Rearing whilst travelling - advice needed!

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Carrots&Mints

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Mr m has acquired a new party trick! Kicking holy hell out of the wagon and rearing up - just on the lane leaving the stables! Fine once off the lane and travelling. Then he does it on the start of the journey on the way home. He's never done it before untill yesterday, he's always had abit of a tantrum but never neared and it really ruined my day yesterday as he managed to rip some of the stock board off the wagon wall! I wouldn't have bothered but it was my friends wagon he wasn't even on mine so even more annoying!!!! We took him out last week with my friends pony and he still had a mini tantrum but no rearing! As I said he's never done this before untill yesterday and it was totally embarrassing and upsetting. Thanks
 
Tie him down over the withers with leadropes a friend does with her stallion? Make sure there is absolutely nothing he can get his front legs on or over though- mine flipped himself backwards over getting onto the tack locker :( and poll gaurds too for the retro look!
 
Mine has been over the front bar of our 510, not resolved the travelling issue yet. I. Have been advised to tie short rack to the front bar, so the horse can't go up. I haven't tried it, can see the pros and cons, I guess it would work with something being naughty for the sake of it?
 
Although I have had a pony rear in transport from time to time I've not had one that did it continuously or not for a definable reason. So - recognizing that lack of personal experience and the fact I might be entirely wrong - I would be very wary of tying very short or tying them over the withers. For several reasons... Would it not impair their ability to balance themselves; especially in an accident or sudden manouver? Then - they are prey animals. Surely restraining them in a situation where they are already panicked to this extent will make matters worse in the long term? Would you not end up with something either emotionally shut down or highly aggressive as a response? Finally - horses break their necks terribly easily. I've always understood that tying them very short - especially if they cannot break the tie easily which sort of defeats the object - places them at serious risk of a broken neck.

So - some possible thoughts... Is it possible that he only does this when you are going slow enough that he doesn't have to balance? Is the yard lane really rough leading him to be upset (our's is - if anyone is going to rear or lash out they'll do it on the lane because of the jolting...) Would he prefer a different mode of travel - so full width bars or partitions, which ever you have not tried. Forward / rear facing if you have that option. A box rather than a trailer? The only thing I would not try with something already known to rear are those rear facing under 3.5 ton vans where the horse can get into the living section. But you can get models where that access is blocked off.

Sorry more questions than answers.. but something might strike a chord with you and help you find a solution.
 
My highland used to do this yes a highland and it was pure temper! You could pop a roller on and pass rope from under girth to nose and or I was worried that would cause more trouble but cross tying worked. It's frightening in a confided space too, our trailer is herringbone so much easier and he gas learnt it gets him nowhere.
 
Awful problem .
I won't tell you the whole sorry tale of my horse that started this .
Hobbles is the first thing I would use .practise in the stable .
Tie vey tight and at both sides .
Braking sharply the moment they start stops them sometimes obviously the road conditions have allow you to.mine mainly used to do it mostly when I turned off the road to home I use to ram the brakes on it sometimes stopped him .
He did thousands of pounds of damage to the truck so I was past worrying about him at that stage . It's was sheer tantrum .
It's a good idea to try waiting a long while before travelling home so the excitement of the day has wound down.
 
Mine used to start messing around (although not as badly as yours) on the way out for about a mile, and then on the way home, usually about 3 miles away. It all stopped when I changed my 505 to a 510 which had a window his side and he could see out.
 
My friend and I collected my new horse last week. He had never travelled in a trailer and it was a 2 hour plus journey. ( has travelled in lorry and on planes )Not ideal. For the first 15 mins he did nothing but crash about which culminated in him somehow dislodging the breast bar and panicking. Once we had sorted this out the only we had was to cross tie him really short. He was crossed tied anyway but loose enough so he could eat hay. We cross tied him so he could barely move his head. It worked a treat, we didn't hear a peep out of him all the rest of the way home. When I opened the trailer once at home he hand balanced himself by his head and put his bum in the corner and was completely relaxed.
 
God knows what to do then! I darent travel him again as he trashed my friends box! Do you think hes just being a spoilt brat and doesnt want to leave his friends on the lane??? But then that wouldnt explain why he did it on the way home from the show.

Oh i just feel like giving it up sometimes. Really fed up at the moment :(
 
The one thing I would never ever use in a trailer is hobbles personally. Tying their front feet together to travel when they need to balance etc. is dangerous. I had a youngster who would have huge tantrums in the trailer, he'd rear up, a few times he jumped over the breast bar (and we were talking a 15.2hh very solid Welsh D!). Probably dangerous on my part but I got my mum to drive us round the field at home with me in the trailer, I'd basic clicker trained him (so he knew what the clicker meant) and when he stood quietly he got a click/treat so I rewarded him when he was quiet. It seemed to work well for him, he got the idea pretty quick that it was actually nicer to stay quiet and it got his concentration so he wasn't panicking about the trailer movement. I won't say it fixed him but it meant we could actually go to events ok, it was always when we began the journey or had to stop that he would start kicking off. It was bloody annoying and I would never have put him in anyone else's trailer in case he damaged it! The only times he went over the bar after that were when we twice had to stop at traffic lights and he saw/heard horses cantering about in the field beside, and when he managed to undo the jockey door (god knows how!) and fancied trying to make a run for it while we were doing 50mph down the road - he jumped clean over the breast bar and luckily got squished completely in the front bit of our Bateson and couldn't move, his tail was hanging out of the jockey door... that surprised the people at the petrol station when we pulled in to get him out! Sodding horse knew when he was in trouble though, he'd always be really calm once he'd got stuck and waited to be released - then would just hop back on board and be fine! Must admit, I do appreciate a normal quiet traveller nowadays!
 
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Are you able to ride or lead him up the lane and load him at the end and then set off without him having to travel up the lane? Obviously only do this if safe and he is a good loader. Not a long term solution but it would show whether for some reason it is travelling up the lane that is the issue. My horse loves an outing. He loads fine but you have to have the lorry running ready to go because once on board you have to leave the yard immediately else he will start to kick off. Once he is off the yard, you don't hear a peep. I am just wondering if yours is having a similar issue with the journey up the lane having the same effect on him as being on the yard does to mine.
 
Awful situation and I can sympathise at how horrid it is. Not quite the same but the first time I took my boy off the new yard, he was upset and did mini rears which freaked me out, but thankfully stopped once we got moving. And when I took him out with a friend, her horse kicked the crap out of my box and stressed us all out. Can't give advice, only sympathy and a suggestion to maybe get some prof help as its one of those that needs sorting quick and is stressy for all involved. I hope you sort it out.
 
My Welsh D has recently started something similar. I can't see what he's doing but it feels as though he is either doing very small rears or just fidgeting like a loonatic. Like yours, he does it on the way out to a show (as soon as the engine is started), calms down after about 15mins and is then fine. The only time he will restart is if we pass horses hacking on the roads.

Fortunately my lorry is just wooden, nothing for him to really trash, and he is barefoot so not as much damage as a shod horse.

I am not going to be hobbling him, tying him shorter or pinning him down. He is in a moving vehicle and needs all the balance he could get! I would rather a slightly trashed box than a horse going down in there whilst driving. I will just carry on as he is as he isn't being dangerous, I actually think he just gets over-excited so he will probably get over it again soon.
 
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