Help with a Loading Nightmare

[LauraThompson]

I am the owner of a 16.2 IDxTB 10year old gelding who up until last year was a dream loader...
Last summer on the way to a show he got stuck under the tail bar of my ifor williams 510 trailer after he spooked whilst the second horse was being loaded. I have tried without any sign of improvement over the last year to restore my horses faith in travelinging in the trailer.
He has traveled twice in the last year in a 3tonne lrroy with company but was extremely reluctantant and the whole procress was very stressfull, he has loaded once into the trailer following strong IV sedation also.

I am now asking for the help of anyone who has been in this situation and been able to fix this problem or if anyone knows of a training tacktic or trainer, I have previously tried a natural horsemanship specialist in my local area (Sussex) who did not seem to make much/any progress. I really feel I have tried everything I could think of even opening the inside of the trailer up and standing in it to eat feeds.

Thank You,
Laura

 

[Cortez]

Have you tried travelling him without the central divider?

 

[J&S]

Rescue Remedy! Give him a few drops on a slice of carrot with a little dip cut into it, cover with the other half of the slice, give to him a while before loading, load, give him a little more just before setting off.

I found this out from a wonderful book on Complete Holistic Care and it worked for my mare. She has travelled literally hundreds of miles absolutely perfectly since the intitial problem. We gave it to her each time we travelled her for about 6 months, then she had a 6 month break from competing/hunting and never needed it again.

Its worth a try, sometimes the simplest methods can work!

 

[LauraThompson]

No I havent been able to try traveling him without the divider as he now wont stand in the trailer long enough to do the the ramp up, he will literally stand on the flat bed with his front feet and keep his back feet on the ramp. If i try to encourage him any further inside he just runs backwards...

I will try the rescue remedy, thanks for that tip. Did your mare have problems to this extent? I appreciate Im in an extremely rare possition.

 

[MagicMelon]

I would leave the trailer in his field, take out the partition completely and leave all ramps down (including front). Then put every single feed in it every day, slowly moving it further and further through the trailer until its on the top of the front ramp etc. Or if he's stabled at night for example you could leave it in the gateway to his field so he has to go through it to get out. This is the sort of thing I'd try but you'd need to do it for some time I think so it becomes absolutely no deal whatsoever. He's had a scare so you need to go for the softy softy approach IMO and this way, its his own choice to go in as well which is better.

 

[irishcob]

I would have recommended either Rosie Jones or Jim Goddard, both who are in your area (you can google either). However, if you've already tried a local practitioner without much joy, I can imagine you may be reluctant.

I think MagicMelon is bang on with their advice. Keep it all low key, no pressure, and let walking through the trailer become his idea. I especially like the one about leaving the trailer in the gateway so he walks through it to his field - brilliant! (He may find it easier if he follows a friend the first couple of times).

Good luck!

 

[aattall]

Richard Maxwell - my boy suddenly stopped loading for no apparent reason. 16.2hh young and not against throwing himself about! Richard turned up at our yard, lunged him in the school for a few minutes to remedy some issues and then had him walking up and down the horsebox pretty much by himself. he gave us tips and a 6 month guarantee, that was over 2 years ago and he still loads without hesitation. 3 more girls from my yard used him with the same success

 

[Orangehorse]

The leading through the trailer to the field sounds like a good idea - but it should be attached to a vehicle as it isn't really safe to use just by itself.

If you leave a trailer in the field block in the hitch area so they can't get tangled up in it (and break a leg, which has happened).

Since the horse has had a fright and pain it is going to be a hard job, maybe Richard Maxwell would be a good idea as he has had lots of experience.

 

[Nightmare before Christmas]

As I said on another thread, my 4year old was awful. Not scared, just very stubborn and would happily walk on when its his idea, normally an hour later!

It used to take 4 people, lunge ropes and a long time!

Today I lunged him and decided to load him on my own and keep doing it everyday and he can be fed and groomed on the lorry.

Different horse! Walked on after a minute or so of standing planted! TWICE!

I am impressed! Dont worry, your horse will come eventually!

 

[J&S]

Hi OP, re my previous post recommending Rescue Remedy, this mare would load Ok but she scrambled really badly any time we went down hill, as we live in Devon this was a nightmare!

My previous NF mare had never been good to load but became really bad after she had had an uncomfortable journey on the very back stall of a big lorry. I took her to our local " horse whisperer" and spent a horrid afternoon with alot of ropes, enough to haul the entire Cunard Line around, all to no avail. We went back the next week and tried a totally different tactic. She was put into a stable, the lorry was parked right up close with a big bucket of food inside. We just waited and up she went to eat from the bucket. We took her out and repeated several times, basically she was loading herself. There was no where else to go than up into the lorry. We then used the same method from home, backing the transport into the front of an American Barn and letting her march on up. This tactic worked so well that on one occasion I was hacking back from a local show and a passing haulier who i had used stopped and asked if we wanted a lift........ down came the ramp, up went the pony right by the side of the road! No more loading problems.

Horses and ponies do really have to decide for themselves that the whole procedure is "safe", anything else is very distressing for all invloved, but once
this mental "safety" structure is in place and all efforts to travel slowly and carefully are adhered to so that they are physically comfortable, balanced and well ventilated then even very long journeys do not seem to bother them.

I do hope your problem will be resolved in the near future.

 

[Sprig]

Re: not being able to try without the partition as you can't get the ramp up before he reverses down. You can get full width breach bars. You need breach and breast bars if you are to travel him safely without the partition anyway. Echo what the others said about practicing walking through, then stopping and then shutting him in. Make sure he is happy at each stage before moving on.

 

[soloequestrian]

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=518139&highlight=solo+harness