buzzles
Well-Known Member
I'm having a problem with of my horses and have been racking my brains trying to find a solution but I think hobbles might be the way to go.
The horse loads and travels perfectly (in both of the trailers 510 and 505) partition, no partition, company, no company, long and short distances, stands at shows etc, he always has a haynet but coming home he starts pawing the floor 10-15 minutes from home and does it all the way home! He can be heard from home when we're about 5 min away! The trigger is the road from our village (about 10 min away) is very undulating and twisty - its known as the rollercoaster road! and once we hit this he knows we're nearly home and so gets impatient and starts pawing very vigorously. I don't think it's the road itself as he's fine going out and I do go very slowly. He really does it very vigorously and I need to find a way to stop him as he is going to damage the trailer, hes already bent one of the pins in the breast bar and knocked it down, he upsets the other horses (who are all good travellers) and he gets himself all worked up and sweaty. When he gets home he always has hay left in his haynet and he either gets tied up to get his bandages off (hes ripped his boots to shreds) or goes into his stable or might go out to the field- it depends what time it is and where hes been so its not like he just wants to get in for his dinner!
I dont know how to stop him- its been suggested I drive fast so he has to balance and cant paw but its a very undulating road, although the surface is smooth, and you do get that belly left behind feeling if you go too fast in the car so I creep along with the trailer and I dont want to upset and put him off loading, its also been suggested I brake suddenly to jolt him when he paws, but again I dont want to give him a fright.
So Im thinking hobbles on his front legs might work unless anybody has any other ideas?
Also those whove used hobbles for travelling before, did they work and how did you use them, should I use them all the time or stop in the village on the way home and put them on?
The horse loads and travels perfectly (in both of the trailers 510 and 505) partition, no partition, company, no company, long and short distances, stands at shows etc, he always has a haynet but coming home he starts pawing the floor 10-15 minutes from home and does it all the way home! He can be heard from home when we're about 5 min away! The trigger is the road from our village (about 10 min away) is very undulating and twisty - its known as the rollercoaster road! and once we hit this he knows we're nearly home and so gets impatient and starts pawing very vigorously. I don't think it's the road itself as he's fine going out and I do go very slowly. He really does it very vigorously and I need to find a way to stop him as he is going to damage the trailer, hes already bent one of the pins in the breast bar and knocked it down, he upsets the other horses (who are all good travellers) and he gets himself all worked up and sweaty. When he gets home he always has hay left in his haynet and he either gets tied up to get his bandages off (hes ripped his boots to shreds) or goes into his stable or might go out to the field- it depends what time it is and where hes been so its not like he just wants to get in for his dinner!
I dont know how to stop him- its been suggested I drive fast so he has to balance and cant paw but its a very undulating road, although the surface is smooth, and you do get that belly left behind feeling if you go too fast in the car so I creep along with the trailer and I dont want to upset and put him off loading, its also been suggested I brake suddenly to jolt him when he paws, but again I dont want to give him a fright.
So Im thinking hobbles on his front legs might work unless anybody has any other ideas?
Also those whove used hobbles for travelling before, did they work and how did you use them, should I use them all the time or stop in the village on the way home and put them on?