Give me hope - trailer travelling!

[canteron]

My pony has never been a good loader- but it’s always been ok.
I took her to her first show a few weeks ago, and when the trailer was opened she was petrified of all the action - this is a pony who is normally calm and takes things in her stride.
When I next got the trailer out she refused to go near it. But working very slowly (every day for a week) we got to the point she will load ok and today we went for our first trip - 5 mins at 20 mph and ending where we started (apparently some horses get destination anxiety). She was furious and a little bit scared.

Will we get there with perseverance, or do some horses never travel well?

Or do I need to buy a new huge box - eek!

Give me hope!

 

[splashgirl45]

One of mine suddenly couldn’t balance in the trailer so we travelled her without the partition and she was ok as she put herself in the herringbone position , she could travel ok in a forward facing horse box but not the trailer..

 

[HopOnTrot]

My mare travels fine rear facing, ok without a partition, anxious in a 510 and bloody awful in a 505. You may need to find the right setup, I have a rear facing trailer and no partition and now she loads and travels beautifully and goes out every week without breaking a sweat.

 

[Orangina]

Also worth getting the trailer serviced in case there is something bothering the horse.
I have been having a few loading issues with a previous good loader, I started looking into potential discomfort but found nothing of note through vet checks (my previous experience of horses suddenly having issues loading has led to health issues being identified) . I have just noticed something wrong with the attachments of the roof of my trailer that I think may be bothering my horse. I have hesrd of previous tales of people discovering there was issues with their trailer floors etc and horse being reluctant to load onto it.

 

[Identityincrisis]

Absolutely they can improve with time and patience. My horse was terrified when he was young, he would come off the box with rivers of sweat running down him and he would explode off the box.

I would get him comfortable loading and unloading, then travel short distances, then take him to quiet venues. I took mine to local arena hires so we were the only ones there and there was no pressure of time or performing. I also took him for lessons to my instructor’s yard. Gradually, he realised he was always going home after and that travelling wasn’t so bad

 

[canteron]

Absolutely they can improve with time and patience. My horse was terrified when he was young, he would come off the box with rivers of sweat running down him and he would explode off the box.

I would get him comfortable loading and unloading, then travel short distances, then take him to quiet venues. I took mine to local arena hires so we were the only ones there and there was no pressure of time or performing. I also took him for lessons to my instructor’s yard. Gradually, he realised he was always going home after and that travelling wasn’t so bad

Thank you so much for sharing this - it gives me hope it’s worth persevering.

 

[Esmae]

Also worth getting the trailer serviced in case there is something bothering the horse.
I have been having a few loading issues with a previous good loader, I started looking into potential discomfort but found nothing of note through vet checks (my previous experience of horses suddenly having issues loading has led to health issues being identified) . I have just noticed something wrong with the attachments of the roof of my trailer that I think may be bothering my horse. I have hesrd of previous tales of people discovering there was issues with their trailer floors etc and horse being reluctant to load onto it.

I had this with my old horse. Refused to go in and had previously been a perfect loader and traveller. We checked the trailer and there was a problem with the floor. Fixed it and no further worry.

 

[Identityincrisis]

Thank you so much for sharing this - it gives me hope it’s worth persevering.

If i can do it, you can!!

I had a very bad experience travelling a different horse which left me with PTSD, i sorted myself which also helped the horse.

Things may not always go perfectly but little wins lead to improvement.

He can still get antsy but he’s an Arab so it’s in his nature

 

[canteron]

If i can do it, you can!!

I had a very bad experience travelling a different horse which left me with PTSD, i sorted myself which also helped the horse.

Things may not always go perfectly but little wins lead to improvement.

He can still get antsy but he’s an Arab so it’s in his nature

Your message was perfectly timed. After a horrible session yesterday, today pony loaded like a pro, travelled calmly (5 min trip) and walked off cool as a cucumber. Thank you for your encouragement.

 

[Identityincrisis]

Your message was perfectly timed. After a horrible session yesterday, today pony loaded like a pro, travelled calmly (5 min trip) and walked off cool as a cucumber. Thank you for your encouragement.

I’m so pleased it’s a very scary (for me at least) time when your horse mis behaves while travelling. But hopefully with this method you will see more and more small improvements until, just like me, you can confidently travel on your own

If you search my previous threads you would see how many questions I’ve raised about travelling because I was so scared!

 

[bubsqueaks]

Having had various horrible incidents over the years when travelling horses Im not the most confident so I make a concerted effort of ticking every box.
Do you have a camera in the trailer as this may help you see what she's doing or whats unsettling her?