Loading disaster advice need (sorry long)

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hairycob

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Was going to take new boy to see how he got on at parties today. Didn't get there as had absolute disaster of a morning. Knew there were issues with loading (took an hour to load when we collected him) but nothing I couldn't cope with given patience, firmness & edible incentives. He hasn't been out & about for at least 2 years so he is not used to loading & suspect he was used to lorry rather than trailer. He puts his feet on the ramp, then turns sideways or steps back. Nothing nasty or scary, just reluctant to go in.
This morning we spent 2 hours trying to get him in - had allowed masses of time, all doors open to make it light etc. In the end we put a bowl of feed in the trailer & gradually moved it further in. He would go so far & then pull back but slowly we were getting him further in. We were progressing, albeit slowly, until he was nearly in, just had his back feet still on the ramp by about a foot. Then my non horsey husband, without saying anything decided it would be a good idea to raise the ramp & force him in - you can imagine his reaction. I'm not sure who was most terrified me or him (should have good bruises from being banged against the breast bar), but OH kept trying to push up the ramp until I screamed at him to stop (I know yelling won't have helped I had to get him to stop somehow). Took another 2 hours to get him to put any feet on the ramp at all. We rewarded him for this with a bowl of food on the ramp near the body of the trailer.
The obvious thing to do would be to give him his evening feed on the ramp every day & then gradually move it into the trailer, but I won't be able to keep the trailer at the yard he is at until at least Christmas (if then). Just to complicate the issue due to yard problems I have 2 horses at one yard, 1 horse at another & the trailer somewhere else so time after work is a bit of an issue. Any ideas how I can get him used to the idea of going into a small space without having my trailer actually there?
 
I'm really not sure there is anything which will quite replicate an actual trailer. You'll just have to wait till Christmas I think and then do as you say, feed him every day in the trailer.
 
When I first got my horse he was tricky to load and someone (a member of staff at our yard - so someone who should've known better!) did the same to him. Fortunately he was naughty rather than scared so he soon got over it.
I can't think of anything else to use that would replicate a trailer either. Are there no other trailers on the yard that you can borrow to feed him on - or could you maybe find time to take yours to the yard on weekends?
 
I'd try it without your OH being there next time. There's nothing worse than non horsey people misreading the situation and barging in to 'help'!
Although even horsey people are guilty of this at times
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I think you might just have to make time to practice with the trailer. Even once a week at the weekend would be better than nothing.

Also if he is new to you, practice groundwork with him somewhere and get him used to being handled by you. Walk him over poles, plastic and all that sort of stuff. I don't necessarily think it's a small space issue, he might just need to learn to trust you more.

Hope it works out ok xx
 
OH now believes me when I tell him he doesn't know everything! It's taken 30 years of telling & I wish I could have proved it in a better way though.
I think I'll try the ground handing ideas. We fetched my mare from the other yard & let him watch her calmly munching on hay in the trailer so he could see they don't eat horses, then he had a bit more feed on the ramp. She gace him a disdainful look as if she was raising her eyebrows & tutting as she has baby sat nervous travellers before.
It's so frustrating as new boy is my sons & he has had a rough year with the weather & then pony injuries. Next year he will have an operation & won't be able to do much for a few weeks so maybe I am trying to rush things.
 
Don't lose heart, some just take longer than others to trust people xx


When I first started taking April places she used to kick the box to bits and we would arrive at events with her dripping wet with nervous sweat.
She wouldn't walk in puddles, go on grass verges, ride into gulleys or anywhere 'off the beaten track' or go in the sea.
I couldn't hose her legs or wash her tail!
Jumping was terrifying because, athough she was very keen to do it, she used to twist, buck and leap going over 2ft cross poles!
She still won't be caught without dramatics by people she doesn't know and is in general a very suspicious little soul

It's taken about a year but she now does all of the above with no problems at all and even comes running down to the gate when I go to catch her! She goes in and out of the box like clockwork.
She is also up to jumping 2'9 and is a wonderful, happy little horse that you can do anything with. She just had trust issues that I needed to get over
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Have you tried loading another horse on and straight off the trailer and your horse following???

I am assuming it is front unload
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But not actually keeping yours on, if he follows at all. A few good follows and he may be happy to go on next time, especially if you dont go anywhere but either feed or scratch, whatever he prefers and then get off again???
 
I've probably been lulled into a false sense of security because he has been really good at everything else - catching from a massive field, jabs, farrier, dentist, out hacking. Son has even popped him over a fence the hunt put up on one of the bridleways. I'm sure we'll get there in the end but today has definitely set back the loading. Trying to work out if he can hack to pony club at the end of the month or if it will be too dark by the time we get back.
OH is suitably remorseful so maybe he will realise now why I tell him to do what he is told & do nothing without checking with me. I think he was really scared when he realised just how dangerous what he did was so maybe it will finally sink in. He was only coming along for a day out & a bacon butty.
 
thats a very encouraging story april - i would like to hear how you worked on your trust issues with your horse as its so nice to hear someone beating those sort of issues we all seem to suffer from! I have a nervy mare who gets upset easily - hacking on her own/ travelling/currently mirrors in the indoor school!
 
That might be worth a try. We loaded the mare at the other yard so she was already on, but I could unload her & go round a few times or ridse him to the other yard & take the try there (better facilities)
 
I wish I did know kombikids! I honestly think it was just patience, time and a lot of perseverance.

There were times she truly was nervous and a lot of times when she was just taking the mick and testing me out. I think making sure you recognise the difference is key so that you can act appropriately. Be sympathetic when the horse is truly nervous but be firm when it's just testing you.
I was lucky and I had a lot of help.

I was basically on trial I think! She tried everything once to see if it would put me off.. ie napping, bucking when going into canter, swinging at me in the stable etc etc. Luckily once you overcome each of these tests she doesn't use it again and now I think she has deemed me worthy LOL!

She's definitely the most complex horse I have ever met but I love her to bits.
I ride her for someone but I know that she has a home for life there
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Our old pony, now semi retired, was very scared of tractors when we first bought him. He was 22 & nobody thought we could stop him being scared of them. As we kept him on a farm there were plenty about. Son used to lead him past while I patted them & talked to them like they were dogs(glad no one was watching). We let him approach them at his pace. When he started to get close we put polos on the wheel arches. Now he has no problems with tractors. We did start to worry that he might chase them looking for polos though.
 
Your boy sounds very much like my old mare. She walked up the ramp fine then wouldn't go any further and would jump off the side or run backwards or rear. She NEVER loaded in 17 years by the conventional route. I tried every night for 6 weeks one summer to get her into the trailer to eat her tea but the more you pushed her the further down the ramp she stopped.

We later discovered that she would load if walked into trailer (without partitions) by the front ramp so facing backwards. I would then turn her round inside. She also loaded into a trailer AND a lorry (unheard of!) if the ramp was level. Once I walked her up the concrete slope into the yard's tea room, then lorry was backed up to the door, ramp down onto the slope to make it level and she walked straight in!

I know it's very frustrating but try not to lose confidence - I'm sure you will find a solution as we did.
 
Gosh my horse sounds like her twin! I have only had her a few months so she is still settling down and i am just starting to pick up on the times when she is taking the mick, I think that is key though as once we do get over something she is scared of she doesnt do it again. I am having huge amounts of lessons and hope the new yard will also give us some support. Thanks for thr reply though - it gives me confidence to keep going!
 
TBH though, if you haven't tried loading him in 2 years then it's sort of obvious this could have been a problem. If you knew he had issues before, you should have been practicing like mad up until this outing today!

Practice definately makes perfect - loads of feeding him in the trailer etc. Most of my horses have gone through a "stage" of not loading properly but we just practiced to death. Do you not have access to a trailer?
 
Sorry no advice just to let you know you are not alone.
Im having similar problems too and am ashamed to say have given up and the trailer is for sale
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My horse is 16.1 had only travelled in a lorry until I got him. The first time we travelled him was in my IW505, he was 4 at the time and after a bit of persuasion he went in. We set off and he scrabbled all over but soon settled. I dont use a partition so he had plenty of room, I think it was more a shock to go forwards rather than sidewards. A couple of days later he refused to go in but we got him in and he travelled great. Then a visit to the vets a few months later and he was banging a bit on the journey but fine. For the next 3 yrs we borrowed a lorry, sold the trailer and he was great. Bought another IW505 and tried him in it as a 7 yr old and a different story. He only just fit and I think he just couldnt cope with being so confined, was very nervy with the floor (it was a ali one, he has an issue with bad ground as he sunk in mud to his belly)and he freaked so we never left the yard in it and it was sold straight away. 3 mths ago I bought a large Richardson with a wood floor and he went straight in so we decided to take him for a drive. He was great, thought we'd cracked it. Tried the following week but he freaked when we tried to get the ramp up although never refused to load. He then would load but come flying back out every time at speed so we spent a month feeding him in it until he seemed to enjoy the trailer. Tried to do the ramp up and he exploded bashing me about. My OH is non horsey too and I also had to shout for him to get the b****** ramp down, not a good idea I know but I think I would have been killed if I hadnt.
Ive given up, although laid back, hes the sort of horse that explodes before he thinks and has no self preservation at all. Ive since tried him back in a lorry and hes nervous of that too now although he will stand in there without killing me. The trailers for sale and Ive decided Im going to have to buy a lorry.
I really hope it works out for you.
 
Forgot to say in my 'essay' someone suggested backing him in it or blindfolding him. Didnt fancy trying either but a friend used to blindfold her mare to load her!
 
We've only had him 2 weeks. We loaded him when we collected him & although he was reluctant to get on at first once he was on he was really chilled & munched on his hay all the way home. As we knew there were likely to be problems we had allowed 2 hours for loading also prepared that we might be too late for the party anyway inwhich case we would just go for a little drive to get him used to it.
I have to keep my trailer at another place for the time being as the trailer space is filled with farm equipment until at least christmas.
 
Murphy went through a stage of being very naughty, he would also rush out back wards at 100mph! Very scary and dangerous. I bought a pressure halter and have started doing work with that so he understands what Im asking a bit better - I started leaving the front ramp down when practicing at home and then using a happy bystander to tap tap tap on his butt if he stopped, he then walked in and straight out about 3/4 times - bingo!
I now load and unload him a few times a week - just so he doesnt equate being on the lorry with going somewhere.

I think all but the luckiest of us have been through it and we all have different methods - its about what suits your horse.

Good Luck x
 
Been exactly where you are - standing on a ramp for hours at a time is no fun whatsover. Even after moving the partitions she was still being a complete cow

After 2 hours to load her earlier this year I used a NH chap - he came out and spent 2 hours working her - I had already tried all the feeding on the ramp and moving the bowl up, she would take a mouthful and shoot back out. His method was to make sure she knew who was boss on the ground and then make outside the trailer a not too pleasant place to be - not whipping her but waving a stick around her body etc. He also used the hold and release method with halter. After two hours she was loading straight away and staying in the trailer.


After this session we had a little hesitation the first few times out - and I as the handler gave her a good tap on her bum with a schooling whip. The last 4 times out she has loaded first go both at home and away. We only reward her once the ramp is up.

Good luck
 
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