Loading and natural horsemanship

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hannahandteddy

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my mare is a pain to load. when i got her she would stop once then follow us in. on the way back from pony club the pony who we took home with her had a stress and was collapsing on the way home. not blaming this pony but since we have been having problems getting her. she doesn't seem scared she just won't go in. dad and a friend at the yard had to use lunge lines and put all there weight into it and she wouldn't budge. i can normally tell if she's stressed and she just seemed to be being stuburn (she didn't rear even when they both leaned on each line and pulled!) she does go in but after a lot of pushing and heaving. once she's in she seems relaxed and when we get places she doesn't barge out she just stands until i ask to walk on even when the bar is down. we have a good bond and she follows me everywhere but just not into the trailor.

what do you think of the natural horsemanship approach? it stresses me out loads as i hate having to heave her into the trailor. OR what ideas do you have to try and sort this out?

also do you know anyone around the dearbyshire/south yorkshire area who would come and help me with natural horsemanship.

sorry for the hugely long post
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i just want to get this sorted as soon as possible
thanks in advance
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I use NH techniques for loading and I am confident that they work, even for a horse that resists and 'switches off' so I would definitely recommend you try to find a trainer. the alternative might be to phone around any transport yards in your area and see if they would be prepared to do half a day training with you at their yard, as long as they are using techniques that you are comfortable with. You will find that people whose business relies on them being able to load horses efficiently are usually very good at it.
 
a parelli-type halter, a long lead-line (15 foot ish), lots of patience. with the controller halters, if they pull back, it acts on pressure points and hurts them. the moment they step forward, it released and they're comfy. the long line means you don't get pulled too close to them into the danger zone, you can play them like a fish! don't try to make her stand still, let her move her feet if she's anxious, and don't put a huge amount of pressure on the halter in case it makes her rear. pull and release can work better.
i'd start on a morning when you don't have to be anywhere at any time (i.e. not going to a show!), and take as long as it takes. ideally do it on your own or with one other person (for safety), and don't resort to having to heave her in. let her learn that by resisting, she punishes herself, and that when she goes forward she gets lots of praise and treats.
when she's finally in, i'd feed her in there, keep her in there for a little while, then take her out.
do the whole thing in a calm, patient way, however stubborn she seems and annoying it is. time spent now will mean she will learn to load in 10 seconds, every time, and save hours and hours in future! time to a horse means confidence, even if to us it means "i've spent 2 hours trying to get this flippin' horse in here!"
she's got a reason for being worried, having had her companion act so weird in there.
if you've got time and patience left, put her in again. and again. and again!
i've got a free parelli dvd called trailer loading somewhere, i'll send it if you like. PM me if you want it.
 
Try straw/shavings on the trailer floor

Would you be able to feed her in the trailer for a few days, to give her an "incentive" to go in. Greed can be a wonderful thing! One of mine won't go in until he has seen the nuts, he stands on the ramp waiting for them to be shown to him and then he's up in a flash!

Both have worked for mine
Have also seen excellent results using NH methods, but you may be able to get her back to loading reasonably well just by practising at home without time pressures.
 
my personal opinion but i don't like using straw because it can cause them to slip and its really hard to get shavings just for travelling when on straw. i've got an ifor williams trailor which has a nice new rubber floor. i might try practising with some straw in. i was going to practice and see what happens and feed her in there but will most definatly try using NH! thanks for your help!
 
If you decide to get some help then the closest to you I'd recommend is Lisa Bruin. I've encountered her and her students now and then and I think she's very good. I've found her details for you. Sometimes when you're feeling a bit stuck it's worth just getting a bit of help to get things going well for you again.
http://www.silversand.com.au/pages/lisa.htm
 
totally agree with you Talan. Lisa is amazing. I do lots of training with Lisa with the NH and trailer loading . Its worked really well with my horses. I even attended her clinic to get more knowledge of how to get my horse working with me.
www.lisabruin.com
 
I had a real problem with the Donkey, over two hours to load - I used a chap called Mickey Gavin, he came out and gave her 2 hours of work and now she walks straight in.

Mickey is just outside Nottingham.
 
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