Loading issues with new pony

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Spangle99

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Hi there, I am new to this forum and I was wondering if anyone has any advice on loading a stubborn 12.2 pony. He is a fantastic pony in all ways apart from loading. My 10 year old daughter has great fun on him. We have taken him to pony club a few times. Loads no problem on the yard, but away from the yard he is a nightmare. It was so bad last time I had to phone my yard owner to cone and rescue us as no one else could load him, not even with a dually. We eventually got him in with lunge ropes, and enough carrots to fill a stable. It took three of us to load him. Not ideal when I usually take my daughter to pony club myself. He goes nearly all the way in then backs out. He is not scared as I have loaded him alot at the yard and he just walks right in with a bucket of feed.

Somebody on my yard suggested a be nice head collar.

Just wondered if anyone has any experience/ideas which could help. I really don't want to part with him as my daughter loves him but we also want to go to pony club and local shows.

Thanks in advance for any help.
 
I don't know anything about any pressure headcollars but I used to load my sons little sod of a pony on my own using two lunge lines, one from her headcollar, through the tie ring then out through the grooms door and back to me. The second behind her bum. With practice I became a dab hand. I always used to hook on a manger of nuts to the breast bar as well. Good luck.
 
I'd suggest you take the pony out to a "venue" but not a competition so you can practise loading away from home as many times as necessat
 
Charterlines idea is a good one, just go to a friends and practice maybe, while you aren't tired and stressed.
Always set everything out before you start, food and lungelines in place, it is much easier than trying to shout at a child what to do while you hold a reluctant pony!
 
Thanks, will arrange to go and visit my friends yard. No pressure. I was a bit frazzled last time. My daughters first pony was just getting over a serious bout of colic. So was feeling abit stressed.

Thanks for your advice.
 
I'd be taking him places (even just a yard down the road or something) and practicing there when you haven't been at an event and are tired and fed up. I had one who used to do this and I had most success with a pressure headcollar, mine was a very thin string type one that just tightened all around if he pulled (practice at home first - he got the idea almost immediately) and after a while when he was pretty much reliable loading and I didnt bother with the controller head collar, if he had the odd little strop about going in then I got a squirty drinks bottle of water and just got someone to squirt it at the back of his hind legs where they met the hindquarters (the shock of it made him move his back legs getting him going forwards up the ramp). And I ALWAYS had a bucket of food for bribery. Even now with all my perfect loaders I always give a mint when they load, its just habit but keeps them happy.
 
Ha ha, like the idea of a squirty bottle. Will arrange visits to friends (if they will have us after last pony club venture). I have heard good things about pressure head collars. But I will need to use it correctly. He is an angel on the yard. Walks right in.

Thanks for replying.
 
Just to add another perspective, my daughters 13.2 pony didn't load well. I thought it was because she had to load close to our other horses and didn't want to leave them. Couple of months later she went lame and we discovered hock arthritis which would have been bothering her for a while. Ever since she had treatment she's walked onto the trailer,
Is it possible your pony is sore after the journey there? Possibly not if its only on the way home
 
charterline said:
Whilst a pressure headcollar will help him load, it's not going to stop him backing out...
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It will if he understands pressure and release. Mine was a sticky loader and generally a big, strong thug! I bought a Dually, did some ground work so he understood it. I dont have transport so I hired a wagon for 6 hours to practice loading. He went on within 5 mins and we've never had a problem since :)
 
Do be sure that you don't let him get to any grass before you load him but give him a nice "thank you" bucket once in the trailer. This will get him to understand that the job's not done till he is loaded.
 
FrankieCob said:
It will if he understands pressure and release. Mine was a sticky loader and generally a big, strong thug! I bought a Dually, did some ground work so he understood it. I dont have transport so I hired a wagon for 6 hours to practice loading. He went on within 5 mins and we've never had a problem since :)
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No it won't. If the horse is determined that it's coming out backwards either through fear or bolshiness and pressure headcollar will not work. If he backs himself out calmly it may help
 
I have some feed in a rubber hanging feed tub which I put on the other partition facing the wrong way so my pony has to walk right up to the breast bar and crane her neck round to her at nuts.

Also I load her half up the ramp while staying at her shoulder, no pulling or getting in her way, and once I know she's fixed on getting her nuts I put the leadrope over her back and let her walk in. This means everything is her idea.

Then once her bum is past the breech bar I put it up. She'll then move backward hit the bar with her bum realise that she is now in and stops fussing. I then go round tie her up.

With my pony it all has to be her idea and also I have a be nice headcollar over the top of what she's wearing to travel in. She cldnt be tied before the breech bar was up as she'd run out backwards regardless whether she was tied or not. She wld allow you to use a 'trick' method of loading but only once or twice and she'd get wise to it so they don't work.
 
Thanks for all the replys. Very much appreciated and lots of good advice. Next trip planned is a week say so going to put done work in before then.
 
charterline said:
Whilst a pressure headcollar will help him load, it's not going to stop him backing out...
Click to expand...

But it will if she's still standing at the front holding him - as soon as he starts to reverse you simply put pressure on the headcollar, well actually you just stand perfectly still and maintain the grip on the leadrope that you had so he's basically pulling against himself, he'll likely come forward again as soon as he feels it which will soon break the habit (or did with mine!). Obviously dont tie up in the controller though OP, this is why I stopped using mine as soon as horse was being reliable because it was a faff taking it off from under his normal headcollar.
 
Mine is not scared of the trailer, but often doesn't want to get on! He lounges on the ramp with front feet on and a back foot resting!!

Lunge lines, etc. cause rearing, and going no where near the ramp, once he is on he is on and never offers to back off.

Even with two successive over night visits to the vet with stays, a bucket of food, no pressure and 10 minutes and he gets on - it is grr - OH says why can't he just bl...dy get on immediately (!!) and he was super delighted to be collected from vets, whinnied and rushed out of the stable - but I have found this is the quickest route. I have tried rope halters, backing him up when he won't go forward etc., generally if he has a friend with him he gets up immediately if friend is either on ramp with him or has gone on first, by himself he is hesitant.

I always have the front ramp down and have learnt that although ideally he should give to pressure, he just fights, so the minute I feel resistance I don't fight him - he seems to relish a fight!!

I could well be completely wrong, but having spent over two hours after a fun ride trying to load him and win, I choose the path of least resistance - a three hour fun ride with a two hour loading nightmare is no fun!!
 
MagicMelon said:
But it will if she's still standing at the front holding him - as soon as he starts to reverse you simply put pressure on the headcollar, well actually you just stand perfectly still and maintain the grip on the leadrope that you had so he's basically pulling against himself, he'll likely come forward again as soon as he feels it which will soon break the habit (or did with mine!). Obviously dont tie up in the controller though OP, this is why I stopped using mine as soon as horse was being reliable because it was a faff taking it off from under his normal headcollar.
Click to expand...
And if the horse truly is scared and/or bolsgy and wants to be out of the trailer, pulling on pressure halter will make it a whole lot worse. The chances are you will either have a horse who will rear in the trailer, and at best hit his head, at worse wreck the trailer and himself. Trying to keep a horse in a contained environment like that he doesn't want to be in, and knows there is a way out is very, very dangerous

If the pony walks in calmly then unloads himself in a very controlled fashion, it will probably work then, but Only under those circumstances.
 
FrankieCob said:
horses dont rear once they understand the concept of pressure and release
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I think sometimes horses perfectly understand the concept of pressure and release but have no desire to comply. My own is a perfect example - we had a NH trainer out for very many weeks who was apparantly hugely qualified with all sorts of well known NH trainers, and my horse understands this very well - however, he has no desire to comply and forcing the issue takes a whole lot longer. Yes, we can get there that route, but it is an awful lot quicker the easier route.
 
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