Loading and travelling issues - help please

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Joyous70

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OK this could be a long one, so settle down with your tea and bicccys :)

I have had issues with loading my mare for quite a while now, we get to a point when I think I have cracked it, and then we go backwards again, now I know she isn't afraid of the trailer, I can tell by the look in her eyes and also her mannerisms, the stubbornness and refusal to load, or load up then back out before the bar is over is all a game to her and its just her way, I spent nearly 2 hours at the weekend trying to load her up to take her home after a fab lesson literally only 10 minutes drive away.

The other issue, is stamping and screaming when the trailer is at a standstill, (to the point the trailer was rocking) when I pulled up to the yard where I had my lesson on Saturday, it had electronic gates and I needed to ring them for access, however, her stamping and kicking etc., meant I didn't need to ring them, they could hear us, she stopped when I opened the jockey door to growl at her, but started up again once I shut the door.

And finally................ im terrified of taking her too far away or on dual carriageways or motorways as if lorries get a bit too close she starts kicking at the ramp and jumping around, im worried to death she is going to tip the trailer over, or kick the ramp off!

I can't travel her with another horse, my trailer is quite light and I don't really have enough allowance to take another.

Any advice welcome, I have had a couple of people say I need to just bite the bullet and take her on a trip and let her sort herself out, but I worry that if she gets too upset she will then refuse to load to come home again.

The trailer has been fully serviced and checked less than a month ago and all is fine.

Thank you for reading if you got this far :)
 
Just going by your description, it sounds like she gets very stressed when she's in the trailer, both when at a standstill and when travelling. I know you've described that she's just "having a game" but I think she's trying to avoid something that she finds very unpleasant and stressful.
I'd recommend you get in touch with your local Intelligent Horsemanship Recommended Associate. They are brilliant at assessing a situation and coming up with sensible, practical advice. They will find a way of making loading and travelling a positive experience for your mare, so you can both enjoy going out and about.

(FYI, I'm a member of IH but not an RA myself. I've helped the fire brigade with a survey of horse transport accidents, where many horses have been stressed and have either fallen in the box or reared over breast bars etc, so I'm very keen on helping people avoid accidents!)
 
alonerawnut said:
Just going by your description, it sounds like she gets very stressed when she's in the trailer, both when at a standstill and when travelling. I know you've described that she's just "having a game" but I think she's trying to avoid something that she finds very unpleasant and stressful.
I'd recommend you get in touch with your local Intelligent Horsemanship Recommended Associate. They are brilliant at assessing a situation and coming up with sensible, practical advice. They will find a way of making loading and travelling a positive experience for your mare, so you can both enjoy going out and about.

(FYI, I'm a member of IH but not an RA myself. I've helped the fire brigade with a survey of horse transport accidents, where many horses have been stressed and have either fallen in the box or reared over breast bars etc, so I'm very keen on helping people avoid accidents!)
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I appreciate what you are saying, yet at home she will load up sometimes immediately, she will happily stand on the trailer with the back bar across and the ramp down and eat her hay. Mostly when she's travelling she travels well, she bobs from one window to the next to look and see where she is going, she is an incredibly intelligent mare but also very impatient.

I would gladly get someone out to help, however, she has been to someone before, and came home unfixed, I am left to pick up the pieces, she is very wary of enclosed spaces, doesn't like being stabled particularly much either and it is incredibly deep rooted.

My issue also is that even if someone could come out and solve the issues its still me who has to deal with this on a regular basis when the IH RA has gone home :(
 
That's fair enough: if you've had bad experiences with trainers before it can be hard to trust someone new and pay out for something that might make things worse!
All I can say is that in my experience the RA's don't just solve the problem themselves and leave, they make sure you are involved and have some new skills / options to use after they've left.
They work with both you and your horse: you might be getting a different reaction loading at home or somewhere else because you're a little stressed anticipating the problems she's been having and so are a little tense & your intelligent mare is picking up on that.

I hope you do find a solution, with whoever or however you get there.
 
alonerawnut said:
That's fair enough: if you've had bad experiences with trainers before it can be hard to trust someone new and pay out for something that might make things worse!
All I can say is that in my experience the RA's don't just solve the problem themselves and leave, they make sure you are involved and have some new skills / options to use after they've left.
They work with both you and your horse: you might be getting a different reaction loading at home or somewhere else because you're a little stressed anticipating the problems she's been having and so are a little tense & your intelligent mare is picking up on that.

I hope you do find a solution, with whoever or however you get there.
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Thank you :)

where would I find someone who trains IH that may possibly come and have a look at her? It may be worth a shot, but there is no chance on earth I would send her away again.
 
I would recommend Richard Maxwell. He worked with one of ours and was very good about explaining what he was doing and teaching us how to deal with it when he wasn't there. Only took one session :)

The other thing would be to try her in a heavier trailer or a horsebox. It could be that she feels the trailer moving/swaying and starts to panic.
 
I also recommend Michael Peace. My boy is not a confident loader (though he travels fine), and Michael has given me the tools for loading him which I can use successfully even if he goes through one of his stages where he gets all nervous again! He will go weeks on end loading fine then get all nervous again but I never worry I can't get him on the lorry thanks to Michael's techniques.
 
smja said:
I would recommend Richard Maxwell. He worked with one of ours and was very good about explaining what he was doing and teaching us how to deal with it when he wasn't there. Only took one session :)

The other thing would be to try her in a heavier trailer or a horsebox. It could be that she feels the trailer moving/swaying and starts to panic.
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Thank you for the suggestion.

She has been in an Ifor which is much heavier than mine, it didn't really seem to make any difference
 
dressage_diva said:
I also recommend Michael Peace. My boy is not a confident loader (though he travels fine), and Michael has given me the tools for loading him which I can use successfully even if he goes through one of his stages where he gets all nervous again! He will go weeks on end loading fine then get all nervous again but I never worry I can't get him on the lorry thanks to Michael's techniques.
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I have a friend who used Michael, with positive results, and we have employed his methods with my girl for loading with results. Maybe I need to give him or Richard a call or win the lottery and get her a MAHOOSIVE lorry!
 
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