Natural Horsemanship Loading experience

[TommisMum]

Thought I would share this with you.

I am 5'1" late 40s female nursing a splint on wrist due to break.
Horse is a 4yr old CBx mare 16:2.

When Storm was delivered to us she was bullied on to a lorry with ropes etc. When I needed to load her to take her to an event we had a very bad experience with her rearing etc. As I didn't have time to solve this (needing to transport another horse) she was turned away.
Now I am planning to take her to xc schooling next weekend so need her to load.

Fortunately earlier this year I had 2 clinics with Richard Maxwell who taught me some basic principles which do work.

Key rules being: 1) allow plenty of time - as Max allows half a day I thought I'd best do the same. 2) do not give up

Sunday 2:30
I park the 3.5 ton side loading lorry in the arena parallel to B with the ramp down and gates open.
I then brought Storm into the arena. Her initial reaction was to nap and cow kick and I could not lead her over the centre line. For an hour I worked her in a pressure halter from the ground in walk. Working her forwards and backwards and in circles. It took the hour to get her to walk past and stand sideways next to the ramp on both reins. During this time when ever she was near the lorry I would ask her to stand introducing it to her from different angles. When coming at it diagonally she would rear and I would go with her so that she didn't over balance and return to the ground work forwards and backwards.

3:30 I closed the gates and worked on introducing Storm to the ramp. I also put chipboard at the base of the ramp where she'd previously walked to introduce a different feel under her feet. This time her objections were stronger rearing to avoid touching the ramp. Each time she objected I would return to the previous lesson but end up with her standing where her strop had started. If by any chance she had a hoof on the ramp regardless of how this happened I would stop and release all pressure giving her time to think what was different, walk her away from the ramp and then bring her back. It was remarkable how compliant she was once she realised what was being asked. I didn't ask her to stand on the ramp facing sideways unless she was very well balanced as she is a little goofy and didn't want her to lose her balance.

4:30 I moved the gates so that they pointed into the body of the lorry a bit like guiding poles when jumping and introduced the concept of a forward facing ramp into a cave. This was not a popular question and Storm would evade by rearing (seems 1 in 20 horses do this) this was a little alarming as she does a great black beauty impersonation but did discover for herself that combining such antics with a cowkick means we sit on our bum! Scarily she ended up sitting 3 times and after each I did check her over before continuing. Again ever time a hoof landed on the ramp I would stop, let her think and then take her away to chill. Then once one hoof was calmly placed would ask for 2 - go through the rearing again util 2 were given and so on. If she got too wound up we would revert to ground work and walking sideways over the ramp - something she now found easy. After another hour she would put her head in the lorry but not her feet.

5:30 I opened the gates and again asked Storm to come onto the ramp. Initially this was as if she had never been on the front straight on and we returned to the rearing. It also seemed more time consuming as to return to previous lessons meant opening and closing the gates. When she tried to put her front feet into the lorry body the rock worried her and she reared out cracking her nose on the roof - I was tempted to give up. But went back a stage and redid it.
At 6:30 I was able to walk her up the ramp and have her head and shoulders in the box and front two feet on the edge. The next stage was very much a waiting game with calm and gentle pressure on the halter releasing as soon as she made the slightest move into the box and then taking her backwards down the ramp and away to think and chill.

Eventually at 7:15 she followed me into the box and stood diagonally across it. For the next 30 mins we walked in and out allowing her to stand calmly in the box and chill outside. Finally closing the partition and the gates but not the ramp.
At 7:45 my 12year old daughter also loaded her.

Now I do not say I have cracked this, will update tomorrow when I am going to do this again.
It was frustrating and at times I wanted to give up, at times I was angry with frustration. At these points I had a slurp of coffee (stationed at E) or wine (after 6!) to give me thinking time too. It was amazing how the bond between us grew as I learnt to read her body language and she learnt to trust me. It also helped seeing the yard clock as I could say to myself just another 10mins...next time I would wear boots that didn't rub....

But it did work she did load calmly and quietly with no lunge lines etc.

so update tomorrow!

 

[Aarrghimpossiblepony]

Well done.
Look forward to the update and I hope you've cracked it.

I do think that sometimes time constraints get added to the horses refusal to do things.

In other words, the horse won't do it(whatever it is) fast enough first time and that gets translated into the horse won't do it full stop.

 

[hobgoblin]

Sounds like yourve cracked it to me, well done

 

[Anna*]

Sounds like you were incredibly calm, patient and consistent. What a fantastic job. Well done

 

[Alyth]

You have made a good start.....but you need to load her every day for 7 days, then every other day for another week, and then every so often.......this will establish the good habit of loading, even self loading!!! You could add a bit of + reinforcement when she is in the lorry, in the form of a bit of carrot or apple!! Well done, and good luck!!

 

[Dry Rot]

Excellent! Not sure I'd be brave enough to lead a rearing horse and I prefer my method but what works, works!

I have bought in a few really bad loaders and we now use the round pen. The psychology is basically the same but at 73 I'm not keen on having a rearing horse land on my head!

The trailer is backed up to the round pen and the ramp put down. The horse is then worked in the round pen at a steady fast trot. To start with, if it goes near the ramp, all pressure is removed. I turn away and stand facing the opposite direction for about 15 seconds. Then the horse is worked again.

Each time I demand a little more. The horse quickly realises that if it goes near the ramp it gets to rest and I (the cause of it's discomfort) effectively "disappear". Then on the ramp. Then a few inches inside. And so on.

Finally, they go on properly and find a full hay net and bowl of hard feed. At that stage, I leave them to it and go and have a cup of tea. They are usually still in the trailer happily munching away when I come back 20 minutes later. One girl who worked for me remarked she had never been in a yard where the horses actually pulled towards the trailer! They've learnt that it is a good place to be!

A lot of the methods suggested for loading involve unpleasantness for the horse. Inside is good, outside is bad. In my opinion, as these inevitably take place near the transport/on the ramp, the horse is going to have unpleasant associations with the transport which is the last thing you want. The trailer/lorry should always be a nice place and somewhere the horse should want to go.

Sorry to intrude on your thread but although knowing a variety of tricks and methods to get horses loaded is good, I find it more useful to understand the nuts and bolts of what is going on in the animal's head and how these things work.

 

[YasandCrystal]

Very interesting and thanks for such a detailed account. Thanks to Dry Rot fer your account too - I like them both.

I think the major problem with loading is that for the hobby owner they usually have so many other constraints on their time besides horses, which mean you only load when you need to, putting pressure on yourself and the horse. Much better the idea as you did to set aside a good half day to practice. If a result is achieved quicker all well and good.

It's only when we get a horse with a fear or issue that we realise quite how good our older horses are and how much we take for granted imo.

 

[cundlegreen]

You've hit the nail on the head. TIME!!! Most people give up very quickly, saying it won't load. Until you let the horse decide that its safe to go into a lorry/trailer, there will always be a problem. You can use force in the short term, but the horse will just get more extreme in its reactions.
Like you, once they are going on happily, I take them on and off several times, playing it like a game. I've never had a problem after that, and I doubt that you will either, although it sounds as if your horse has had an issue for some time. I've recently had a problem with a big young horse, who slipped on a wet ramp and went down twice on his knees. Not unnaturally, he then didn't want to load. He's not the sort that you want crashing about on the ramp, so I changed the matting and lessened the slope slightly. Then I just had to get his confidence back that he was safe. Its only taken two sessions for him to go back to being a good loader. Sometimes there's a good reason for horses not going on, could be a floor or ramp issue or the way they travel.

 

[fburton]

Super write-up! Thanks for taking the time to describe your experience in such detail.

 

[ribbons]

Fantastic, well done you.

In this day and age everything can be done so much quicker than before.
Except animal training, time and patience is the key, try rushing a horse through the stages and you'll always come unstuck.

You've done some solid sensible training there and I take my hat off to you.

 

[eahotson]

Well done and thanks for the detailed and helpful write up.

 

[Dry Rot]

(post snipped) Sometimes there's a good reason for horses not going on, could be a floor or ramp issue or the way they travel.

Yes, and sometimes these reasons can be quite funny!

My Highland pony stallion was entered for a show which required an over night stop. In the next loose box there was a little Welsh stallion who he would have to travel on with. It was a bit of a gamble whether the two would get on but we decided to chance it.

Within 10 minutes, they were grooming each other over the partition, so that was alright.

Next morning, my stallion (a seasoned traveller) refused to load. We tried a few things but no go. Then I suggested loading the Welsh first. The Highland then loaded no bother. It was obvious he did not want to leave his new pal behind!

BTW, this is a working stallion and he'd be taken out from his mares for the show! Yes, there is always a reason why they won't load but it may not be an obvious one.

 

[Cortez]

Good for you. Time is the key to all things horse. The worst loader-phobe I ever met was cured with the best thought-out plan I've ever seen (not mine!). Chap had two pens side by side. He put all feed and water in one pen, horse in the pen beside it. Put a horse trailer in the gateway between the two, with both front and back ramps open, no partition in, effectively creating an alleyway between the two pens. Took 24 hours, but then the horse happily "loaded" itself through the trailer (owner kept moving the feed and water from pen to pen to keep it doing so).

 

[mynutmeg]

You've hit the nail on the head. TIME!!! Most people give up very quickly, saying it won't load.

Exactly - we've been to quite a few demos and the loaders come out and the owners come on the mic and start saying 'but we tried for a whole hour or two and he simply won't load' - when you've tried for 6 hours straight with no result then you can say you have a horse who won't load!

 

[TommisMum]

Well I am really pleased with my girly...
last night put the lorry exactly where it had been before, ramp down, gates open ....
(this time we had an audience including my OH!!)
Brought Storm in on her pressure halter walked her up and past the lorry on both reins then walked her straight in! She almost knocked me out he way in her desire to park her self side ways on!!

Repeated 10 times,

Then closed partition and gates on her ...
Repeated 10 times..

All done and finished in less than half an hour!!

tonight we're loading in the yard ....

I am not expecting it all to go smoothly as I am sure she will decide to cross the line but will keep you all updated.

This weekend will be telling as we will be travelling her with another horse to xc then bringing her back. I have a contingency plan for returning the other horse if Madame reverts so that he and his owner aren't stuck waiting as I think this would increase pressure on me to rush her....
something I have never thought of before.

 

[fburton]

Fantastic! Well done, both of you!

 

[neelie OAP]

Exactly - we've been to quite a few demos and the loaders come out and the owners come on the mic and start saying 'but we tried for a whole hour or two and he simply won't load' - when you've tried for 6 hours straight with no result then you can say you have a horse who won't load!

Agree there never ever was and never ever will be any quick fix with horses, no matter what, making them do something through fear is not the answer, it just adds to the problem, horses aren't stupid but cannot say that for some humans:

 

[Bernster]

Very interesting and thanks for such a detailed account. Thanks to Dry Rot fer your account too - I like them both.

I think the major problem with loading is that for the hobby owner they usually have so many other constraints on their time besides horses, which mean you only load when you need to, putting pressure on yourself and the horse. Much better the idea as you did to set aside a good half day to practice. If a result is achieved quicker all well and good.

It's only when we get a horse with a fear or issue that we realise quite how good our older horses are and how much we take for granted imo.

Well said, you only realise what an issue it is when/if you have a tricky loader. Well done OP for keeping your cool, not always easy but allowing yourself that much time and not having the added stress of having to get somewhere sounds like a sensible way to start. Glad it's still progressing well.

 

[Dry Rot]

Good for you. Time is the key to all things horse. The worst loader-phobe I ever met was cured with the best thought-out plan I've ever seen (not mine!). Chap had two pens side by side. He put all feed and water in one pen, horse in the pen beside it. Put a horse trailer in the gateway between the two, with both front and back ramps open, no partition in, effectively creating an alleyway between the two pens. Took 24 hours, but then the horse happily "loaded" itself through the trailer (owner kept moving the feed and water from pen to pen to keep it doing so).

I did this with a mare who reared six times after a show, going on her side three times and over backwards twice. The sixth time she reared, she fell into the trailer and the ramp was slammed shut!

Back home, the small herd of four mares were kept in one field and encouraged to walk through the trailer each day to get access to a fresh strip of grass. The bad loaders (two) would initially gallop through the trailer! After a couple of weeks, they'd walk through and stop to pull at the hay net. It certainly took a lot longer than 24 hours!

At that point, they were given the round pen treatment described above and trained to self load on command. The other bad loader would not go within 25 yards of the trailer when we started and had to be de-sensitised by feeding hard feed closer and closer each day until she would pull at a hay net tied to the outside of the trailer (then on the ramp, inside, etc).

It is a slow business and sometimes progress is negative. Other times one inch in a day can be marked up as a success! But you will succeed, just need to persist, keep cool, and don't lose your temper!

 

[Alyth]

Well done Tommismum!!

 

[TommisMum]

Really chuffed - took Storm XC yesterday.
She loaded like a dream.
Had her first ride out with a companion and after the event loaded again!!

Time pays off!

 

[teabiscuit]

Well done, thanks also for posting such a detailed description of how you did it.

 

[Tia0513]

Well done that's brilliant!

I had Richard Maxwell come out a couple of years ago for my gelding. He managed to load him within 30 minutes, when I never could after hours upon hours of trying, and then got me to do it. He explains everything so well it's a bit of a 'duhh, why didn't we think of that' moment. Well worth the money spent to get a happy loader!

 

[TommisMum]

Now I've done it my self I think I could do it faster the next time. I really learnt the signs my mare gives - also got the "zoning out' which Max talks about.
It was very rewarding to built the trust I have with her.
She is a stubborn one though once she's learnt what is wanted she does remember. The advantage of her CB Dad.

 

[Ladyinred]

Really nice thread to read and so good to read about someone learning the signals their horse gives and listening to them.

We have three good loaders, one not too bad and one dreadful; strangely the dreadful one is one of the best travellers and never stresses or sweats. You have reminded me we need to work on this, he doesn't rear or even try to pull away, he just plants, and my god he is a stubborn devil when he does! You have inspired me to try harder!