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welshied

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Since i was suppose to be showing my welsh section d on sunday and couldn't go beacause i couldn't get him on the trailer looks like i am going to have to do a lot of loading practice with him.
When you take him up to it he paws at the ramp and nibbles it etc and he starts to put his front feet on it etc but thats as far as it ever goes and he just starts backing up, i did post about YO heaving him onto it which i wasn't happy about (but thats another story) and since then he has been going on if you just put a rope on either side of trailer for him to walk down.
Now what do i do start from basics and just open up front ramp aswell and let him walk straight through it? Anyone got any advice?
 
id say back to basics, open all doors and just walk him up and through, up and through, then up, pause inside, treat, and out again, and repeat.

Then up, pause for a period of time, maybe if you get him good at it, give him his dinner or some hay in there or something (so being in the trailer = REALLY GOOD for food!)
As he gets better start shutting the front door whilst he is paused inside, then open it and let him out

Lovely long and drawn out process, but shouldnt be too bad so long as he has not been scared too badly through it!

GOOD LUCK!
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have lots of mints and carrots etc at the ready! and people to help you!
 
does your trailer have front unload?

A lot of horses dont like loading because of the ramp - they can feel the upwards climb, but can also see the roof and fear they will hit their head as the floor is rising (normally shown by a raipd backing up and raising of their heads). if you have a front ramp, you could try backing him up it and onto the trailer, rather then walking forwards- this takes that fear away (and also reduces the fear of the dark enclosed space.
 
Yeah i was stood there with him for an hour the other day and we didn't even manage to get his feet on the ramp so looks like i am going to have a long weekend told YO and he said i'll get the b u g g e r in but don't think thats going to help tbh
 
The pawing and nibbling indicates he is genuinely worrying and is not just being stubborn, as such I would allow yourself plenty of time (and treats!) getting him used to going up and through the trailer; forcing him wont fix anything...
If when you are practising it gets to the stage where he is no longer looking at the ramp or the trailer, his eyes seem to have 'glazed over' and he is just saying no for the sake of it, then is the time to get a quiet and patient helper to give you a hand!!
Ask the helper to give his bum a push, or to physically lift his feet (one at a time!) up and forward onto the ramp to get some forward momentum (the person at his head needs to be giving lots of reassurance at this stage!).
Essentually I suppose you just need to prove to him that you have more time and patience than he does, and to remember that getting cross will only create stress and 'prove' to the horse that trailers are scary!
 
Mine is an absolute bag to load! she is not scared just bleedin stubborn! The way we get her in is to walk her up to the ramp,let her have a sniff then push her backwards,walk up again,wait and see what she will do, if she stops then backwards we go again,don't give her any attention or even look at her.If she takes a step further she will get a 'good girl'. we repeat this procedure until she gets bored stupid ,gives up and walks in! the maxium time it has taken is 30 minutes. I think the key is never to turn them away from the trailer as in their little minds they have won that battle, always back them up.The person that got mine loading in this way told me you have to make it easier for them to forwards than backwards.Then do it every day for a week so they get the idea.I have taken mine back to basics as she is being a total bag about going in my new trailer.
 
Practice, practice and more practice. Let him paw the ramp, that is natural behaviour- he is testing the ramp to see if its safe. Practice in short sessions, get progress then leave for another day. i.e. if you get one foot on the ramp, that is progress. Dont try and aim to get him in completely on the first session. Thats asking too much.

Open the front ramp and remove partitions. Have another horse led through to show him the way. Feed him only when he moves forward, even if its only one foot. You also only need to give a tiny handful each time he moves forward. He should then learn that forward is good. Once the horse is in, build up so you can lead through. Then put the front ramp up and so on. Small steps at a time and if his attention wanders just guide his head back to you.

Trying to bull/shove/scare a horse neve works long term. You just have to teach the horse that the trailer is safe and this takes alot of time and patience.

Good luck!
 
Agree with Ottinmeg - in my experience the worst thing to do is turn them away from the trailer. My mare used to be the worst nightmare to load when she was younger - my ym who is super knowledgeable said as long as i dont let her attention away from going inside (so no turning away or looking away from the inside) she will give up and go in and it really worked - after a few times of her realising she wasnt gonna be allowed to look or go anywhere else but in that trailer she gave up and started going straight in unaided 1st time every time. The only other advice is to please not lose your temper -im sure you dont but i used to be stabled at a huge competition yard and always saw people lose it and whip their horses until they went in - there is no need to ever resort to that.
 
I've got a long article on loading advice on my own website, and probably the most important thing is to remember that horses and humans experience things very differently - what seems like hours of waiting to you might seem like a few seconds to your horse so patience is key. If you want to have a look at the article, it's at www.soloequestrian.com (either in blog or on harness page).
 
What is it with section Ds and not loading! My mare was exactly the same and hers was genuinely anxiety so much so that she passed out in a trailer so we now only use a horse box. It used to take me hours to get her on now she goes in but it is definately her decision.

Section Ds are stubborn b*****s aren't they! I had a NH guy come and work with her after Monty Roberts tried and failed! He worked with her for 10 mins int he field and walked her over to the box held the end of the rope and pointed on the box on she walked! :0 I wouldn't normally go down the NH route as its not something the interests me. It works with Angel but the type of NH he used was different to other I have normally seen.

What is he like with a horse box? might be worth a try. But I think openning the box up leading him through and feeding him on it would be a good start.
 
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What is it with section Ds and not loading! My mare was exactly the same and hers was genuinely anxiety so much so that she passed out in a trailer so we now only use a horse box. It used to take me hours to get her on now she goes in but it is definately her decision.

Section Ds are stubborn b*****s aren't they! I had a NH guy come and work with her after Monty Roberts tried and failed! He worked with her for 10 mins int he field and walked her over to the box held the end of the rope and pointed on the box on she walked! :0 I wouldn't normally go down the NH route as its not something the interests me. It works with Angel but the type of NH he used was different to other I have normally seen.

What is he like with a horse box? might be worth a try. But I think openning the box up leading him through and feeding him on it would be a good start.

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Sorry, but sec D's are not all stubborn......mine loads extremely well, it's down to practice and good driving, and giving confidence. He can wait to get on the box and go to a show etc, and thrives on the fuss he gets on his day out.
 
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