stopped loading

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hunteress

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got an ifor, my cob who usually loads well has suddenly stopped loading he plants his feet at the bottom of the ramp and wont budge my friend just clapped her hands and on he walked butter wouldn't melt if I was on my own he wouldnt have moved I have no partition in as my other cob wont travel with one , was wondering is it the ifor which might possibly be uncomfortable ride !! how have you got over your little hitches on bad loaders, thanks.
 
Do you travel with him regularly? Is it always to fun places? or is it possible he come to associate it with the vets/other nasty place? I can only suggest lots of practise (not necessarily actually going anywhere, just in and out of the box ought to be enough!) and offer lots of praise- I think sometimes we forget that we should show appreciation to our equine friends for loading easily etc, and lots of us (myself included) tend to take it for granted
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The above suggestion covers all areas really, but to answer your question on Ifors, they are very light compared to other brands of trailer such as Rice, for example. Being light is useful but it does mean they bounce around a lot more, which would make a for a bumpier ride. Perhaps this is upsetting him
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When my cheval was nicked I borrowed an ifor which is 400 kg more than my cheval was and the ifor was awful, it bounced all over to the point it was pulling the car around which I never had on my old cheval and doesn't happen on the newer one I got. This may have been because our cars hitch is lower than recommended so the trailer was nose heavy but as I say my cheval rides very smoothly even when empty so it is possible that the ifor is giving a rougher ride. We also found the ifor to be noisier so this may be bothering him.

Alternatively the only time my mare is awkward loading is if she has sone her back and travelled which has happened twice now. Once she finds it doesn't hurt she is fine again so this could also be worth looking into.
 
That's interesting, the Ifor was 400kg MORE? was it a large model? I think they average around 1000kg, 600kg would be very light for a trailer, even a single horse model. Perhaps it was just built very differently? Curious now, off to have a look!
 
Actually gemmaalex, youv'e made me think now I took the partition out for my other boy who didn't travel well and the partition is quiet heavy this would be making the trailer even lighter my trailer is a 505 but my friend has the bigger one and has done the same and her mare dosn't like to load !!
 
As far as weight is concerned the ifor is pretty much the same weight as the new richardsons. They are not the lightest weight trailers on the market. The Bateson Deauville is 60Kg lighter than the new ifor 506. The Cheval Liberte are around 90Kg lighter. And even the biggest requisite trailer is 190Kg lighter than the ifor!!!

Now as far as loading is concerned, some horses like room others like to feel supported. You could try taking your horse around the block with the divider in and see if he is any happier with it in.

My mare stopped loading for a short period but we put it down to a combination of her associating the box with the possibility of leaving home (it wasn't long after getting her back off loan) and/or feeling tired after a show (her feed not giving her the energy requirements she was needing and therefore associating the box with feeling tired. To combat the problems I pracitsed lots at home. First just feeding in the box then just a trip around the block and straight home. I changed her feed to a higher energy feed. All in all she started loading again, and fingers crossed haven't had any problems since!

Good luck
 
Thankyou "competitiondiva" I have already started loading on and off and he's doing that fine now its when i'm on my own and in a hurry he'll put in a sneaky stop !! typical of cobs !! but I will try the devider in as he do's move about more on travel that my other boy who likes loads of room.
 
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