Pony creating havoc in trailer

[redbike64]

Our new pony is lovely in every way and he loads perfectly. However, once loaded he bashes against the front bar, side and back of the trailer and basically creates havoc until we are on the move. He unloads perfectly and calmly and isn't sweated up. We think he is generally impatient. He seems a bit quieter when he has company. However, when he did have company and we had to drop them off first, he really didn't like it at being left and started adding in little rears and more aggressive barging. However, once the trailer took off he was fine and unloaded brilliantly.

We give him hay to travel with - and he manages to eat it all - so he can't be too stressed out and the fact that he loads tells us that he isn't frightened, but he is frightening us! We have only taken him out twice, so it maybe that we are just getting to know each other and develop trust or he is just trying it on. We give him carrots hoping to keep him quiet until we drive off - which we are trying to do as quickly as possible.

Does anyone know of anything else we can do to help if he is travelling alone?

Thanks

 

[Luci07]

For a stressy traveller I would try travelling without the partition, that often works as they have more room and and feel happier. Mine is not great at hanging around when we are going out so is loaded at the last minute and then we go but he is fine at the other end. Creating when a friend is taken off is pretty normal, albeit annoying - normally I travel solo but last weekend went in a friends trailer to go to dressage together and mine played up very badly when his friend went off first so I won't be repeating that.

 

[maxapple]

My pony is exactly the same. We travel him minus the partition - and have everything ready to go before we load him, and have the truck engine running. So as so as he is on, we can just shut the door and go!

 

[Dubsie]

Ours is like that too - impatient to get going because going out (usually) = fun fun fun like jumping or better XC!

We have a problem in that we go out of our field gate which we then have to chain and padlock - and the chain was cut almost too short when Southern Electricity decided to get into our field to fiddle with the substation on the pole and just cut the chain w/o asking for a key!!

Consequently it isn't a 30 second job, as you have to ensure the gate is shut corrrectly and the chain is in exactly the right place, so the links meet sufficiently to get the padlock through (and do not drop it as daughter did once - some kindly soul had allowed their dog to poop by the gate w/o clearing up and it took 10 minutes to get the poo off with baby wipes!!). You can imagine the noise from inside the box doesn't help, and this locking up takes a good 3 or 4 miuntes!

We have more or less sorted the impatient banging now, as while I fiddle with the gate, daughter opens the jockey door when he's quiet and hands him a carrot. He seems to have learnt quiet = door opens = carrot = we go once he's eating carrot. Still get the odd bash every now and then at traffic lights if he feels we've waited too long!

 

[bonnie93]

Our new pony is lovely in every way and he loads perfectly. However, once loaded he bashes against the front bar, side and back of the trailer and basically creates havoc until we are on the move. He unloads perfectly and calmly and isn't sweated up. We think he is generally impatient.

my horse does the same, but i didnt know this until i got her really fit, because thats wen it started. she also rears, spins and trys to bolt in the warm up when horses come near her. the fitter shes become the worst she behaves, she is nearly 18! at home shes the perfect horse

tbh it began to worry me and started making shows stressful rather than fun. final straw came beginning of oct when she threw herself out of the back of the horsebox whilst we were about to leave show, via the leaving area and the shut back doors. she ended up stuck over the partition to living area and had to be cut out by the fire brigade. i'll be lucky to ride before xmas as she made a right mess of herself and is goin to be on boxrest til at least mid nov.

needless to say once the box has been repaired its up for sale, devastated, caus i spent alot of money on it and i love it! its a shame my horse is an idiot and obviously wants to retire lol!!! would be too stressful trying to travel her again as i know what shes now capable of! funny enough shes not bothered in the slightest