Loading issues on the way home!

[superpony]

I have a tb who i bought knowing he could be funny to load. We spent lots of time just gaining his confidence with the trailer walking in and out going for short trips etc.

Before he went lame 6 momths ago we had got to the point that as long as he went out reasonably regularly e.g once a month he was fine to load to go places. However he started being difficult to load to come home!!

On the last 3 occasions (including at the vets) he took over an hour to loan he just plants with his front feet on the trailer food doesn't work.

I was wondering if anyone has encountered this and found
a solution?!

 

[DosyMare]

Do you leave him on the trailer when you arrive or unload straight away. I was always told it was good for them to stand on the trailer for 5-10mins when it's not moving.

 

[Spottyappy]

Hi. We have exactly this issue with our nf mare. She self loads at home,but will not load when out. I posted about it last year,and no one then came up with any concrete ideas as to why,therefore no solutions. Ironically,the last time we travelled her,she loaded perfectly but then fell over in the lorry for no obvious reason. And cut herself,ibcurring large vet billahd a sunday call out. We have loaded at home since,and she still self loads,but due to family situation at the moment,Have not been able to get out to see if she still is reluctant. The best solution we found was to literally trot her up ramp,after a few attempts she would usually go in. If she plants,then usually a lunge rope under her bum to persuade her in works,but no guarantees.
Since her fall,she refuses to stand herringbone the way my box is built,head to left,but will stand with her bum to left. We have driven round the block like this,and she still loads ok after,but untill I am able to take her away from home,wont know if the refusing to load away persists,which suspect it will.
Hope someone has useful theory.

 

[cream-honeysuckle]

We had a problem once at the end of an evening event - tried for about an hour to get her into the trailer and she just planted her feet on the ramp. Someone then suggested putting the trailer nearer the lights - and she just walked in! Ever since then, have shone torches into the back of the trailer and not had a problem. I once saw a gypsy family having a problem at a show and they used a washing-up liquid bottle with water in it and squirted it at the pony's tail - which I thought was a good one.

 

[superted1989]

Markie runs into the box when we're going somewhere, and travels really well. The first few times he went out,on the trip home,he would just 'plant' about 2 steps away from the bottom of the ramp. He didn't 'do' anything, just wouldn't move, sometimes 10 minutes and, once, half an hour, then he'd walk calmly on. It was like he was saying ' I will load, but only when I feel like it'!
We've now worked out that he likes to 'chillax' outside the lorry before going home rather than loading and leaving straight after a class or any other outing. Once he's had his chill time,he's quite happy to go straight in and will stand quietly on the truck even if we don't go straight away.

 

[cream-honeysuckle]

Spottyappy - you and I were posting at the same time. My pony is more reluctant to load after an event and we have put it down to her being reluctant to leave the other horses. She is much easier if we keep the trailer away from the majority and make sure that she can't see that she is leaving others behind or if you can't do that - position the trailer so that she thinks she is walking towards them. If you have a front off-load, you could put it so that she thinks she is walking to them. Much of this depends on the location and way things are set up - but I guess you'll see what I mean.....

 

[D66]

Our horse did this for a while. We found that the places he was taken to were a lot more interesting than our quiet tree/hedge lined drive and it was as though he couldn't tear his attention away from the action to look in the trailer. We started by taking the trailer to a quiet part of the showground to load. But what worked in the end was tickling his shoulder with a dressage whip! He then concentrates on the job in hand and walks up the ramp.

Same situation as honeysuckle!

 

[Shavings]

just an idea here!
we watched Monty Roberts load some difficult horses that "plant" on a trailer or box, and he said the key thing is to keep them moving, we walked him walk from left to right and back again with the lead rope as tight as he could pull in, in turn the horses head would go left to right also and after so long the horse would just give in and get in, to be fair it toke him 30 mins first time but after so long it toke just one step to the left and the horse popped in,
just a through!
wish you the best of luck!

 

[superpony]

Thanks everyone! Given me lots of ideas to try.. digger66 he is similar to your horse in that he gets distracted! He goes off day dreaming and nosey.. and doesn't pay attention!!

DosyMare I normally leave him on the trailer for 5-10 minutes and hes quite happy.

I have used the lunge rope technique in the past.. but its difficult as there is normally only me and Dad so really we need an extra person and you have to watch him as he has been know to kick out when stressed!

But thanks everyone will give all your ideas a go!

 

[Bernster]

I had a horrid 4 hour non loading experience which traumatised me at the time. I ended up getting professional help and had an intelligent horseman person come out to help me a couple of times.

She had loads of tips but started off by checking the lorry - the light, the partition etc etc., to make sure all was airy and welcoming. So placing it near light and in a quiet area would be a good idea, opening any windows you have to allow light in.

We then did groundwork away from the trailer, working on getting his feet moving and being able to manoevre him around me, using poles which were set up like the lorry. Using a dually halter so I learnt to use pressure and release.

Once I was comfortable with that, we then did loads of loading practice, me focussing on being calm and quiet and taking my time. If he plants or goes back, using the pressure halter to get a forward movement. Def agree it's about keeping their feet moving. Then did lots of small trips back to the yard, eventually stopping at a safe yard to practice loading back home.

And when we go out, I let him have some time after an event to calm down and relax before I box him up.

This probably sounds like a lot of bother but I learnt loads about him whilst I was doing the groundwork and he's loaded a treat ever since.

I wouldn't use lunge lines, whips etc as he just got very wound up and I got frustrated. Calm and applying light pressure/release seems to work before for us.

People who see me can't believe he was ever bad to load Fingers crossed he stays that way !!

 

[benson21]

We had the same thing with Donovan last year, he would self load at home, but put up such a fight when at a show to get on the trailer. We were advised to leave him on the trailer when we got there, bringing him off with just enough time to get ready for the class, then when the class is over, put him back on. have a haynet in the trailer, the most important thing was not to let him eat the grass at the show. We had gone months with the problem, tried this method at 3 events we went to, and it worked 3 times! I am yet to take him out this year, but fingers crossed........

 

[soloequestrian]

I make a loading aid - you can look at it here www.soloequestrian.com
I'm particularly proud of the comments under the video on YouTube, and on my eBay feedback for the harness.

 

[sjp1]

What worked for us was everytime he planted on the trailer, I made him back up. The choice was his, go forward or back. It then stopped being such a lovely game of loungeing on the ramp with back legs off with one cocked, and started being hard work.

So he decided getting on was the lesser of two evils. Everytime I have a slight resistance, I back him up and the next attempt he is on.

 

[blackislegirl]

I had this problem years ago with my mare. Having largely cracked the issue of loading at home, getting her to load with the distractions of a show and a lorry park was still a struggle.

Every horse is different, but I developed a strategy which worked for me and over time (about 2 summer seasons) allowed me to conquer the issue. And that was alongside and after 1 -3 seasons of dealing with loading at home, with help from a Kelly Marks trained person - she was a difficult girl (the mare, that is...! ) I was doing this all on my own most of the time, as I don't have a regular travelling companion so needed my mare to be loadable by me alone.

- I always looked for somewhere quiet to park, preferably alongside a wall or hedge so that one side of the ramp was not available as space to swing quarters into
- on arrival, I unloaded the mare and then immediately asked her to load again (which she invariably did) to prove to us both that she was capable of entering the lorry in that spot.
- if there was a gap in our schedule that permitted it, I'd ask her to go into the lorry for a bit. That way I felt I'd be getting resistance out of her system before it was time to go home.
- I used a dually headcollar and also a lunge whip on the 'open' side of the ramp so that I could try and stop her swinging her quarters that way. If I had a friend with me who knew the mare, then I'd ask her to stand on point with the whip.

It all boiled down to a combination of getting the mare to focus on the job despite distractions, keeping her straight, and not giving up.

I also have to say that since I sold my 7.5t lorry and bought a modern 3.5t with a much lighter interior and a much less steep ramp, the little mare has been as good as gold. She has loaded in lorry lines without batting an eyelid, and I am very proud of her.