was always a bit restless. I never gave her extra space as I felt that with limited space she could do limited harm. I always used to be nearby but out of sight while this was going on.
 
I also wondered this. In my case I dont have a lorry to practice with. My pony travelled fine when I rented one but he reared and kicked when it was still, his ears were so pricked they nearly met in the middle and his eyes were shining as if he was excited, we couldnt leave him for a minute alone, couldnt tie him to the outside (request of the lorry company) we had no intentions of leaving him alone but couldnt even leave him to get a drink from the cab!
 
I leave them the same space (you still don't want them being able to turn round or jump over the front bar/door. I do slacken the leadrope a bit more so they can see put their heads over the door. Obviously when my husband's gelding came with my mare to ODEs I would take him off the trailer when we'd done and ride him around for twenty mins for a good leg stretch or take him to graze with my mare post wash for half an hour.

If there are others on your yard, try having her on the transport regularly, perhaps an hour an evening, so she gets used to standing there eating while yard life goes on around her?
 
It's just me on the yard but will practice with my other two loose by.

I guess if it becomes an issue I could always drag my Section A along to comps but that would mean she'd have to be left while I was riding, plus not sure I want to take 2 out on my own!
 
Another thing I do; my current ride is travelled on pillar ropes & wider partition (as suits her).
When I arrive, if I have to toddle off, I adjust the partition to the more usual width so she is closed in more & also adjust the pillar ropes so she is still secure but cannot do much damage (but she is happy to be left for a bit if she is eating, just shouts a bit)
 
Just load her on and increase the time before you actually drive off, and when you arrive, increase the time she stands on before you unload. Never unload when she is kicking up a fuss.

When I was a kid nothing loaded well then once it was on kicked hell out the trailer so we would thewell style get them in, ramp up and drive off as fast as possible. Doing the opposite gets you a calm horse.

I also don't rush to shut the ramp, and open the ramp and don't get the horse out straight away.
 
FfionWinnie said:
Just load her on and increase the time before you actually drive off, and when you arrive, increase the time she stands on before you unload. Never unload when she is kicking up a fuss.
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I have been working on it, we stopped for petrol the other day which was a major moment for me! She didn't seem to mind and I was even relaxed enough to grab a sandwich in the garage! At the comp on Sunday I also left her on while I got changed/made a phone call so I am getting better at not dragging her off as soon as we arrive!


FfionWinnie said:
When I was a kid nothing loaded well then once it was on kicked hell out the trailer so we would thewell style get them in, ramp up and drive off as fast as possible. Doing the opposite gets you a calm horse.
Click to expand...

This is how I've have been but I am getting more relaxed about it. I really want to get to the stage where I am completely relaxed about loading, travelling, leaving on lorry etc, I know until I truly do, the horse won't!
 
I left my pony tied to the trailer with the ramp down at a show while I went to the Ice cream van. On my way back I panicked because he wasn't there any more. He'd untied himself and loaded himself back in the trailer.
 
A nice big hay net is always a good starting point! I never leave my mare tied up to the lorry - I will always load her back up and close the partitions if I am leaving her. A couple of the venues that I go to have a rule that horses must not be left unattended and tied to lorries / trailers, which is a good rule to have IMO. She did used to get a bit stressy about being able to hear and not see (I have a side ramp, so its not always that easy to park so that she can see), but she's got over it now and stands really patiently while I faff around.

When we were between classes I did use to open the door between living and her so that she could see me and I would talk to her. But TBH now, she couldn't really care less if I'm there or not, so it means I can leave the door closed and not get hay all over the living :D
 
You travel your horses in the trailer/lorry along public roads without them injuring themselves (hopefully) so on the trailer/lorry at an event must be safer than tied outside.

I've found that by allowing my horse to make the decision to go on, initially with the help of an annoying Parelli stick, made her a much better traveller than the previous drag method of getting her on. So if you can work on your horse being pleased to get on the trailer/lorry and have a treat in there I believe you'll have a better traveller who is happy to stand in there when you've come to a standstill.
 
9tails said:
I've found that by allowing my horse to make the decision to go on, initially with the help of an annoying Parelli stick, made her a much better traveller than the previous drag method of getting her on. So if you can work on your horse being pleased to get on the trailer/lorry and have a treat in there I believe you'll have a better traveller who is happy to stand in there when you've come to a standstill.
Click to expand...

Annoyingly she loads perfectly when we practice at home, more or less trots up the ramp! As soon as she knows we are going somewhere though she tries it on, is very easy to load if I have a second person to help but not that easy when I'm on my own.
 
Mine stands perfectly on the lorry being very well travelled, but if leaving for longer periods of time (or just once they're off the lorry!) or with a friend having just gone away I prefer to leave him tied up outside. He ties perfectly but does get bored like all ponies and gets his feet on the tack locker or pushes under partitions after a couple of hours. Much safer for him tied outside.
 
Our horses stay on the lorry at shows, they are tied to a ring so they are secure & additionally the partition is closed for additional safety. They are tacked up on the lorry as well, again this is for security & safety. They are used to this & load, unload well & are perfectly happy to stand on there. The vast majority at BS Shows do this & as a result there are rarely loose horses.

Many shows do not allow horses to be tied up outside lorrys & trailers & left & I can understand why. They also don't allow haynets to be tied outside a trailer or lorry as it causes too much mess that the venue has to clear up.
 
This is all very interesting as I've only just started leaving mine unattended in the trailer & have been feeling very conflicted! I almost always travel on my own so need to leave him to get number etc.

Just wondering - those of you who leave something open for them - we don't have a front ramp only a jockey door. When I left him on the weekend I closed it as I was worried it might be too much of a temptation for him to try & wiggle under the breast bar (don't think he can but wouldn't stop him trying!) But if I close it, he's shut in & can't really see anything. Should I leave it open..? He's a very sensible boy but not that keen on travelling (are any of them?!) so don't want to cause him any more stress than necessary :)

D. x
 
Thought I would give you all a little update.

Went to our busiest show to date this morning, my friend came with me but I didn't want to use her as a way of avoiding leaving Missi alone so she was there as a 'just in case'.

I hadn't practiced loading/standing her on the box this week so I wasn't sure if I'd even get her loaded but gave it a try before my friend turned up. She loaded fine so I left her on the box while I loaded the last few things, got changed and waited fro my friend to arrive. Missi was obviously feeling impatient as spend alot of the time scraping at the floor but other then that didn't do anything.

When we arrived at the venue I left Moo on the box and went to enter and walk the course, friend was happy to stay at the lorry but was to ignore the beast unless she really kicked off and then she should phone me! Thankfully no phonecall and no problems, apparently there wasn't a murmur out of her so that was a great start.

After our classes we loaded her up (with a bit of persuasion and then left her while we went to watch the end of the class and get some lunch. I kept an eye on her from a distance but she didn't seem to traumatised by the fact she was left unattended on the lorry.

So all in all a positive outing. I'm getting more and more confident about the whole travelling thing and Missi seems to be taking it all in her stride. I still won't feel 100% about going on my own just yet but hopefully it won't be long before I do :)

Thank you for your positive stories, words of wisdom and advice, it made me man up a bit and just get on with it!
 
Well I think that is a result to be honest mine are great when going anywhere alone but the minute you add another they become joined at the hip and a nightmare even if they have never met before so If I am leaving one alone I take it with me taking one she will stand calmly and eat or not as the case may be and if taking two they always only stay on the trailer together otherwise they have a human attached to them. But if taking two we usually have at least two extra pairs of hands and OH stays with them when left on the trailer in pairs in case of trouble so keep going alone dont be tempted to take another it quadruples the trouble and isnt worth it unless you have plenty of help
 
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