loading issues please help/advise

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horsehappy

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hi all

ive got a lovely rising 4 warmblood which i am in the process of backing.

ive recently been tackling the issue of loading- he loaded with 2 of us using lung lines and we had him so he would walk onto the trailer and back out the front confidently without- problem is he started to then happily pop in and then bolt back out the front ramp so we put the breast bar in so he HAD to wait and now he gets in and stresses- we can settle him with feed but then once the breast bar is removed and we ask him to walk down the front ramp he explodes off!

he now is refusing to walk on without the lunge lines and seems upset and anxious again about the whole thing :(

any advice greatly received.
 
I've had a couple that would do that and my own thoughts are that any attempt to box them in is a mistake. I feel the horse that comes out again quickly, is merely wanting to reassure itself that it can escape. You'll often see a nervous horse looking around. I am convinced it is checking on good escape routes it can use if it feels uncomfortable. Somehow you have to work on removing the discomfort and getting it relaxed in the trailer so it doesn't feel the need to run back out.

Food is a great motivator and I have two foals who will happily trot into the trailer for hard feed -- but as soon as they get a mouthful they exit fast, eat outside, then pop back in for another mouthful! I think the answer might be a small mesh hay net so rushing out after each mouthful just takes too much effort for the reward and they will learn to stay inside. At the moment I don't care if they come out because there is no need for them to travel any where. I am still working on that theory but it has worked for older problem horses.

I had two bought in brood mares who were very bad loaders. So I penned them into a small area and gave then access to a strip of fresh grass behind an electric fence every morning. The snag was, they had to walk through the trailer to get to the fresh grass! They were kept in a small herd with several good loaders. The good loaders were encouraged to go through the trailer every day. The bad loaders soon learnt to follow -- at the gallop! It is quite something to see 500kgs horses galloping through an IW505!

But gradually they relaxed and would walk through. Then they were encouraged to pull at a hay net in the trailer. Gradually, they began to accept the trailer as a nice place to be. That took weeks! Now all our youngsters are put through loading practice as a routine. They are never forced but always fed something nice in the trailer. They are also taught "pressure and release" so it is a simple matter to get them to self load and then someone in the trailer to gently take hold of the head collar and encourage them to pull at a hay net. So far so good.

Now we have a round pen, we simply back the trailer up to it and drop the ramp. The bad loader is worked in the pen but the pressure taken of each time the horse goes near the ramp by simply stopping lunging, turning away, and leaving for maybe 20 seconds. The "ask" is gradually increased over time. I think that is a version of the Parelli (!) method of teaching self loading on the lunge. It is a good method because the trailer becomes a safe place the horse wants to be.

I am sure others will post with their own methods as this is a subject that comes up regularly on here.
 
Dry Rot isn't too different from what I do. Trapping him in the trailer is a massive mistake, take your time and get some advice. He will never be a good loader if you cock it up now.
 
Nip in the bud early on and get professional help. I had help from Jason Webb for one of our ponies who would not load, refused point blank to the point we had to leave her at polo on more than one occasion, the little darling! He has a great video online which was very helpful, or you can call him for a chat. We actually sent the pony to him for a week's loading training, which I have to say was the best money I ever spent, wish I'd done it years earlier but the video is really helpful too. http://australianhorsetraining.co.uk/
 
Thank you for your comments- so do you think i am I best to take the breast bar out again and let him go straight in and out even if it is a bit quick/stressy and repeat until he settles down?

Also does anyone know anyone in the midlands- notts/derby who could come and advise/help?

That's again all
 
I would definitely say yes to letting him come through even if he is stressy and rushes. As soon as you can get his attention when he is in, give him a treat and try to get him to pause, even if briefly - the first few times he may grab a treat en-route but will probably start to look for it. Once you have the pause, your job is then to lengthen that pause and keep his attention in a positive way - more treats, stroking, verbal reassurance. But always leave his way clear and let him go out.

As an aside, I have a tricky loader who I have to tempt in with food. We are partway through loading training, but he is good enough now to take out somewhere and I can always get him back in within 10 minutes, with no help other than a bucket of feed - no lunge lines, whips or helpers. I find that there are more helpful feeds you can use - chopped carrot and apple is good, but hard feed (chaff and nuts) tends not to be - he grabs a handful and rushes off the box to chew at his leisure. Mine will do almost anything for a few bits of chopped carrot with a sprinkle of rosehips, and will wait longer on the box while eating them, which gives me time to close the partition and make a fuss of him.
 
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