Loading advice - help!

fijb

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I have huge problems loading my Exmoor mare. Has anyone got any good tips?

To date we have tried: opening all the partitions in the wagon, using vast quantities of tempting feed as a reward, using normal headcollars, bridles and the Monty Roberts Dually halter, walking up the ramp, running up the ramp, waiting on the ramp until she is ready to walk in (she will happily stand on the ramp for an hour without moving), chivvying her, ignoring her etc etc all to no avail. She is handy with both back and front feet, and objects strongly to any forceful methods, or indeed, anything at all behind her. She is not afraid of the lorry and travels beautifully once inside. Going away with another pony makes no difference to her. She sometimes walks in, but other times it can take up to 3 hours to get her in.

I'm at my wits end! Can anyone help??
 
You could try a blindfold, it only needs to be something like a folded tea towel over the eyes and tucked into the headcollar at each side so the ends do not fly about. Have seen it work on a very naughty show jumper at Hickstead. The horse who had been playing up for ages and getting in a state did not mind at all and walked up the ramp with his groom talking to him!!
 
I would find someone in your area who is registered with the Intelligent/natural horsecare group (can't remember proper name, the one Kelly Marks is associated with). I don't think you can copy the methods just by using dually on your own, you really do need one of the experts! I am not into the natural horsemanship stuff in big way at all, apart from their loading methods where I find them brilliant. I have used them on 2 of my horses, who just went thro the usual baby stage of all of a sudden realising they could say no and not load, within half an hour they both realised it was the best option to load (but in a positive learning way,if that makes sense!?) So I would say don't waste any time or allow your horse to realise they can say no to your requests, which may then make them likely to say no in other areas, and get an expert out asap. Good luck!!
 
I'll be shouted at for saying this, but loading issues are pretty much always sorted by NH techniques. Don't want to say the evil P word, but by God does it work...............

As a rough guide - waiting on the ramp is fine if she's trying to do what you ask - as soon as she tries - stop asking immediately, as if the leadrope has suddenly become molten iron hot - drop it! But don't then just leave it - ask again. Once she even thinks about moving forwards - drop it as if it burns again. The only thing she isn't allowed to do is go backwards. I could write an essay on this, and I haven't explained it well enough here - but I insist that NH techniques are the only reliable way to get a seriously resistant horse to load time after time.

I know from lurking that Parelli has a bad press here, but I'm not suggesting circus tricks, just understanding, and I've sen amazing things using NH stuff with difficult loaders.
 
Richard Maxwell is a master at loading issues (went to a clinic of his) and leaves the owner with the tools to achieve success every time. The trick is to do lots of groundwork before the loading, focusing on moving the horses feet, back forwards, back forwards loads of times. Then do as you've done and calmly walk with ned in a no nonsense way up to the ramp on a long line. Ned can stay in front of/part way up/one foot on the ramp for as long as it takes but Max does it in no more than 15 mins from first approaching the ramp to the horse walking on with a loose lead rope. The only difference to what you have been doing (letting horse stand on the ramp) is that Max will NEVER let the horse just stand there, it has to keep moving even if it's only side to side. And the long line means the horse is NEVER turned away from the ramp and re-presented to it. So Max will pull the horses's head/shoulders to one side and then back and then to the other side again etc etc. The horse MUST keep moving even if it's just a few inches to each side. Using the earlier groundwork plus Max's control headcollar plus the trick of never letting the horse stand still the demo horse reluctantly walked up the ramp after a few mins. He backed it out and repeated. Bit shorter that time. Shorter and shorter until the horse was happily trotting up the ramp with Max standing to one side. Amazing. Short break then the owner did it. Horse tried to object again but Max helped the owner to do exactly what he'd done and in 20 mins or so, horse was going up and down the ramp as if he'd been doing it all his life. Bored out of his mind by then I expect. If you can afford Max to come down, I'd recommend it. Not cheap but the owner near my yard recouped some of the cost by selling "observer" tickets. Good luck!
 
Must agree about Richard Maxwell he is brilliant, I sent my youngster to him for this very problem. One of the big things is to keep their feet moving. My current horse hadn't travelled in trailer before I got him and he is quite happy to walk forwards then he goes backwards quickly as well. Two lunge lines held but not crossed seem to have worked. Another suggestion I had was to get two people either side of horses bum, close so they can't kick, and use rope or dog pull, people hold either end and then just walk in. Good luck
 
My boy was just so stubborn once after 4 hrs the owner of the yard said i could stay the night! My intelligent horse lady came next day and took about 20 mins to get him in, he still loads now but i don't even try without his dually, and now i know how to use it it takes about 30 seconds to get him in, well worth the money. My first trip on my own was when i had to get him to the vets, he basically loaded himself....well worth the money that dually
 
My pony can be stubborn to load (stubborn-ness is one of his qualities
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). He would quite happily just stand on the ramp staring at me for hours given the chance.

Two things have helped me to load him, and I now have no problems, he goes straight on.

Firstly, for some reason, mine isn't keen on going in the trailer if a person is in front of him 'in his way'! So I can't lead him on - he won't follow me in. I put his bridle on, reins over his neck, and walk him purposefully towards the trailer, he goes up the ramp, I walk alongside it, and I let go once his head is in the trailer and in he goes.

Secondly, the only problem with this is that he did try it on a few times by going off the side of the ramp next to me - I solved this by giving him a good firm smack with my schooling whip on the side he came off on, and now I load him with a whip in that hand and tap him if he doesn't walk forward properly towards the trailer. With my pony, he's not scared, he's just stubborn and once he realises that he has to go on, he decides it's not worth the fight and just does it.
 
My girl would get her front feet on the ramp, do a lovely turn on the forehand so her body was at rightangles to the ramp and then rear off it!!!!!!! the trick is to make life difficult/uncomfortable/hard work for them until they twig that going forwards is the key to an easy life.
Ditto Tuckbox - drop that rope like it was a snake going to get you, the moment you get even a whisker going forwards.
 
Have a look at my website, www.soloequestrian.com. I make a loading harness, and there is a video link to You Tube on the site showing it in action. It was invented for the horse in the video who also will sometimes loads perfectly and other times (used to) refuse to go in point blank. I'm doing the harnesses on special offer at the moment too!
 
I had a similar problem with my mare when I got her, for nearly 2 years I tried every trick in the book. Then eventually I emailed Kelly Mark's website and managed to get the mare to one of her demonstrations, she taught me join up and she managed to get my mare going in and out of the lorry like an old pro. I then had one of her associates come to my yard and a show to help me load her in different enviroments. My mare now self loads and is a perfect traveller. I suggest you email Kelly's website explaining your problems and what you have done to try to get her on the lorry and see if they can send an associate out to you, they charge very reasonable rates. Good luck and there is light at the end of the tunnel. My mare used to rear, kick out, pull back, twist away, anything rather than go into the lorry.
 
The best way to overcome loading problems is to look at the 'big picture'. Try and work out the problem from the perspective of your pony. Why might he/she not like loading and travelling? Taking all these things into consideration and after rectifying anything that is possible to rectify then it is time to move onto training. Training your pony to lead anywhere from pressure/release cues. There are various methods about. What works really well for me is explained on my website www.thehorseloader.co.uk
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