Really bad traveller...any success stories?

[Oti_moo]

Hi all

I'm sure these types of posts have been done to death but here is my version!!

My 6yo is a horrific traveller and it is now at the point that we can't physically take him anywhere, he has never enjoyed loading and it used to take us hours to get him on the box/trailer (we have a lorry but also access to a trailer so he has been tried on both).

We had someone out to help us load him and after a couple of sessions we can now load him straight up the ramp, we even took him out to a show a couple of weeks after and he loaded to go beautifully and travelled well a bit vocal but not sweaty or overly stressed walked calmly off the ramp etc...it then took up 6 hours to get him loaded up to go home!! He would go on the box (eventually) but he wouldn't let us partition him in, we had to move the partition right across so he has plenty of room and I think he just gave up after 6 hrs and let us do it!

Now when we try to turn him sideways to tie up and partition him he panics and bulldozes out, he would happily stand facing out the back of the lorry all day though. We have kept the partition closer to the back doors to give him plenty of room so he isn't too confined and I can double tie him, and after lots of practise and feeding on the lorry we got to the stage I could feed him standing herringbone and even managed to close the partition whilst he ate his feed...however when we then tried to shut the back doors to ramp up, he exploded in the lorry. We did get him to load back up after this and stand sideways again. But the next time we tried to load him it was a complete nightmare he wouldn't load without dragging you round to look out of the lorry (or bolt out) and if we tried to position him or ask him to move round/over etc he would freak out and flatten whoever was holding him to get out (he's 17hh so there's not a lot I can do to manhandle him!). I'm at my wits end now he is far too good to stay at home and its the first time I've been able to afford my own horsebox

I know it sounds like its the standing herringbone that is the problem (maybe it is) but he is just as bad in a trailer. I am going to enlist the help of Jason Webb to try and crack this but I wondered if anyone on here has experienced this sort of problem before and if and how you over came it? I just can't imagine him ever loading and travelling sensibly...

Any ideas GREATLY appreciated!

 

[Goldenstar]

Will he travel backwards as in a small van type lorry or an equitrek trailer .

 

[Oti_moo]

I haven't been able to try, I am hoping to get an equi trek down for me to try over the next week or so because we did think of this and I don't access to a rear facing small lorry that would be big enough for him, he's 17hh and only have access to two 7.5t herringbones. the only thing that worries me about the rear facing lorries is if he did still throw a fit when partitioned I wouldn't put it past him to try and jump into the living area!

Although if I can try the equi trek its a similar set up of side loading and turning, so might have a better idea after that...

 

[Goldenstar]

Some rear facing lorrys have just a rectangle as a travelling space with no Brest bars at all .
The horse can be fed hay on the floor if wanted I say one recently as I am lorry hunting .
How's he with no petitions in your 7.5 ton .
If you took the petitions out and then close the back doors if he happy .
I did years ago work some where where one of the horse would only travel loose in a lorry we bedded it up with straw and he was happy standing and even lying down while travelling .

 

[DragonSlayer]

My OH's horse scared himself in the trailer a few years ago and panicked with the partition in. Without it he was fine but then we were restricted to only taking one horse.

We recently went back to a 7.5 lorry and glory be, with extra room between the partitions, he is fabulous!

Not helpful I know but it took a long time to get to this point, he's 18 years old now and he started having issues aged 9...!

 

[Oti_moo]

We haven't tried him without partitions (a lot of people have recommended this for bad travellers from what I have seen) the only thing that worries me is if I don't have the partition in, when we shut the back doors and he throws a fit there's not much to contain him and I'd need to get out of the way quickly! we have bedded the lorry with his shavings and have even thought about putting a mirror in there for him! I would like to try him with a companion but he wouldn't have enough room (in his psychotic state) to manoeuvre himself on the end and I cant put him on first!


Dragon Slayer - oh dear he is 6 now, I don't think I could handle another 12 years of it!

 

[leflynn]

Have you had his back checked? Ours travelled badly when we first got him, had his back checked by the chiro and put right and now travels fine and loads better too

 

[carthorse]

Dont try him in a small lorry the fire brigade will tell you how often they are being called out to cut horses out on the rear of them. If they panic and go over the breast bar its a nightmare.
Try him with no partitions so he can decide how to balance

 

[Oti_moo]

Leflynn - he had his back checked a few months ago but not recently, maybe I'll give that a try...I'll try anything to be honest and I wouldn't have connected the two together in all honesty!

Carthorse - I agree it would worry me because when he does panic he loses any remaining sanity! I will try taking the partition out and see how he reacts to it, he just freaks out if he's tied up and not looking out of the box and as soon as you start to close him in. The box is light and airy, poor boy just hates it!

 

[oldjumper]

Find out how he is comfortable travelling - backwards, no partition, untied - whatever, and let him travel like that. If he is that good at his job, you'll just have to make do with competing one at a time if necessary. With a good bed down so they're not slipping, horses can balance themselves. One of ours always threw himself on the floor if there were any partitions in, even before we started the engine. He's travelled in isolated splendour for years but happily boxes himself, travels well and always makes the journey worthwhile! Very valuable race horse mares and foals are travelled safely untied in open boxes. Good luck with it.

 

[leflynn]

Leflynn - he had his back checked a few months ago but not recently, maybe I'll give that a try...I'll try anything to be honest and I wouldn't have connected the two together in all honesty!

Carthorse - I agree it would worry me because when he does panic he loses any remaining sanity! I will try taking the partition out and see how he reacts to it, he just freaks out if he's tied up and not looking out of the box and as soon as you start to close him in. The box is light and airy, poor boy just hates it!

Ours also prefers to travel on the left side of the trailer than the right so he may have a preffered spot on your lorry/trailer

 

[Jesstickle]

will he travel in company?

Try a mirror. It has miraculously cured my horse. Literally. It was a trembly sweaty mess travelling. With the mirror it is as quiet as a lamb.

 

[Dizzle]

My mare is a very fussy traveller, put her on the left hand side of a 505 (she's only 13.2hh so that's usually where she should be travelling in company) and she bangs, slips, sweats and generally has a horrible time.

Put her in the right hand side of the 505 and she travels ok, she bangs a bit and sweats a bit but on the whole is ok.

Put her in a rear facing lorry and she is ok, gets warn and a bit stompy but not horrific.

Put her in a 510 on the right hand side and she's happy as larry, not a peep out of her, will travel for miles and not sweat up and will stand around on the box with no issue.

I also don't use travel boots, I pop a pair of over reach boots on her back feet and some brushing boots, seems to work so far!

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Dont try him in a small lorry the fire brigade will tell you how often they are being called out to cut horses out on the rear of them. If they panic and go over the breast bar its a nightmare.
Try him with no partitions so he can decide how to balance

Caveat: only try him in a small lorry where there is a FULL wall between him and the rear, or a full climb board.
Some small lorries can be perfectly safe

 

[MissMoo]

No helpful advice to offer I'm afraid but following this with interest as he sounds exactly like my mare and our travelling issues (well, lack of them as we haven't been out in years!).

 

[Wannabedressagequeen]

My travelling nightmares are now resolved. I travel my horse with the rear partition out and a single breach bar. He wears bandages and over reach boots, no travel boots. I put straw on the floor. The loading issues were resolved working on ways to load him alone - he used to run out off the trailer backwards and I couldn't safely tie him up and then make it to the breach bar in time. A chap called Mickey Gavin helped me with a technique to drive the horse onto the trailer and help him settle there before putting up the breach bar. I stand on the side of the ramp and use a schooling stick with strips of plastic bags tied onto the end to encourage him (I have never had the need to even flick him with this) to move away from the pressure and onto the trailer. I have this honed to perfection and regularly compete and travel to training alone. I have also done +3 hour journey on the motorway with no trouble. Success!

 

[Tnavas]

First of all have his back well checked over as horse with sore backs find balancing during transit really hard.

Masses of straw - preferably clean used straw, it matts together well rather than slides around

If you can load from a loading bank with the ramp flat it can help it is easier to turn him around when he's not likely to slide down the ramp.

Make sure he wears a thick poll protector, at 17hh it's possible that he's bumped his poll and is now super aware of this.

I was really amazed how differently horses travel facing backwards. My truck was initially a forward facing loader, and whenever I turned, braked or accelerated I'd hear the horses clatter around. It's now adapted so the horses face backwards and I sometimes question whether I've actually loaded them as it's so quiet.