Loading success!!!!!

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stacey_lou

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Ok so now im going to talk about me me me lol. You may all remember my posts about loading or rather no loading. My girlie wasn't having none of it, then we did 2 months confidence building with walking up and down the ramp sometimes talking hours just to get on but could never shut the partition.

Well we got on went to a show jumped 2'32 and 2'6" and came home, was a real fight to get her on, she travelled well but still had stress loading going and coming home.

Well last week we did it, we stressed a little loading on the way out (we now use electrial fencing tape rather than lunge lines) she reared 6 times untill she realised we werent getting stressed out then she got on a little bit of a struggle but we were on went to the show she was relaxed we jumped 2'6" VERY well then 2'9" really well then on the way home we went to load her she backed away once then strolled straight on. She STROLLED on lol my friend and I looked at each other in shock before saying shall we shut the door now.

Even now we cant quiet believe it but I am thrilled. but it can be done.
 
Well done, great news :D

My horse is a tricky loader so I know what a relief it is to finally get them going on! I've recently been feeding my boy on there (every day) and we're now at the point where he DRAGS me on to the trailer in case there might be a feed bucket on.

Maybe try feeding her on there too, just to keep giving her positive trailer experiences?
 
Thats the thing she is a fantasic traveller even the first time you wouldnt even know she was on the box, there is no movement nothing she stands still and eats her haylage its just getting her up the ramp which is improving, plus she loves to jump and loves people making a fuss over her so when we go out show jumping she is enjoying her self so I suppose thats why she is getting eaiser.

Thank you everyone i wanted to share my excitement with people that know how it feels
 
stacey_lou said:
Thats the thing she is a fantasic traveller even the first time you wouldnt even know she was on the box, there is no movement nothing she stands still and eats her haylage its just getting her up the ramp which is improving, plus she loves to jump and loves people making a fuss over her so when we go out show jumping she is enjoying her self so I suppose thats why she is getting eaiser.

Thank you everyone i wanted to share my excitement with people that know how it feels
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Well done you thats great news.

Lucy used to take hours to load. She loaded fine to begin with but then she had a realy bad journey with a non horsey driver who drove HGVs for a living :(:(:( When we got to the show we did our stuff then it took three hours to load her back in. It was soal destroying as she had loaded herself in the morning. She refused to load for a long long time but once on bord she was a saint. Once we had taken 2 1/2 hours to load her and we broke down on the way there. She had no hay but stood like a rock for 2hrs till we where rescued. I got her loading again by only travelling her to go hunting which is her most fav thing ever. Now she loads like a star again. :D:D:D
 
Thats exactly how I felt having had the same problem with my mare for 2 years, she is a brilliant loader now and takes herself up and stands in the partition and will load 1st, 2nd or last, its so gratifying when they finally learn how much more fun they can have by going in the lorry.
 
LauraWheeler said:
Well done you thats great news.

Lucy used to take hours to load. She loaded fine to begin with but then she had a realy bad journey with a non horsey driver who drove HGVs for a living :(:(:( When we got to the show we did our stuff then it took three hours to load her back in. It was soal destroying as she had loaded herself in the morning. She refused to load for a long long time but once on bord she was a saint. Once we had taken 2 1/2 hours to load her and we broke down on the way there. She had no hay but stood like a rock for 2hrs till we where rescued. I got her loading again by only travelling her to go hunting which is her most fav thing ever. Now she loads like a star again. :D:D:D
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Thats what I think had happened to my mare before, I had 3 thoughts as to her not loading, one was she has been shipped around 6 times in her 8 years of life,two when her foal was weened she was taken away from it and it upset her or three just bad travelling but shes a good girl now she knows she goes out and has fun and come back to own stable and not a new one. I couldnt get rid of her and I wish she knew that.

But well done to you for over coming the problem, so few people can actually look at a problem and work to it I know people whos only answer is a lunge whip and screming and shouting and that annoys me a little bit of sympathy, understanding and patients goes a long way and also earns a lot of respect
 
It can cut through a horse's flesh like a hot knife through butter, causing the most horrific injuries that can take months to heal - if they heal at all.

It is not made of a soft cushioned weave like, say, a lunge line, which would be far preferable for encouraging loading. It is very hard, with sharp edges.

You are also risking substantial damage to your hands, even if you are wearing gloves.
 
Jump4Joy....why is it that you seem to pick on stacy_lou???

You have only posted 4 times....and each and every one has been to completely slate her.
Firstly about her ponys first show and now about this.
 
How could this possibly be described as slating her. Merely pointing out that using electrical fencing tape is highly dangerous and could cause serious injury to her horse.

I tell the truth.
 
Jump4Joy said:
Oh My God - she's at it again. Miss No Idea./QUOTE]

I think that is a little bit harsh.

You have a point about electrical tape....but still....the way you rip into her is a bit OTT....im guessing its something personal between you two.

Trust me....i have seen a lot of worse implements used on horses that wont load.
It may be that that was all they had to hand at the time. Not ideal...but it did the trick.
At least she didnt beat it in to the trailer with a pitch fork which i have seen on more than one occasion at events.
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well donw with cracking the loading!

by the way, i wouldn't use electric fence tape to load her thought - it can cause mega injuries. my YO got whipped by some the other day turning a horse out and it's ripped her coat to shreds! the fencing is lots of thin bits of wire, which will cut through anything.

anyway, i don't approve of elec fencing being used for anything other than elec fencing cos i need my horses to respect it as fencing (if that makes sense).

good luck with continuing to load her! i hope she's always ace. xxx
 
Well done for all your hard work in getting your horse to load. Hopefully she will just get more and more confident.

I had similar experience and one thing which really helped was strengthening the ramp with additional metal strutts* - she obviously didn't feel secure with the 'bounce' on the ramp, although it was minimal.

I have just swapped for an Equi-trek and she now loads beautifully.

I am not advising everyone to by Equi-trek's(!) but just to look at the whole thing from the horses point of view, if the ramp is too steep, or has any bounce at all, it is going to make your job a whole lot more messy.

* A local agricultural farmer did this, wasn't expensive.
 
First of all we never touch her with the tape, we do not qrap it around her hind to force her on like I have seen some people do with lunge lines we use it as guide line up to the ramp but once she at the ramp she knows what to do just sometimes she pushes her luck.

This electric tape has not metal in it is purley just been left with the plastic that the wire travels through but as it happens we took her out on Sunday and she loaded with just me, no one else, no lines, nothing just walked straight on

and Jump for Joy for your information I love my horse dearly and I would never ever do anything to harm her or push her so far it would upset her. If you knew me and my horse you would see that.
 
Do you really!!!! My horse is no unpredictable she is very well behaved and is learning fast. many people have complimented me on the success of loading her, competing her and schooling her as it has taken a lot of time. you must be getting me confused with someone else
 
So glad for you! I'm gonna sit my boy in front of the computer and show him all this coz at the mo he's a right swine to load; sometimes however he can go in there like a lamb, so you never know what His Lordship is gonna do.

I'm getting to the stage where I am going to have to get my own transport - if I can afford it I'd like one of those nippy little things the size of a ford transit but a horsebox, if you see what I mean (not a trailer, tho' undecided ...).

So I shall have to get working on matey, feeding him in there etc., to get him in, and all that sort of bribery and corruption. He's a total pig so food might just do the trick.
 
It seems their post was removed?? I dont know who this person is and it really upsets me to hear that that what someone thinks about me.

Many people up the yard I am at have prasied me for bringing her on as she has learnt so much as she was very green when I got her just under a year ago. I mean I spent 2 months just walking her up and down the ramp before i even tried to close the partiton and she has been so patient with me and trusted me so much so we are now going to competitons.

She is an angel and I would NEVER harm my horse ever and always take into concideration her greenness. Sorry its really upset me that someone would say that.
 
MiJodsR2BlinkinTite thank you, it took ages, she was delivered to me by horse box but I has loads of ideas as to why she wouldnt, sometimes shes a little marish and will rear up and look at you for a reaction and when she dosent get one she loads lol :-)

Like I said we just did 2 months of feeding in the box, walking up and down the ramp ect before we finally got her in and went somewhere and when she saw she was coming home after and going out and doing something she enjoys (jumping) she is now satisfied (i think) that I would never get rid of her and so is happy to load and go for days out.

I hope your boy improves but all you can do as a horse owner is try and understand the reasons why and work on them. Good luck!
 
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