spotty_pony
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To cut a long story short, my boy travels really well in a 7.5+ herringbone style lorry, but not great in a 3.5 tonne. I have ,managed to find a large lorry I can hire out from time to time but it is an hour's drive away from where I live to pick it up so not easy but doable. Anyway, we have a 3.5 tonne lorry sat at home that is my friend's and she has said I can borrow it if I like to take him out and about which would be so much easier and would mean that we could get out and about more regularly! It's a work in progress at the moment as I did travel him in a van style one a few years back and for whatever reason he wasn't keen and kicked the partition down on the way back from hunting. it seems to be the enclosed space he does not like, possibly coupled by facing backwards. This one is a bigger style with full stallion partitions.
I have read somewhere that you can put the partition wider so that he can spread his legs more and balance easier which I think may work so that he is standing at a bit of an angle and not completely straight so may give that a go. He is one that leans on the back wall for balance when travelling herringbone. Ive taken it right back to basics, and have started feeding him in the lorry in the morning. Am not shutting him in until he is happy and we have only done it once so far. He ate a bit of his feed but then ran back out. Some would say I should have made him go straight back in but I left it there before then tension rose and he got stressed. I want him to be completely relaxed. I am considering putting a rope halter or a bridle on for my more control but again don't want to let the tension levels rise. I will be repeating this again and again until he is happy at this stage before I progress. I am in no rush to take him out in this lorry until he is happy, however long that may take, it's just a bit of a challenge with it being sat outside my window and him being at home, I have the time to do it without any pressure.
Am I missing anything or does anybody have any tips? This horse was impossible to clip without sedation but we have been working on this for the past few years and I can manage to give him a decent clip without any sedation now - just through trust and patience so I don't believe this is impossible either - not easy but certainly a challenge.
I have read somewhere that you can put the partition wider so that he can spread his legs more and balance easier which I think may work so that he is standing at a bit of an angle and not completely straight so may give that a go. He is one that leans on the back wall for balance when travelling herringbone. Ive taken it right back to basics, and have started feeding him in the lorry in the morning. Am not shutting him in until he is happy and we have only done it once so far. He ate a bit of his feed but then ran back out. Some would say I should have made him go straight back in but I left it there before then tension rose and he got stressed. I want him to be completely relaxed. I am considering putting a rope halter or a bridle on for my more control but again don't want to let the tension levels rise. I will be repeating this again and again until he is happy at this stage before I progress. I am in no rush to take him out in this lorry until he is happy, however long that may take, it's just a bit of a challenge with it being sat outside my window and him being at home, I have the time to do it without any pressure.
Am I missing anything or does anybody have any tips? This horse was impossible to clip without sedation but we have been working on this for the past few years and I can manage to give him a decent clip without any sedation now - just through trust and patience so I don't believe this is impossible either - not easy but certainly a challenge.
