Getting pony used to trailer..?

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diddy

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Hi all,

Am now the proud owner of my very own trailer :) I would really appreciate any ideas people have about getting pone used to it, as he is decidedly less excited than I am!

I have spent last few days feeding him in there, so after a bit of resistance he'll walk in and stay to eat his tea. He always seems pretty happy to come back out again though... So question is, at what point should I put the bar/ramp up..? I don't want to undo all our hard work but sooner or later I'd like to be able to take him somewhere!

Should I just go for it, shut the door & go for a quick drive round..? Or should I take it in stages..?

Not in any big rush, just trying to find a balance between taking our time & being a big wuss about the whole business!

Any ideas/experiences would be great, thank you!

Diddy x

P.S. Should add that with all the faffing about I'm getting much better at hitching, unhitching and parking so I'm actually less terrified of driving than I was - just want to get him in it now :)
 
I had to get pony used to it before moving.
Right or wrong, I spent time getting pony used to feeling her feet on the ramp and once she was comfortable with front feet on, I encouraged her up to put 4 feet on, then front feet inside trailer. I walked her on, stood for a few seconds and moved her out the front ramp. We did this several times and then I had her stand on for longer each time.
I then moved on to slowly closing the rear ramp once she was relaxed standing in the box.

When the time came to move her, she walked on, stood, she was a little nervous about the rear ramp going up (as it was the first time the front ramp hadn't been down) and she travelled fine although a little sweaty at the other end.

If the pony isn't too bothered, I would pop them on and go for a drive. I've had to break everything I do with mine into chunks.
 
With my baby cob I did the same as you, feeding in there a few times, then shut the ramp while feeding a few times, the ramp closing did scare him a bit at first so just kept with that til it didn't bother him.

Then would turn the engine on and leave him with it running for a bit then when he was ok with that progressed to a 2 min drive then 5 mins then 10.. You get the picture.

Took it really slow and steady but touch wood he still loads and travels wonderfully and I've never had any problems.
 
Thanks for that guys - slow and steady it is then! In the meantime, I have to move the trailer each time to be able to get him into it so it's very good practice for me too :)

Diddy x
 
I parked the trailer in the field..( with support under the rear of the trailer to stope it rearing up with weight of horse on ramp.)
then i spent a few minutes most days with the help of carrots and his feed, just tempting him up the ramp. in the end i could walk through and my horse would follow me,
The important thing to remember here is the support under the rear of the trailer and also you need it on solid ground. I was lucky enough to have a solid area to park it!
 
It is almost a case of you can't go slow enough! Ned will rememebr a bad experience with significantly more clarity than a good one and one wrong move will undo everything.
 
Ah yes, already discovered that it's better to be hitched up so as not to wobble all over the place when you're practising in the field :) And Shay - that's exactly where I was coming from too - would rather take it slow than do something that might put him off for life.

Thanks all - guess what I'll be doing this weekend..?!

Diddy x
 
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