Pony panics when travelling

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Pony1256

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Hello,
I wondered if anyone had been in the same situation...we got our pony a year and a half ago. He was previously always travelled in a 7.5T box regularly as a low level eventer. We got him and started travelling him in a trailer and he was ok but then slipped and so we stopped using that and moved him onto a 3.5T box. That worked well until a friend transported him and he slipped and the partition gave way. A horrible experience for everyone involved. He has been transported since then a couple of occasions and been completely fine but we haven't travelled him since last summer since we decided that we couldn't risk putting him on another box and thought buying a 7.5T would be the answer given his history...happy days since we found a 7.5T so hoped we would be sorted for the summer...

However, we just tried our 7.5T we loaded him on with our other pony, within 5 minutes he was leaning on the partition and his back legs paddling to stand up...

We aren't quite sure where to go from here - he is fit and healthy in himself and the sweetest boy but he is a worrier. No lameness and we have him regularly treated to make sure his back etc is ok...I am now wondering if he has developed a fear and is panicking with memory from his last trip?

Has anyone been in a similar situation and can offer any advice or hope of a way forward?

Thanks so much!!
 
No sorry he didn't destroy the partition, the partition wasn't fixed in properly so he leaned trying to get his balance and it gave way...
 
When horses start scrabbling / losing balance it generally means they need more room to spread legs & balance. This can sometimes start for seemingly no reason, so I would get your pony checked over by vet then if all ok, give him plenty of room for travelling. I have had a couple like this, once I removed the partition in trailer they were fine.
 
I can only travel my pony loose in a 3.5 t. with the partition removed. He was a good traveller until he had a nightmare ride with a transporter. He did not go down but panicked, broke loose and tried to climb the walls arriving completely lathered. He will now march into the lorry and travel happily, munching on the hay we put on the floor. We had to rebuild his confidence with the help of a Kelly Marks associate so that he would load willingly again but he is totally relaxed now.
 
Thanks for this...from all the researching, it does seem like giving more room might be something to try...he's such a sweet boy that even though it has happened a few times, he still loads ok...it just seems that each time it has happened, it has got worse like it is a panic rather than pain...I will give it a go to take out one of the partitions and see if that does anything...h
 
To help with balance for now I would:
- put bedding down so nothing is slippery;
- experiment with larger space (can reorient self for more comfortable travel/stagger to get balance if needed) or smaller space (in a bigger lorry you can reduce the solid partition and they will hold up a struggling horse that has known issues but must travel (an oldie with arthritis and my old pssm pony were once very grateful for this method)).
 
My young cob was lathered with sweat travelling when I took him out last year, so I took out the partition to enable him to balance and popped a little bit of straw down on the rubber matting. He recently travelled to the rehab yard and we sat in traffic, so the whole journey took 2.5 hours. He arrived calm, no sweating and just strolled off the trailer. However, the only times I have had trouble with travelling is when there has been an underlying lameness issue (bilateral hock arthritis, PSD etc) and the first sign has been trouble balancing with the partition in.
 
Pony1256 said:
No sorry he didn't destroy the partition, the partition wasn't fixed in properly so he leaned trying to get his balance and it gave way...
Click to expand...
Horses spread their (mainly hind) legs to balance (that’s why they need enough room to spread their legs) they don’t lean on things.
Think about it - have you ever seen a horse lean on anything?
We have 2 legs so do lean, but as they have 4 legs they use those to balance.
As they get older, they may need more room to counterbalance any stiffness/niggles.
 
Thank you all. We already have sawdust down so it's not slippery but I think I will try giving him more space and see if that makes a difference. Will try without starting the engine and just seeing if that is more positive and go from there...
 
canteron said:
Horses spread their (mainly hind) legs to balance (that’s why they need enough room to spread their legs) they don’t lean on things.
Think about it - have you ever seen a horse lean on anything?
We have 2 legs so do lean, but as they have 4 legs they use those to balance.
As they get older, they may need more room to counterbalance any stiffness/niggles.
Click to expand...

And a bigger lorry is herringbone/side load. When loose together travelling in a large space, my youngsters always arranged themselves herringbone or side on. Never front to back like we put partitions!
 
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My friend had a horse that was fine in a 7.5 ton lorry but when she sold it and got a trailer the first time she took the horse out in it he seemed to panic and ended up falling over suspended by the lead rope - this was before they even got down the drive. By taking the partition out and putting in a full length breast bar the problem was completely resolved and he never did it again.
 
Just a thought - we had an incident whereby our pony could only balance herself travelling on the righthandside of the trailer, when attempted to travel on the left side she scrabbled as she couldnt use the solid right side to balance herself which is what she had ever known - dont know which way round you travel etc but maybe worth considering - good luck x
 
It has happened on a trailer and then a 3.5t and then the latest is a herringbone 7,5T so I think the direction of travel/side might not be relevant...going to try with a large space and not moving and see what he thinks about that and then if that doesn't work, will get the vet out to see if there's something else going on...
 
If an initial vet assessment rules out obvious physical causes for the travelling issues, it might be worth having a discussion with your vet about using trazodone. Trazodone has been shown to help reduce anxiety and fear in horses, while being less physically sedating than other types of sedatives. Alternatively you might find that calming essential oils such as lavender, or homeopathic remedies could help if it is purely anxiety-based.
 
What’s he like when you’re not moving? Mine is very claustrophobic/separation anxiety and will start dancing as soon as the ramp is up regardless of whether we drive anywhere or not… he also had a bad experience in the trailer. Patience, practice, feeding on the box, short journeys, loading for no journey and keeping him as cool as possible seem to be slowly paying off 🤞
 
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