Horse having problems staying standing in trailer - any experiences?

[hessy12]

Hi all,
I wonder if anyone here can help?
I have an 18 yr old appaloosa whom has always travelled very well. I used to travel him in a wooden floor Rice but recently bought a new Ifor Williams trailer which has a rubber floor. He went in this trailer really well the first few times.

But, on the way to hunting on 14th Dec, he had great difficulty keeping his back legs under him and nearly fell over several times. He was fine but sweated up, so we hunted and I drove home at a snails' pace ie, even slower than normal, and I never go very fast when towing anyway. He still nearly fell over many times, especially on left corners.

A friend who has the same trailer has had her horse fall over completely and injure itself very badly. The trailer dealer advised her to use bedding, so I added a deep bed of shavings.

Yesterday, on the way to hunting, he had the same problems despite us driving so slowly and the deep bed. He sweated up but was not injured and did 4 hours' hunting then came home, he was much better on the way back (again, driving extremely slowly, like 5 mph round left bends).

So I've done some research and found that many people have reported horses having problems keeping their back legs under them and that the answer is, apparently, to let the horse have the whole of the trailer to be able to swing their back end round and get balanced. This would necessitate a new breast bar, being tied up at both sides at the front to prevent him turning and letting him be able to move his back end freely in the whole of the trailer at the back. Do any of you do this?

Has anyone had an experience similar to mine? My horse had has his back checked and he is very fit and never had any problems in the past.

One final thing, he leans his back end against the end of the trailer, so much so that his tail gets rubbed (badly) even through a good bandage. Tail bags come off he leans so much.

Can anyone offer me some advice? Has anyone here had problems with their horse in a trailer and what did you do? Please help me if you can.

Strawberries and cream to anyone who read this far!!

 

[POLLDARK]

I had a horse that started doing the same thing & there didn't appear to be anything wrong but a couple of weeks later was lame. Could it be your horse is starting to have trouble with one leg or another & it shows up only when he tries to balance, perhaps also adding to the sweating. When my lad was ridden his gung ho attitude covered up any problems short of a leg falling off.!

 

[Carlosmum]

Just wondered if its the 'hunting' thats winding him up. Is he thinking 'oh goodie we're going hunting' in which case he may be fidgeting in anticipation, and excitment. Perhaps a couple of non hunting outings might help, a short trip round the block & home again ... no excitment involved.

 

[Merlin11]

One of ours starting doing this a couple of years ago. After much trial and error we found that on corners where he was leaning to the outside of the trailer he was losing his balance. Solved it by putting him on one side of the trailor for the journey out and the other on the way back. Basically minimising his feeling that he is falling out of the trailor. Also switched to bandages for his back feet and give him a calmer. This has done the trick. He will never be a great traveller but this means we can hack him out a couple of times a week with no probs.

Also for a while we fed him in the trailor every day and gradually increased the journey time.

 

[albeg]

You could try taking out the back half of the partition initially, to see if it is a balance issue caused by lack of space.
My lad travels without a partition, with breast and back bars, as he started refusing to go in the box after a long journey, which we reckoned was caused by lack of space. Initially he found it a bit worrying, not having the partition to lean against, so we made a few short journeys to get him used to balancing a different way, and now he's a much happier traveller.
As Polldark said, it'd be worthwhile getting him checked over, just to make sure he's not having leg trouble.

 

[biggingerpony]

My mare does that too!! She kind of falls over and then has to scramble up its very scary, we noticed it is only when she travels on the left hand side of the trailer, and when going round corners really. But since then we've always traveled her on the right hand side, the side of the driver and had no problems!

 

[HollyB66]

My mare does that too!! She kind of falls over and then has to scramble up its very scary, we noticed it is only when she travels on the left hand side of the trailer, and when going round corners really. But since then we've always traveled her on the right hand side, the side of the driver and had no problems!

My mare is the opposite to this one, she travels on the left side of the trailer perfectly but scrabbles/falls over on the right side.

No help I know, except perhaps for you to try the other side.

 

[hessy12]

Thank you everyone! I will get the vet out and double check his back legs and experiment with short trips in trailer for non hunting purposes to see if it's excitement. He always loads happily so clearly he is not 'afraid' of traveling; he usually eats his hay too. If only horses could talk!!

 

[mainpower]

There has been lots of threads on here about this problem. After many years of my horse travelling perfectly in lorries, both forward facing and herringbone, I bought a trailer and my 20yo old horse developed the same problem. Someone on here said it can be the start of bony changes in the hocks causing some pain on cornering. I now travel him on his own without a partition, or with it swung to the left, and if travelling two he goes on the left hand side. This works perfectly!

 

[hessy12]

There has been lots of threads on here about this problem. After many years of my horse travelling perfectly in lorries, both forward facing and herringbone, I bought a trailer and my 20yo old horse developed the same problem. Someone on here said it can be the start of bony changes in the hocks causing some pain on cornering. I now travel him on his own without a partition, or with it swung to the left, and if travelling two he goes on the left hand side. This works perfectly!

Thank you, I shall have a search and see if I can find and read these threads. I know my lad is getting on a bit and I knew hock problems might be a cause. Thanks againx

 

[Changes]

Also check your tyre pressures - have you had them changed recently?
It caused horses to do exactly that in a trailer belonging to someone I knew, her friend had upped the pressure and made the tyres too hard.

Hope you get to the root of it.

 

[chestnutmarelover]

My mare is the opposite to this one, she travels on the left side of the trailer perfectly but scrabbles/falls over on the right side.

No help I know, except perhaps for you to try the other side.

Same here, mare had trouble staying upright on r/h/s, better on left but sold ifor & got a Wessex which has independant suspension not leaf springs & she is gradually improving again (Leaf springs are said to give a much bumpier ride)

 

[Borderreiver]

We had a mare like this years ago. We made a padded rug for her so that she could lean, then we had a box for a while instead of the trailer and this bought us a bit longer. However at 18-20yrs it gradually became apparent that travelling was very stressful for her, having been fine when younger. We decided not to travel her again as it wasn't fair, she was ridden to events like pony club camp which was miles away but she was used to long hacks! She was a lovely honest horse who did her best for everyone till the day she died age 30 yrs.

 

[QueenDee_]

I had a pony that started doing this, but it was a sort of panic attack thing, she used to be fine, but then she started shaking whenever she was on the trailer (she went on fine though) and if you went round a corner/sometimes on straight, her back legs would just sort of collapse under her and she'd 'sit down'

We took the partition out and just had the front bar so she could balance better, gave her a rescue remedy sort thing, and gradually took her on small slow trips, round the yard sort thing, then take her out, then gradually increased the distances...she got a lot better, but she'd still get a but shaky.

But yes, she was a lot better with the partition out. They also travel better facing backwards (like in an equi trek) but we had to stick with the ifor.

 

[Flight]

My horse was doing this exact same thing. He would practically sit on the bar at the back and then have no balance when going round corner and would fall. I now tie him up to the front of the trailer rather than the side so he can't get back far enough to sit down and he hasn't fallen since and isn't sweating up any more even on long trips. Good luck, hope you get to the bottom of it.

 

[maggiesmum]

I have a problem too, my gelding seems to struggle with balance at the front end though, having followed behind in my car it was his head that kept disappearing!
He's fine in a wagon and if he has all the trailer with no partitions, he's ok on short journeys on the right hand side if driven very carefully but last time he went on the left he fell and ended up wedged under the partition with his legs underneath the mare on the right - I'm only glad she didn't panic!
Do you know anyone with a wooden floored trailer to try, I do think rubber mats are slippy if they get wet.

 

[opinionuk]

Hi all,
I wonder if anyone here can help?
I have an 18 yr old appaloosa whom has always travelled very well. I used to travel him in a wooden floor Rice but recently bought a new Ifor Williams trailer which has a rubber floor. He went in this trailer really well the first few times.

But, on the way to hunting on 14th Dec, he had great difficulty keeping his back legs under him and nearly fell over several times. He was fine but sweated up, so we hunted and I drove home at a snails' pace ie, even slower than normal, and I never go very fast when towing anyway. He still nearly fell over many times, especially on left corners.

A friend who has the same trailer has had her horse fall over completely and injure itself very badly. The trailer dealer advised her to use bedding, so I added a deep bed of shavings.

Yesterday, on the way to hunting, he had the same problems despite us driving so slowly and the deep bed. He sweated up but was not injured and did 4 hours' hunting then came home, he was much better on the way back (again, driving extremely slowly, like 5 mph round left bends).

So I've done some research and found that many people have reported horses having problems keeping their back legs under them and that the answer is, apparently, to let the horse have the whole of the trailer to be able to swing their back end round and get balanced. This would necessitate a new breast bar, being tied up at both sides at the front to prevent him turning and letting him be able to move his back end freely in the whole of the trailer at the back. Do any of you do this?

Has anyone had an experience similar to mine? My horse had has his back checked and he is very fit and never had any problems in the past.

One final thing, he leans his back end against the end of the trailer, so much so that his tail gets rubbed (badly) even through a good bandage. Tail bags come off he leans so much.

Can anyone offer me some advice? Has anyone here had problems with their horse in a trailer and what did you do? Please help me if you can.

Strawberries and cream to anyone who read this far!!

I had this problem with my mare a few months ago absolutely terrifying experience I was distraught, I put a post on here about the problem and lots of people suggested taking the partition out and cross tying, that is now what I do and haven't had any problems since, touch wood! My mare is so much happier travelling and it puts my mind at rest, after that incident I also installed CCTV into the trailer to put my mind at rest, its fantastic I can now travel and keep an eye on her, it was a cheap CCTV system from Maplin for about £80 you look for a horse one and you are talking over £100.

 

[becca1305]

Mine did similar in the past (now have a lorry). Nothing wrong with her (though she's not even in her teens yet just for comparison) just "forgot" how to travel and couldn't stay on her own 4 feet. She too was worse when turning one direction than the other. The first thing I did was to swap the side she was travelling on which resolved the problem for a year or so then she started doing it again so I took the partition out (crosstie and breast bar) , she travelled beautifully from then to when the lorry arrived with no issues and lovely quiet and calm . She's now also fine in the lorry I just give her plenty of space between partitions

 

[Frankie10]

Definitely try taking all the partitions out& cross tie. You can buy a full length breast bar from your local trailer dealer or on eBay (I paid £50). It could just be that your horse doesn't have enough space to balance.
Good luck x

 

[BonneMaman]

I used to have a pony that did something similar after a nasty journey on a very windy day. He used to bang and crash around when turning right or going round roundabouts.

We solved the issue by allowing him more room. However it can be dangerous to give a horse the whole trailer due to the camber of the road and they really should stand on the right.

So we used to have an oldish rice and drilled an additional hole in the floor and moved the partition across so same width at the front but wider at the back. Allowed him to spread his legs and thus solved the problem.

 

[katastrophykat]

My old mare did this, having spent years travelling in a trailer. it started gradually and within a year had gone from a kick when we turned right (especially on a funny camber) to her going down.

I hate to say this but she travelled fine in a wagon, so we got her one!! Happy horse. Happy me, as id been asking for a box for years!

 

[Spotsrock]

L can only travel with partition out in a trailor or very wide in a lorry or she will panic and lie down. Claustrophobia is the best diagnosis we've had! She is stiff behind though so is better if can move about more to keep her balance.

 

[Boxers]

Not read the whole thread but no doubt am repeating what others have said. My gelding, travelling on the right hand side of an Ifor 505 could not keep his balance on left hand corners. Even driving them at walking pace, he would stumble around, thankfully never fell over. So I took out the partition and bought a full width breast bar, tieing him on each side, and now he travels like a dream. He doesn't move at all.

On occasion I have had to put the partition back in to take two in there and I have put him on the right hand side and he has been fine, but generally speaking he travels without the partition.

It's also handing if it's raining cos you have room inside the trailer to tack up etc.

Hope you solve your horse's problem with travelling.

 

[starryeyed]

I'd give going on the other side / taking the partition out a go as well, hope it solves it for you - let us know!


Sorry to hijack but - Somebody earlier on mentioned something to do with hock problems, would that explain a horse not travelling well in either a trailer or a herringbone lorry?
He's always travelled fine before but over the past 2 years he's been awful, just can't seem to stand up. We took out partitions, swapped sides, travelled him alone/in saintlike company, changed trailers, tried one going backwards, went on to buy a herringbone horse lorry and nothing's worked. He loves going new places but it's horrible taking him anywhere and we only stick to very short journeys due to this. I did consider that he might be suddenly struggling to balance so have been working on circles etc with him when I can (he's not my horse!) to try and improve this but have never heard of anything to do with hocks before? Can someone fill me in?! He is getting on in age a bit but seems to think he's still a 4 year old x

 

[MrsMozart]

Grey Mare started having problems with her previous owner.

Used to travel fine in a trailer, then one day didn't. Tried her again a week later with the same result, a very unhappy horse. Took the partition out and she travels fine, loads herself she's so keen to go party!

Tried her in Hugh (the Huge Trailer) as its partition goes down to the floor, see if that gave her a feeling of security. She was fine for about two hundred yards of me driving around the barn, decided to go down the drive and she started scrabbling. This is all a flat surface, a powerful tow vehicle (Disco), a solid trailer with new double layer floor, rubber on top, shavings on top of that, and I drive very steadily and quietly. Ten feet down the drive and she started scrabbling. D and D1 were walking behind and to the side to see what was happening. Her bum kept dipping down.

So, now she only goes out in the trailer without a partition. Stamps a bit, but getting over that as she realises she will be coming back to her herd (she lived on her own for a while and I think she much prefers company).

Apparently she does travel okay in a lorry in a normal sized partition. I need to find out what the layout was that she liked as we want to get a lorry this year so we can take the two horses out together!

 

[hessy12]

Thank you so much, I am very grateful for all the advice given. Am ordering breast and breach bar tomorrow and will try him cross tied with no partition, and get vet to check his hocks. Thanks again for all the helpful replies, I love this website!

 

[MagicMelon]

As others have said, there's been lots of posts about this. One of my horses years ago travelled fine for about 4 years then suddenly began falling in the trailer. At the time we had a Sinclair trailer (one solid partition, ie. not in 2 sections like Ifors and Batesons) so we simply moved the back of the partition over and secured to the other side so he had lots of space to stand a bit more side on or spread his hind legs right out. Solved it immediately. I've had another horse start doing the same thing in our Bateson so have simply removed the back half of the partition and he travels great. I think its safer to leave the front 1/2 in as then you have the breat bar and it keeps them from trying to turn round etc. Plus we can still keep equipment on the other side of it

 

[hessy12]

An update! Success! Bought breast and breach bars, cross tied him with no partition, he traveled like a dream. I am so happy and also very grateful to you all on here for helping me.

 

[starryeyed]

Yay! Glad you found a solution, happy travelling!