Help please what would you do ..................

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Scoopy

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I'm so bloody fed up ...........

Right this could be a long one

Well my boy always travelled in a lorry fine, never had one problem was always quite too.

Now i have a trailer, he is kicking the crap out of it !

Right Sat, i loaded everything i needed to go, even the engine was running so i could just get in and go, i was taking 2 (thought this might be quieter for him) , put him in first and put the bar up behind, then he decided to start kicking out, it was not safe to load the other horse so yes i done the wrong thing and unloaded him, so put other quite horse in first then him whacked the ramp out and went, and he still was kicking but once on the road not one kick or bang from him, i got to the venue and made him stand in the box with it all open, and he was fine, even when i came home he was fine and i made him stand there, for a good 10 mins.

Now i feel i cant load him on his own unless i throw him in fast whack the ramp up and go !

Should i have just left him in there ?

What would you do ?

Please any help would be great !

I feel upset over this !
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I'd just keep up with the loading and going since he's fine travelling and at the show ground.

Last mare only option was load her from field and go straight away then groom and pamper once you were there as she'd then stand tied up like an angel. She never ever stood nicely on the box.

You have to work with them sometimes, eventually you may find he just improves with time.
 
I think it may be just a time and patience issue. If he was fine when he gets going and good at the venue then he doesn't seem frightened of the trailer. I think you just have to perserve and hope he improves & try to block out the kicking & hope your trailer floor is good.
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If its any comfort my horse does this, he always knows when he is 5 mins from home and starts scraping the floor like made. He's not little either, a big 17hh. You've got to love them !
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Just to add, when i went XC schooling the other week, i loaded him and just got on the road, and he started the kicking thing again !

But when i got there, i even tacked him up in the trailer, he was quite as a mouse ???????????????????
 
Mine used to kick the ramp at first, he doesn't do it now. Your horse doesn't sound too bad, because he was OK when you were travelling and stood quietly. It is probably a different feeling to travelling in a lorry.

Sometimes horses travelling in a trailer find the space restricting and need more room to spread their legs to balance, but yours seemed to be OK.

They get a better journey in a lorry, as there is better suspension, so it probably feels a bit bumpy for him. Just drive carefully and smoothly and he will probably improve.
 
Leave him to it. He'll sort himself out and learn that standing still is the best option, if he continues to load he obviously isnt scared.
Excitement maybe?
 
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Some horses just do bang until you get going. Don't worry about it.
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So your saying he is normal ?
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How'd you think Thumper got his name?????
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Some horses just do bang until you get going. Don't worry about it.
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So your saying he is normal ?
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How'd you think Thumper got his name?????
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Really i feel i am alone on this one
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I would stick with it and persevere
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Mine kicks out with his back feet when he gets on and has a wee temper tantrum. I've watched him a few times and he just sort of lifts his back legs up like he's trotting in the box with his back feet. I think it is anticipation, impatience or excitement. He loads very well so i reckon if it was fear or stress he would just plant and not get on the box.
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The thing is he is kicking out when the ramp is down and only the bar behind him GULP

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Give him a whack on the arse then with a stick, and tell him to cut it out!
 
I too have just started trailering my horse - first journey on Sunday. He stamped about a bit until we got going then all was quiet (except on the roundabout when he either stamped or kicked) until we got back on the yard lane, then he started stamping/kicking out again. But he seemed happy enough in there (if a little wary) and didn't rush to come off when I took the bars down, just carried on eating his hay for a minute. The I reloaded him a couple of times and he was fine to go back on it...so I don't think he hated the journey.

As long as your horse is loading fine and coming off calmly I would try not to worry about it too much...
 
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The thing is he is kicking out when the ramp is down and only the bar behind him GULP !

Thats why i whack the ramp up fast GULP !

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That is *exactly* what darce does. You put the bar on and he walks back to sit on it whilst you are trying to secure it and then once you've struggled for long enough he takes a step forwards and starts stomping with back feet.
I should say he doesn't kick backwards to make contact whilst you are there, he just stamps a lot, sometimes front leg as well. (temper I say!)
 
did he travel herringbone in the lorry? and now he's travelling straight in the trailer?
one of my horses had to switch the other way, from straight in small lorry to herringbone in bigger one, and kicked like mad for about 10 journeys, to register his displeasure at the change, and then never did it again after that.
just weather the storm. load the other horse first, obv, for safety, as you did.
 
I can sympathise with you but my mare is a lot more extreme to the point that she tries to throw herself on the floor!! If its just kicking then i would tend to ignore it as much as possible or a sharp tug on the lead rope and tell him to cut it out.
My girl can be pretty scary when she gets going, but she managed to do a 6 hour trip last week and all went well so just perserve!
 
My mare hates the trailer - she is fine with a lorry even the small ones but show her a trailer and she strops the whole way there and back.
 
He travelled backwards in the lorry, and is now facing forwards. Facing backwards seems to be the easiest way for horses to travel, so maybe he is objecting to the change. Could you do a test in a back-facing lorry to see if it makes any difference?
Also, in my back-facing lorry, once they are loaded they have solid "walls" in front and behind. In a trailer they've got open space behind, which can also cause some to react differently, sometimes by wanting to run backwards, sometimes by fidgeting.
Someone suggested hitting him with a stick. Good plan if you want to put him off going in a trailer for ever. Think like a horse "Go in trailer, feel a bit upset, get hit with stick...".
 
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