seriously good competition horse that won't load in a trailer HELP!

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teddyandcharmer

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www.horseloverweb.ning.com
I have such an amazing horse that does awesomly at shows but i can't get him to load. He will load in a lorry but not a trailer we dont have our own so we have to use friends and most have trailers. I need advice! He is a cob / adlusian of some sort and is strong and he is scared of going in. He's been dealed around alot and i end up missing shows and not being able to go because he won't load. Please help i'd be truly gratful :) x
 
Contact Intelligent Horsemanship website and locate a Recommended Advisor who could come and help you. Trouble is, they can't just wave a magic wand and it will be cured. You would have to practice at home, so if you don't have your own trailer that is going to be hard. They would give you very good advice on how to handle your horse, particularly as you say he is strong. It might cost a bit, but then think of it as an investment. If you get a good outcome it will make your horse easier to handle, and let you take him to shows easily and let you enjoy him more.
 
Practice! TRAIN him to go in, as you have to train him to do anything else you want.

Short, regular sessions with patience. If all you get is a foot on the ramp at first then thats progress. Dont aim to go all the way in straight away.

Make the trailer inviting, dont use travel boots, just brushing boots and over reach boots and make sure you dont resort to whips and lunge lines. Patience and training are all that are needed.
 
patience, time and practice. Its not normally a quick fix! Don't put pressure on him, act as if you have all day and use plenty of praise when its going well. I use a long lead rope - some use lunge lines but I often get myself in a muddle! Sometimes I have used a bridle - just gives some control if they want to go somewhere else! Some people use a dually headcollar which has good results. Bucket of feed and maybe park the trailer near a wall so he can't run round the side. Open the front ramp so he has plenty of light too. Give him space while practicing, so take away the partition if possible. I found that with a nervous pony I could get her to walk across the ramp so she didn't face into the trailer, once she was relaxed at that (touching the ramp) we loaded her in with no problems.
Don't forget to drive slowly, and short journeys to start, should make it a happy experience.
Good luck
 
I don't work for them honestly!!! But please have a look at www.horsehero.co.uk as on their website they have a great video (done by Richard Maxwell) on problem loading. Yes, they are using a box but the same applies to a trailer!

And of course the most important this is to break down, why you ned is fine on the lorry and not a trailer, possibly the size issue. So please take a look at the site as it will help. Goodluck.x
 
Would second a visit from an RA - mine cost me £100 and was the best money I had ever spent.My horse use to travel and load fine - hit his head on the way in once and refused to go in again. She worked with my horse for 4 hours plus as he was not acting in the usual way eg rearing,pulling back etc - he just planted and completely shut down on us - really strange and quite horribel to watch but he now loads like a dream again and a quick session of pressure and release if we have any hint of ' i'm a ginger tb drama queen and I couldn't possibly go int he box ' and he shuts up and gets on with it . Don't know where you are in the country but can PM you the name who I used.
 
One of ours recently started to reuse to go in. She was more stubborn than frightened but a friend did a short pressure and release session with the shires control headcollar which worked amazingly quickly and then we put the trailer in the yard for a few weeks and put fence panels down the side and behind and opened all the doors so it was all open and welcoming and fed her in the trailer each night. Shes been OK since touch wood!
 
It has been said that there is no such thing as a horse that won;t load, its just a horse that won;t lead, and often its true. (except those cases where there has been an accident/incident that has put them off)

I woudl agree with some form of help from an accrredited trainer of some form of IH. And also withth e whole practice thing. If you could borrow someones trailer for a few weeks and practice every day, give the horse his feed in there etc etc

I once left the trailer, ramps down, in the field for a pony to investigate himself. Which he did.
 
is he really scared or just being pig-headed?

If he is scared then agree with the others.
If pig-headed and just stopping on the ramp and gazing round, you just really need to show him who's boss with a bridle/chifney and two good people with lunge lines (and then lots of treats for when he has gone in). Worked for our stroppy mare (though it wasn't pleasant to watch the first time it was done) but she ended up being a fantastic loader.

good luck - it's soooo frustrating!
 
I truely believe that some horses just dont 'do' trailers and I think mine is one of them. Will load himself into a wagon, travel great but trailers a different thing. My horse had never been in a trailer, he loaded perfectly but when we set off he scrabbled all over (with no partition). He settled then, had a perfect ride as in no jerks, sudden stops etc but next time he was harder to load but travelled ok ish but very anxious and sweaty afterwards. Then he would load and try anything to get out including the jockey door. After that he would load but fly out backwards before you could get the breach bar on and it didnt matter who or what was in his way, he was getting out. I dont think my horse likes forward travelling.
I was lucky to have a friend with a wagon so we sold the trailer. I dont think my horse was being pig headed, he was scared. We practiced every night but he never got better. It took a while to regain his confidence in the wagon then but hes pretty much back to normal now
Good luck with your horse, I know how it feels.
 
Not sure if anyone else has suggested this but could you put the trailer in his field with ramp and side door down (wont look like a small enclosed space). Put some hay on the ramp, inside and on the side ramp as well as his feed repeating the process until he goes straight in (may take a couple of weeks but he can do it in his own time, then he can show you what a big brave boy he is :D ). Thats how YO got a liveries cob to load :)
 
You need to do more than act as if you have all day - you actually have to GIVE yourself all day. Take sandwiches, a book, IPod, drinks, phone, chair. Just take all the partitions out, maybe straw on the floor, jockey door open so the whole thing is inviting and horse friendly. Then open the ramp and you sit to one side of it or on it or even IN it and have a lovely rattly bowl of feed at your feet. Let him get curious. No pressure whatsoever. He will eventually (but it might take a week or it might take 2 hours) he'll get fed up or bored or curious and will stick his head in. Don't react other than to welcome him then carry on reading. After a while (again, anything from 5 minutes to 5 days but so what) he'll investigate further and you do pretty much the same - ie whole thing is one huge yawn and no-one is excited about anything - until he walks in. When he walks in, carrot, head rub and lead him straight out again. Let him come in of his own accord a few more times, then you calmly walk him in, through and straight out the other side. Only when both of you are totally fed up with this do you stop him in the trailer and give him a feed. Last of all, put the bars up, carrot and head rub, then walk him out and back to his field. Same thing the next day - will take a shorter period of time, and you may be happy to close the ramps and take him for a 5 minute pootle round the block.

One think I have noticed with my horse is that he likes to think about it for 30 seconds when he first sees the trailer ramp. Then he needs to do back-up/walk forward a few times, then he likes to be led ACROSS the foot of the ramp, then he'll march quite happily up it. Whatever. If it works for him, who cares?
 
I third getting an Intelligent Horsemanship Associate out. I have had problems loading my mare for years, and this guy came out and sussed what I was doing straight away. My mare is very sensitive and really picks up on any atmosphere, and I got so internally wound up (no wonder how outwardly calm I seemed) that we would stuck at a show etc. so she just wouldn't go in because she knew I was anxious. This might seem really obvious, but it took someone else to see it, and we have never looked back! We had to practice what he showed me a LOT! But it was the best money I have ever spent.
 
i would echo getting some professional help BUT there are some horses that just aren't happy travelling in a trailer.

if he runs into a lorry without hesitation i'm afraid i would be concerned about forcing him to travel in a trailer.
 
As everyone else has said, you need to think hard about the training of this horse and be prepared to spend lots of time training it not to be scared of the trailer. Make absolutely sure that the trailer is big enough for it and obviously that there is nothing wrong with the trailer - slippery or damaged floor for example. I make a loading harness that may help to increase your's and the horses confidence during training. Have a look at www.soloequestrian.com and YouTube 'horse loading harness'. I'm hoping to soon have it available as a cheaper kit form than the complete harness that is currently advertised. Although it's not a solution in it's own right, it does seem to have a calming effect on some horses and I have one particularly effusive US customer who said that it totally changed her mare's attitude, from nervous and squitty to calm and cooperative.
 
Train him, using a big light trailer - park it with some thought to allowing plenty of light inside - remove partitions, open front ramp and just get him walking though first. If you can use a situation with natural wings that may help or make some with bales of straw or if you have it Haras fencing panels.
Good luck - it may take a while but patience and quiet but firm handling will reap rewards later.
 
My Charlie has always loaded happily until this year, when we got him a new trailer to go in of his own. He point balnk refused to go in to it. There was no reason why not, he had not any bad travelling experiences. However, I then started to daily parelli games with him, to re-build and re-establish trust. Then when I knew I had the whole day free and a very good friend to help, we practiced loading. It took 1 hour to persaude him to go in, using a parelli halter and long line. He started off with just planting himself at the bottom of the ramp and refusing to move. When the pressure was initially applied he went backwards, so I encouraged him to go backwards, after a few attempts at going backwards, he soon realized that this defence technique of his was not going to work! So then he put his 2 front feet on to the ramp. At that point we became stuck as he would not go in any direction but had literally planted himself. I asked my friend to alternatley move his front hoofs forward and knew that he would have to move the back ones at some point. This techique with the pressure and release from the halter all worked until he finally put his head into the trailer. At that point he shot backwards off the ramp and started to try and rear, I knew then that he would load. The rearing with Charlie is his last bit of ammunition in his defence. When re-presented at the trailer ramp he walked straight in and out and repeated this exercise a further 26 times. Its not the first time in to the trailer that counts it all the times afterwards. Once the horse realizes that he has no more "defenses" that he can throw your way then you stand a good chance of loading them. Charlie then went back in to his stable for an hour(Richard Maxwell recommends this technique) and then we tried again. Again the first 3 times were im going to plant myself and refuse but then on the 4th attempt we walked straight in. He did this a further 20 times. We then loaded him, put travel boots on and took him for a short spin. Since then he has loaded with no problems and just walks straight on every time. But it is time, patience and practice that we get them to load. Charlie wont load for a feed bucket, (tried that technique very early on.) I would recommed going to see a Richard Maxwell demonstration and asking Richard lots of questions, he is very good and informative.
 
If the horse loads and travels fine in a lorry but not the trailer then the issue is the trailer and as far as I'm concerned the horse is quote right to not go in!! Sorry, not entirely helpful but if your horse doesn't like trailers then you may find you're going to have to either invest and buy a small lorry - i bet it'll go in a 3.5T lorry no probs or consider hiring one for your outings.

I wouldn't travel my horse in a trailer now, I hate the things. I previously had a pony who fell in a trailer if we tried to travel him. He was such a trusting pony though he never once refused to go in. However, we couldn't continue travelling him in a trailer as he could not stand. We bought a small (and pretty old) box at the time. They travelled facing forwards and had to reverse out but he never had a problem travelling in that and I have never had any issues with horses loading or travelling in a lorry.
 
the course of action will be dependant on if he doesnt like the trailer, or is just being a prat.

Mine used to be a nightmare to load, he would quite happily walk up the ramp of a lorry though. However, he was just being a s*d about going in the trailer, he most certainly wasnt scared or travelled badly.
 
Thank you for all your great replies, I have just basically registered on here last night and I have 18 replies. I think the matter is that he needs a lorry for his size . I'd be happy for anybody else's replies! Thank you!
 
Mine is a right toad to load and pulls back, rears up, jumps around like a crackerjack and generally behaves like something demented. The rest of the time he's a quiet, laid-back chap who is a pleasure to know, so obviously something horrible has happened to him at some stage.

I had some help with him which was all about groundwork; making him "join up" and follow me on the leadingrein and going forwards, backwards and sideways willingly. My instructor said that controlling the shoulders is the thing; if the horse respects you he will move the shoulder to your body-language. A lot of people concentrate on the feet, but its the shoulders that you need to work on.

Also don't stand on the ramp with a taut line looking back at him; you need to work on his confidence to follow you up the ramp rather than be pulled up it. Also apparently its counter-productive to have people coming up behind to hoosh him in; fine when you have lots of helpers around but not so good when you're on your own somewhere and have to load him.

I don't have my own transport which makes the whole thing so difficult and b****y stressful when you've gotta load the blighter because the whole thing is so strange to them, the smell is different, everything. If I had my own lorry/trailer here it would be possible to feed him in it, get him used to it and feeling it was "home", but for now we just have to phone-a-friend and get her out every time we need to load!

One day when I win the lottery I shall have my own (luxury) transport, but until then we shall have to struggle on as we are I suppose ....
 
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