Loading on trailer practise - advice please - **long**

C

Chumsmum

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I have been bought a trailer for Xmas
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so we had our first loading practise today...

When I first had him he used to be a bugger to load on the odd occasion that we went out on friend's trailer but he would eventually give in when he saw that you were not going to give up, but that could be an hour down the line..
He was never any bother once on and didn't seem worried at all.

Since I moved yards he was been on the YO lorry lots of times and bar a couple of incidents (pulling back/getting away) he has been great and even shows the youngsters how to do it!

Today I let him sniff the trailer over and though a bit wound up he seemed okay. I opened all the ramps and pinned the partitions back so there was plenty of room. He walked on well but rushed off and the first couple of times broke away from me and tried to get back to his stable
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I shouted at him
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but he seemed to listen to me and I put the rope through the nose band of the collar for a bit more security.

Though he was even more wound up I peservered and he walked through the trailer at least 30 times, stopping when asked, occasionly giving him a small treat. I put the partitions back to straight and he still walked through but now more rushed as he came off. I tried to steady him down the ramp but he still comes off a little too fast for my liking. I also put the breast bar across a few times and he stood there for a minute or so and then I put it down so he could walk off, but still doing it too quickly.

I am quite pleased that despite the crap start he is walking on nicely without any hesitation. He is slightly wound up but I don't think he is scared of travelling, I think he gets wound up because he thinks he is going to do something exciting!

On our next lesson I hope to progress to shutting the ramps up but didn't want to push it too much today. Although I want to be able to travel him on my own I think I need someone there to practise putting the breach bar across and ramp up for now.

I also had a little towing lesson, okay going fowards but I am so rubbish at reversing/parking. OH timed me at 38 mins trying to reverse into barn and most of that was trying to reverse it in a straight line
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He eventually parked it for me with such a smug look on his face - I could have slapped him
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I am definitely booking some lessons!!

So, any tips on how to stop him rushing off down the ramp?

And any other tips on reversing bar the 'turn the wheel the opposite way' - it just ain't clicking with me..

Sorry it is soooooo long - have chocs/wine if you have made it this far
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Sounds like a good start, perhaps give him a small feed once he's on to make staying on the trailer worth it
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Dually halters are fantastic for loading and give you better control for loading/unloading. My husband couldn't reverse our trailer at all and always left it to me
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However we now have a 4 horse lorry which I refuse to drive (much too scary) which he drives beautifully
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Tips for reversing - practice!
 
If he is rushing off forewards have you tried reversing off backwards instead. Doesn't work for all horses but it did for my friend's Highland. He is very calm backwards but gets worried by the narow gap going forewards so does it as fast as possible. If you do have to go forewards make sure he is not catching himself on partitions. If they move I would always swivel them out of the way. Use a bridle for more control. Talk to him coming out and ask for a pause after every step, reward (so stopping is a good thing) and then ask for another. Sounds like you are doing fairly well if you are getting him in though.

Reversing I always use the mirrors - very rarely do I actually look round as I find that in the time I have looked round and over my shoulder the trailer has gone on a site seeing trip. Keep the speed low and turn the steering wheel fast. Straight lines are far more difficult than turns!

Have fun!!!
 
I was thinking about a dually halter - I think that if he is the same next time I will get one. Do you think they are better than using a bridle?

Reversing into this barn is tight so I am going to get lots of practise - under 30 mins is my next target
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Tips for reversing- ditto the practicing! I spent about 25 hours practicing in one week and am now pretty good
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I litterally went back and forth dozens of times until I could do it; night after night after night.

There are lots of tips but they are a little hard to explain. To reverse straight you need to find the point that your steering wheel is pointing to make your wheels straight. Make very small adjustments and go back very slowly and make note in your head of how many turns it take to go from one full lock to the other. Ie If you are straight and the wheels are straight and the trailer is straight and then it takes two full turns to get from straight to full lock one way then you know that it takes two full turns to get back to straight. So you know how much you need to turn it and you know how much you need to do to get it back to straight.
Next tip is... if you are straight and you are going back and you start to see more of the box in one wing mirror than the other then you need to steer towards that direction to correct it back to straight. This sounds odd but it does work. But you need to do it slowly. Taking your time is key
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Last thing is, hang your head out the window and watch what is happening but make sure that you check your other wing mirror too. It's best not to rely on looking out the window but it works for most people
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You should always be able to see the same amount of box in both mirrors when you are going back straight- it should always be the same picture in both mirrors. The thing about steering towards whichever side of the box you can see more off doesn't make much sense written down but it does work. If you can see half the box in the right mirror and very little in the left then you turn the steering wheel and point the wheels to the right/right hand down/clockwise. Always make small movements like 1/4 turn or smaller
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My only thought is that if you teach him to go backwards, and want to eventually load by yourself, he may start backing out as you are trying to shut the ramp etc. I usually load by myself and always take my mare off fowards after someone told me this - I don't know if it would be a problem or not!
 
The only thing that stops me from reversing him off backwards is that this is what he used to do at speed from my friend's trailer! But then he used to walk off normally - so he is the exact opposite now
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I am really pleased with the way he is walking on, almost on auto pilot. I think he is a scared of the partition closing on him even though he has plenty of room - 14hh pony in a IW505. I just wanted to practise with the partition straight so I could put the bars on quickly but he is standing when asked so I will practise folding them back and making him wait.

I tried talking to him and giving him a treat at the top of the ramp but he was just ignoring my efforts to get him to stop on the ramp, despite treats.

Yes, the trailer did seem to have a life of it's own
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Didn't realise that straight lines were harder!

I forcast lots of practise during the Xmas holidays!

Thanks for your replies
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Patience, practice and time will get your horse used to it and calm about it all. Just keep progressing on a stage each time until he is happy with that level before moving on to the next stage.
 
Those tips are brilliant - I'm going to print them off!!

I was making so my adjustments I had no idea where my wheels were so making the notes of how many turns etc is great. And the bit about how much trailer in the mirror - I could see the trailer disappearing but I was going crackers trying to work out which was to turn.

I will be doing loads of practising over Xmas!

Thanks again
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I had a mare that was a nightmare to load - tried a bridle, chiffney (against my better judgement and she just reared higher) but with a dually she loaded calmly first time. Well worth the money.
 
If you can reverse in a straight line - you can do all the turning etc no probs - so sit yourself in your car with the trailer on the back and straight behind and look in your wing mirrors - you should be able to see the same amount of trailer past the back of your car on each side.

When you start going back, the trailer will prob try to turn one way or the other, so if you start to see more trailer in one wing mirror, turn the steering wheel towards that mirror and the trailer will come straight again. Try it - it works and then everything makes more sense after!!

So - if you see more trailer in left mirror - turn wheel to left
if you see more trailer in right mirror - turn wheel to right.

That will help you reverse straight - Using that I could reverse car and trailer down a windy lane about 1/4 mile long without any probs!!

Good luck and happy reversing!!
 
I keep telling myself that the practise I put in now will last us years so I am being careful not rush it, we have all the time in the world. I want him to be totally happy about travelling so he is nice and relaxed when we reach our destination - even if he then gets excited when he sees all the other horses
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Many thanks for reply
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Keep some pony nuts in your trailer so that it starts to smell of food. Park it in a dip so that the ramp is less steep. Always have plent of time to practice loading and feed your horse each day for a month in your trailer and your horse will treat loading as second nature.

As it is a new trailer for security get your post code painted on the roof.
 
Wish I had posted this before I tried hehe!

I didn't realise the trailer would move left/right of it's own accord even though I kept the steering wheel straight - this took me about 30 of the 38 mins to figure out doh
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Your tips make perfect sense!
 
Why only an 'occasional' treat?

My mare can be a devil to load, and I can see it from her point of view. Why on earth would she want to go in that box which moves and puts her off balance? there is only one reason, and that is FOOD!
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She got a reward every time she did it right. Time, patience and rewards.
 
More good ideas
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Only problem about feeding on there every day is time - I wouldn't have time before work in the morning to get trailer in/out of barn (esp with my reversing) but I will be able to do this over Christmas for a week at least.

Would normal spray paint stay on to write my postcode on the top? I have a wheel clamp on it - any other security tips?
 
Sometimes when I park the trailer (between two other trailers!) I find it easier to do it from a turning lock so I drive past and then reverse while turning. For reversing in a straight line I do as Bex said and look at the wing mirrors correcting to whichever side is showing more, the reverse can be a little like a flattened 's' shape, in other words not completely straight.

For working out what you are doing with the steering wheel I think about it as if I am steering the trailer with the back of my car, when the back of it goes one way, the trailer goes the other. You'll find a way of thinking about it that clicks in your brain.
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[ QUOTE ]
If you can reverse in a straight line - you can do all the turning etc no probs - so sit yourself in your car with the trailer on the back and straight behind and look in your wing mirrors - you should be able to see the same amount of trailer past the back of your car on each side.

When you start going back, the trailer will prob try to turn one way or the other, so if you start to see more trailer in one wing mirror, turn the steering wheel towards that mirror and the trailer will come straight again. Try it - it works and then everything makes more sense after!!

So - if you see more trailer in left mirror - turn wheel to left
if you see more trailer in right mirror - turn wheel to right.

That will help you reverse straight - Using that I could reverse car and trailer down a windy lane about 1/4 mile long without any probs!!

Good luck and happy reversing!!

[/ QUOTE ]

That is exactly what I was trying to say but I think Bex has said it more clearly
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Chum is very motivated by food too! His previous owner taught him to beg for food with one leg (like a dog) so everytime I call him a good boy or he does anything remotely good he begs for a treat...

So he begged like a dog everytime he loaded (at least 30 times) and I don't want to encourage this, waving a leg in the confines of a trailer - and he would have been hyper on treats! It didn't seem to make a difference to the loading and he ignored a treat when rushing off.

However, when we are loading 'normally' he always has and will have a treat
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Reverse very very slowly and look in your wing mirrors practically all the time to see what the trailer's doing. Just turn your steering wheel as required, don't actually think about turning it the "wrong" way. The slower you go, the easier it is to get it right the first time. Bear in mind also that reversing into the barn will become a "set manoevre" over time - once you've got used to it you'll be able to do it standing on your head as it were. You'll know exactly where you have to stop before starting to back it in. Promise you, you will get good at this, you should have seen me three years ago (always hoping someone would "rescue" me, now I'm often the one helping out the other mums at Pony Club when they get a bit stuck)
 
Alright C

How happy am I to read this post
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. You are exceedingly brave to have a go at reversing. I had a quick spin an P's trailer today and tried reversing ..... OH too looked smug as he gave me a lesson!

So all this practising does this mean you are infilling SR's lpace tomorrow in the dressage *ducks and runs*.

Reversing ... ask John. You want the trailer to go right swing the steering wheel left, keep and eye on your mirrors, small adjustments slowly ... or so I have beentold umpteen times today.

Loading ... you are doing brilliantly! Remebering who you said you had tore your hair out previously. I would try a lunge line and a good pair of golves for you, that way if he does go to pee off you wont be pulled back or forwards and youll still have hold of him!

See you tomorrow hun.

Hbxxxxxx
 
ok i havnt read all of the replies but a few things from your 1st post... 30 TIMES!! my lord way to much, ok now for my reasons why,

i have a horse that is a sod to load in a trailer he dosnt really do anything just steps off the ramp but at some point gives in and walks in. it was driving me nuts! so i took him to a monty demo, next day continued the work, now hear come the warnings...

The dually.... if your horse is rushing back DONT use it, the chances are the sudden pressure will make yr horse either rear or throw his head up and hit it on the top of the trailer,

theres a long thread on the new rider forum under monty roberts about my horse feel free to go and have a look, but my horse suddenley started flying out backwards and i think it was my fault as he learnt he went in had a treat then i backed him out, 30 times is too much he will get bored do it once or twice and if safe to do so start loading from the side ramp and out the back that should combat him rushes out backwards.
ive tried to keep this brief so it may not make tons of sence, feel free to pm me.
 
Hello You
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I can't believe how hard reversing is, the trailer had a mind of it's own and I was like WTF?

Ste was trying to tell me but I think he was making it up as he went along...

Easy going forwards lol. I managed to line it up to hook up all by myself within 10 attempts too
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Sorry to disappoint you but I will not be taking part tomorrow, but I will be applauding you from the sidelines and providing 'refreshments'
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Loading - despite the little sh*t getting away from me twice he seemed to calm down after I told him off lol and I am pleased with progress. I had my hat and gloves on - will add the lunge line!

Have a good night's sleep and see you in the morning.

C xx

PS Vote for Rhydian
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He was getting a bit bored by the end lol but still carried on bless him.

He is, unlike when I first got him, rushing forwards to get off so would the dually be useful in this circumstance?

I will look for the other forum, thank you
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if hes going to rush forward i would say yes, i can not deny i helped in the beginning with my boy, but in the end i took the time and went back to a normal head collar, before loading if your going to use it do lots of ground work, evenin the hands of monty it caused my horse to rear which i wasnt to chuffed about, to be honest it can be a nasty and brutal bit of kit.
 
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