Horse Travel

[Marshbarn]

Can any one please help. My daughters 13.3 pony has become nervous to travel. She travels on the right, when we go round left bends or turns she leans her body on the partition and moves all her legs to the side of the trailer and then scrambles the side of tailer, if i leave the rear partiton open she travels ok because she has nothing to lean on but that means i cannot travel her with my daughters other 15.3 horse. I have a 505 ifor williams trailer. Shewill gointo the trailer with no problem at all Its just when we are moving.
She was always a good traveler untill i put something in the spare side one day in Febuary and i think that must have rattled and banged and frightened her.
I have been traveling her with the partition open for some time so as to try and get her conferdence back but as soon as i put the partition back she just does it again.
Is there anything i can give her but still be able to compete or is there anything else i can do.

Please HELP

 

[happihorse]

My 16.2hh horse did this. He had been travelled in a lorry until we had him and he was fine. However, we put him in the trailer and he started to lean on the partition and scramble up the wall, just like you describe. Unfortunately the only way we found to solve it was to take the partition out. We only had one to travel so this was okay, but obviously you can do this with two.

I seems strange that something banging started her doing this when you go round corners.

Have you tried travelling her on the left side when there is another horse in there?

 

[2muddy]

I had the same problem with one of my horses. Travelling him alone I just opened up the back partition, as you have, and he was fine.

As you say the problem comes when you want to travel two. I spoke to Ifor Williams about the safety of removing just the rear half of the partition and travelling two horses separated by the front half only. The reply said they could not see any safety problems although as the trailers are designed to have either full or no partitions, they would only recommend those approaches. Anyway, I did take out the rear half and travelled two together with no problems whatsoever. They seemed to sort legs out amongst themselves quite amicably. I did though invest in a full width breeching bar so the horses were not bracing themselves on the ramp.

Good luck

 

[jennyb]

Mine did what everyone elses seems to have done with the leaning and scrabbling. Might be a bit contraversial but I started travelling her on the left side of the trailer, and made sure that the next few journeys were taken at a snails pace to get her happy again. Now she's quite brill on that side. I still always try and not throw it round corners when she's on the outside of the bend, but she's a zillion times better on that side than on the right, you've just got to be aware of the road camber.....
Hope that helps or makes a difference