Need advice- mare falling down in the trailer and can't balance

[Hoof_Prints]

Hello. I've had my mare for 6 years and she has always travelled badly, stumbling and leaning on the partition- but recently it has gotten really bad. She has always been a problem loader and it is no wonder, she has a horrific experience every time she travels. Today we hacked up to a local show and had a lift back in the trailer, we saw my other horse biting her in the trailer and stopped to open the little door above the ramp (this keeps him distracted as he likes to look out). After setting off it seemed ok until we heard a load of crashing about and the poor mare had lost her balance again, after crashing about for a few seconds we saw her go down. I rushed out in to the trailer and somehow she managed to get up again but had bleeding cuts right next to her eyeball, on her sides and face; I stood in the trailer for the last short distance down the road and that settled her a bit but she just kept falling in to the partition with her legs giving way, mostly on turns and corners. She was shaking and distressed, I just don't know what to do as my other horse just stood there perfectly balanced and didn't even move his feet from the ground. What could be causing this? Any ideas how to help? I feel like I can't travel her again as it's just horrible..

 

[fatponee]

Take the partition out and travel her by herself. She'll be able to get her balance better then as she'll move herself around.

 

[showpony]

Have you tried lining her side of the trailer with straw???
Also have you tried travelling her on both sides?? - My mare seems to balance much better when she is on the right hand side.

 

[MiniMilton]

Have you tried travelling her with no partition? It worked for my horse. He even started to load for me again when he realised travelling wasn't so bad

 

[eggs]

My friend's horse always used to fall over in the trailer before she even got to the end of the drive. She took the partition out and put a full width breast bar in and her horse travelled really well.

 

[splashgirl45]

can you try her without the partition? i had a mare who was similar, although she didnt go right down, and we travlled her in the trailer without a partition and she put herself diagonally and was a lot better... she was never really happy in the trailer and we ended up getting a small horsebox and she was ok in that...

 

[ladyt25]

Don't travel her in a trailer. I had a pony who couldn't travel in a trailer. This was many, many years ago. We bought a 2 horse box (still forward facing) and he travelled perfectly fine. I suggest, if you really want to travel your horse safely and stress-free, ditch the trailer and invest in a wagon - you can get some nice small boxes these days.

 

[AliceCrail]

My mare is similar, and got to the point where she seemed to not even try to stand up. The biggest improvement came from the chiropractor. The mare seemed to stand taller and squarer and by no means a good traveller, I can at least travel her now.
Good luck, it is so disheartening!

 

[9tails]

Is she on the left or the right? My mare CANNOT travel on the left, she does exactly what your horse is doing. She travels perfectly on the right though.

 

[Clodagh]

According to my vet it can mean a sore back or hocks.
My horse is OK with no partition and a full length breast bar, as he can spread his legs. With the partition in he gallops up the side of the trailer and falls over.
Also please never open the door above the ramp, it is so dangerous and imagine the wind in their eyes.

 

[Hoof_Prints]

Thank you for the replies, they are very helpful! I would feel a bit uncomfortable travelling without a partition as she falls down so easily but it's something to think about and worth a try to see how it goes. A lorry would be great but I will have to forward that idea to my mother as she is the one who drives us around !

It is interesting that you mention travelling on the left is an issue, she is on the left and has only been on the left since I bought my larger horse who goes on the right (as I was told the heavier horse goes on the right) but to be honest they probably weigh the same anyway. I will give that a go first as it does make sense that she's travelled badly since moving to the other side. I understand it is dangerous to open the top door but the poor mare has skin lifted off where my horse was biting her and it was only a short distance

 

[ladyt25]

According to my vet it can mean a sore back or hocks.
My horse is OK with no partition and a full length breast bar, as he can spread his legs. With the partition in he gallops up the side of the trailer and falls over.
Also please never open the door above the ramp, it is so dangerous and imagine the wind in their eyes.

That's quite interesting - my pony was diagnosed with bone spavin.

 

[skint1]

My mare did a similar thing any time you turned a corner/roundabout, no matter how slowly or carefully. I went behind her in a car once and it was terrifying to see. I posted a similar thread on here and as a result I managed to get a single breast bar to give her the whole trailer to herself and lo and behold she travelled perfectly after this, but the damage was done and she is still quite difficult to load, she also had a lot of issues with the alignment of her pelvis, I never knew if they were connected.

I was told my ISH mare was similar and I dreaded travelling her, I rented a 510 as she's a big girl and took advice from her former owner who told me not to give her the whole trailer as she liked to lean on the partition, *knock on wood* she travelled beautifully, and on the strength of that I bought a 510. It's strange that 2 horses with same issue have such different ways to cope

 

[debsflo]

For a start dont let her have a horse biting her, then try her without a partition.

 

[maggiesmum]

My boy used to do this in the trailer, although he was ok without the partitions, he was recently diagnosed with kissing spines and both myself & the vet think that the 2 things were linked.

 

[Cyberchick]

A good friend of mine had a terrible time with her mare until a vet suggested facing her backwards ( so she basically looks out the back ) with no partition. I have no idea why or how it works but it does and she hasn't had a problem since apart from some very strange looks

 

[Bobbly]

Firstly, try her as suggested, with breast bar but no partition and on her own, or (B) the same but allow her to turn herself around and stand backwards, or (C) if you must travel two, try using a single pole partition so that she can spread her feet and legs as she needs to, obviously for this your other horse needs to be tolerant of her invading his space. Whatever you do, do not travel her with the top doors open or without the breast bar as the results of a sharp braking of the car could be catastrophic! We had this problem with a large filly once, she couldn't balance with the full partition and used to try to sit down like a dog until we did the single pole partition, then she was fine.

 

[katastrophykat]

I tried all of the above with my old mare... In the end we gave up and bought a wagon. Never a whisper from her in there- in trailers she'd scrabble, go down, throw herself around the partition... It was horrific to watch- and replacing the travelling boots became very costly! Good luck!

 

[Daytona]

Another vote for taking partition out, they travel a lot better that way

 

[foraday]

As others have said, partition out, double breaching bar in.

Try that.

If ok then you have sorted out the problem.

If still bad then suggest you get one of the big boy transporters in and travel loose in a foal box and actually see where she likes to stand during travelling

Good luck

 

[Proud Wexford Hero]

That's quite interesting - my pony was diagnosed with bone spavin.

This! My horse had osteoarthritis in both his hocks, and he was the same in a lorry and a trailer with his balance. He especially struggled around corners

 

[Alyth]

Take the partition out and travel her by herself. She'll be able to get her balance better then as she'll move herself around.

This - horses need to be able to spread their legs wide apart to balance....we used to be able to get a float (trailer) here in NZ and Australia with flared sides that enabled them to spread nice and wide. Many floats (trailers!) have partitions that are right down to the floor and they are the worst to making horses 'scramble'.....as they are no longer available you need to give the horse room by removing the divider and companion....start with short trips and straw on the floor at the back to build confidence. Drive very slowly and carefully, especially around corners to start with!