loading

[serena2005]

im attempting to load my horse tomorrow on a trailer, and i really dont want to make it into a fight,last time he was on a horse box he went crazy and broke off it by getting underneath the partition, and braking his lead rope....

hes a nevous horse anyway and usually takes him time loading but hes not the type you can force as he just gets worse.

has anyone got any handy loading tips to make it as stress free as poss.

oh and we usually has a bucket of nuts encouraging him to walk up but he just stretchs his neck as long as he can....

 

[VikkiBP]

Park the trailer along side a wall to prevent one side escape route, lunge lines may be useful to discourage running off the ramp at the other side, other than that its patience. If you have access to a trailer I would feed your horse in there everyday until he/she walks calmly in, thus associating trailers with pleasurable experience, hope that helps a little

 

[Peanot]

The biggest thing that people do wrong is that when they get their horse to the ramp and it starts to turn away, they let them turn away and turn a circle therefore letting the horse think that he can keep walking round in circles. If he starts to go to the side, make him go back again, don`t walk him away. I am not saying force him on as this will never work. I have walked a few horses straight onto a box/trailer after watching their owners trying for a good half hour or more. The secret is not to rush and let them go at their own pace and if they decide to back off, then let them, but don`t let them turn away. Also if he stops don`t stand in front of him and pull, just stand at the side of his shoulder and don`t look them in the eyes but straight ahead. If he is walking straight on, make sure that you are ahead as you go up the ramp or you will get squashed or left behind as he goes in.
Some horses will take the p1ss and you will get to know when this is the case, then a gentle swishing of the whip behind them to make a noise but not touch them, works wonders.
Good Luck and importantly KEEP CALM AND RELAXED and your horse will too.