so disapointed

asommerville

asommerville

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took my 6 yo.for a jumping lesson last night, have had trouble loading him in the past but hes been doing really well, but wouldnt load last night and stressed himself out. finally got him in, was latr but as we were the laat lesson the instructor gave me a full lesson. during the lesson he was amazing, jumped everything and enjoyed himself. bt again couldnt get him in on the way home, didnt have a lunge rope for his bum as he had broken it on the way there so i ended up walking him home in the dark with oh driving behind me. although he jumpdd well i am so gutted about the loading, i know i shouldve kept trying to get him in but eventually i just gave up

Feel.like sh** now and not sure where to go from here :-(
 
Michael Peace comes very highly recommended. Search on YouTube for "Loading a difficult horse with Michael Peace" and I'm sure you'll find that his advice is of help.

Good Luck!
 
Firdtly take a deep breath - its done now so no point stressing. Time to make a plan.

Google Michael Peace and watch some of his loading video's. I can't tell you how brilliant I think he is but this way you can watch his methods and see for yourself. No gadgets, no whips or long lines, no pressure halters.

If you could get him out to you then personally I think it will be the best money you'll ever spend but even just watching the methods may help.

Worth noting that he says most horses take 7 minutes to make a decision but most people lost patience and try something new after just 3 minutes or so. I thought this couldn't possibly be true but surprising how long 7 minutes is when nothing appears to be happening.

Good luck x
 
Gemma Pearson at the Dick vet is apparently very good and will come out and work with him if thats what you need? Or she may be able to recommend someone closer to you that could help.
Do you only load to go somewhere? My last sticky loader was fed in the box every other night for a while until he got used to going in and out politely! That way he didnt always associate it with something stressful.
 
I'm sure the many HHO folks can suggest some people that can help you an your horse. But you know what? This won't be a problem for very long because at least you know you may need some help or a different approach. I know that sounds rather condescending but I don't mean it to be. Just certain threads lately have boggled my mind. Anyway, best of luck. You sound like you have a really nice horse.

Terri
 
Northern Hare said:
Michael Peace comes very highly recommended. Search on YouTube for "Loading a difficult horse with Michael Peace" and I'm sure you'll find that his advice is of help.

Good Luck!
Click to expand...

This. I actually got Michael Peace out 2 years ago to help me with a very difficult mare to make sure I got it right. Worth every penny and have never had a problem loading since.

One piece of advice he gave me - it takes a horse 8 or 9 minutes to assess a stressful situation before asking him tackle it.
 
I think you know the answer to this. Practice, practice, practice.

You need to set yourself a whole day asside to get him onto that trailer, then repeat again again and again until he is running up the ramp in that same session.

Then call it a day and repeat again the next day or the next week and until he is loading, without problem first time.

Think about why is might not like loading... does he not like something about the trailer? can you remove the partitions initially so that it is a bigger space to load into? I always open all doors to let as much light in as possible and I always have a bucket of feed waiting inside so that I can give a quick reward for loading. Given that he snapped the lunge rope I suspect that using force is not a particularly effective way to get him on. It isn't with mine either. I just have to stand with pressure on the lead rope and reward him by releasing that pressure and giving him a rub, every time he steps forward... you will, to begin with spend more time going backwards than forwards but still, reward every step forward. use your OH to reposition his back end if he swings it off to the side but NOTHING else. once he is loaded make him stand and give him some fuss for a minute before unloading him out the front, then take him round the back and load again... My boy now loads with only minimal hesitation after several months of not going anywhere. They just need to learn that you won't give up and the best time to prove that is when you've got plenty of time on your hands and no pressure to be anywhere...
 
i love my wee horse, i have already taken the parttion out of the trailer and got full length breast bars. he loaded perfectly last week on thr way there and just had a wee rope round his bum on the way home whixh is normal tbh. just couldnt understand why last night he spat the dummy!! thinking back it was windy and it was a late lesson so maybe he thought he waa having a day off?? not really an excuse though!!!!will certianly have a look at michael peace on youtube thanks for that.

heis such a good wee horse and has so much potential but he made me feel like crap last night!!!! will give him.and me a break today and get the trailer out at the weekend thanks folks!
 
asommerville said:
i love my wee horse, i have already taken the parttion out of the trailer and got full length breast bars. he loaded perfectly last week on thr way there and just had a wee rope round his bum on the way home whixh is normal tbh. just couldnt understand why last night he spat the dummy!! thinking back it was windy and it was a late lesson so maybe he thought he waa having a day off?? not really an excuse though!!!!will certianly have a look at michael peace on youtube thanks for that.

heis such a good wee horse and has so much potential but he made me feel like crap last night!!!! will give him.and me a break today and get the trailer out at the weekend thanks folks!
Click to expand...

But it's not normal, its a sign he doesn't like it! Spend the time teaching him to load properly and you will never regret it.

As an aside I was pretty sick watching someone attempt to load at an endurance ride once. They had a pressure halter on and a line round his bum, various people got involved with yanking at his head and trying to batter him in. I don't understand why folk don't get professional help or read up on this in depth because it is such a simple thing to cure IF approached correctly. Fifteen years ago I didn't know any better, luckily I went to a Richard Maxwell demo and saw the light. These days there is no excuse, the Internet puts it all at your finger tips.
 
Great you had a super lesson & don't lose heart the loading can be overcome. When it is remember to give your horse a good ride in the trailer everytime even if you are in a rush. Bad experiences in the trailer may take you back to square one. Good luck, you will get there.
 
My old horse Henry was a sod to load. He was not scared of travelling, and used to love pressing his head up against the window so he could see out.

He was the piggiest horse I have ever come across. Wouldn't load with food. Get the broom out and pretend you were going to prod him up the bum with it and he'd go in. Bad horse.

He was never bothered about what was going off at the other end either. He'd reverse himself out, look around for 2 nanoseconds, then get to the important task of filling his face with grass.
 
sorry ffionwinnie i didnt mean normal, i meant normal for him.on the way home without the rope hed just stand and lokk at me, he also does not come out looking stressed or upset in any way
 
I have a an old pony that suffers from seperation anxiety and until I recognised this his was and can be a absolute s*** to load. We can get him in but boy want a fight. My solution was a travel companion in our old lorry, that would stand all day when we went hunting then later a nice wide open 3.5 ton lorry that I stand by the open back door and fool him in to thinking that their was away out.
Every animal is different and if you are at all unsure about loading get a good proffesional. The hours I have spent watching and then loading other people struggling to load. What ever you choose to do, always be prepared for the worst and nip it in the bud quickly before he learns he's smarter than you
 
As an update to this I have since got him in the trailer, stood in for 20 mins happy and munching hay.

When someone was there he refused to go but when they went away he went in!

Result was my friend hiding round the corner and shutting the ramp when he was in,

I'm thinking he is frightened of the ramp closing, has anyone experienced this and how can we overcome it?
 
Also meant to say, I watched the Michael Peace vid and that's how I got him in! He's actually coming to my area shortly but at £240 I just don't know how I can afford it unfortunately
 
It's really just a case of getting him used to the ramp closing if that's the issue. I'd feed him on the trailer and open and shut the the door a few times and see what he does, and keep doing it, once he realises that nothing horrible is going to happen he should be more comfortable about the whole process. Keeping relaxed and expecting him to load without issue is a huge part of it too. Practice makes perfect.

I tend to load them on,give a small food reward then unload straight away, then gradually increase the time they are on and keep unloading /loading until they do it without thinking.

I'd double check that the driving when he is loaded and travelling is as smooth and careful as possible too. ;)
 
maybe its not the ramp maybe im tripping!!

he was happy with a haynet

i also dropped the breast bar when taking him out, he got a fright and went on his toes but had every opportunity to run out the trailer

driving is oh and he is superb thankfully
 
I'm only passing on something I would not of though of, so can't take any credit but.....

Check the trailer tyre pressures and maybe check all round it for good measure?
 
thanks elsbells will do, trailer is brand new so should all be ok

ive been dying to wash the inside but too scared i case he doesnt like the smell lol
 
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