Stopping a horse trashing the trailer.

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tillsmum

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My firends very large horse absolutly kicks the hell out of the trailer when she has to stand in it and we're not going anywhere. This is proving a bit af a nightmare now she is starting to compete. As soon as you load her up after her class and she realises we are not leaving straight away or take any horse away (she is extremely clingy, doesn't even need to know the other horse) she bucks and boots the ramp and the side of the trailer. She has already stripped the lining off the side and gouged holes in the wood. Any ideas. She is an attention seeker and won't do it if her owner gives her attention but this means the poor girl can't even go and get a cuppa. It is so severe that leaving her to get on with it could prove dangerous not just to her but to the horse she is terrifying next to the trailer as they don't seem to like a trailer jumping around next to them ;)
Thanks in advance would be nice to not have to hide our heads in shame at being involoved with the beautiful, rude, obnoxius, spoilt black monster
 
That is not very helpful. For one shes not made of money and 2 what about if she wants to do 2 tests, go to the toilet etc. Surely giving helpful tips on how we can stop her throwing a paddy would be a better answer. But thanks for your thoughts
 
So if the owner wants to do 2 tests or go to the loo, can't she ask someone to hold the mare, someone like you, does she have to load the mare before she needs to leave, can she not tie the mare with a haynet to the side of the trailer? And not many of us are made of money by the way.
 
Echo Bravo said:
So if the owner wants to do 2 tests or go to the loo, can't she ask someone to hold the mare, someone like you, does she have to load the mare before she needs to leave, can she not tie the mare with a haynet to the side of the trailer? And not many of us are made of money by the way.
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I wasn't insinuated we were made of money. To be fair the majority of us are skint because we have horses lol. She has such a problem with seperation that if we tie her to the box she messes about and tries to get to every horse she sees. The mare has lots of problems as her owner had many many confidence issues and let her get away with everything for fear of upsetting her for a long time. They have both got heaps better and have achieved things they never thought possible as in riding in public. But as we like to go to competitions together it is proving a big problem when she throws an eppy when its my turn to compete etc. For example tonight we went to school them and I have to go down to load her as she can be difficult. Shes not scared just knows at 17.1 she is bigger and doesn't have this is getting better and only takes a minute or 2 now. But her owner struggles cause the mare knows she can annoy her and then it becomes a game. Then she drives up the road to get me. As soon as the mare saw my pony she started throwing her weight around and kicking the ramp and side because she wanted my pony. Her owner has to be soo careful opening the ramp incase she kicks out. As soon as the ramp was down and my pony was going in she calms down and thats the end of that. Then on the way back we have to drop the back ramp and reverse mine off as we can't tempt fate opening the front and as soon as mine os off the ramp she starts again. So it isn't just a case of having someone ther. Holding her isn't an option either as she will walk through you to get to other horses. I am helping her to get her to have more respect as a handler but due to years of the mare having her own way its taking a while. So how do we solve the trailer thing cause obviously she won't do it when we are in there and stops as soon as you open a door
 
Maybe the mare would be better travelling and competing on her own? Not ideal for you of course, but perhaps she wouldn't be as clingy if she was on her own from the start?

If she carries on as she is, someone will get hurt, and the trailer will certainly be trashed. How is she at home if another horse goes off without her?
 
Hi Tiddlypom. We've tried taking her on her own and it was just as bad took ages to load her and as soon as she was in she started. So her owner stood with her till the test sheets we out and we could go Luckily those who feel the need slagged off the horse too me in the cup of tea line cause her woner would have been in tears and left without her sheet and rossette.
She is never ever left on her own cause she gets upset!!!!!! I have tried to explain that she needs to learn to be on her own and the other day she did say she was thinking of taking her companion pony away for a bit and build up the time.
 
Really feel for you. Its a difficult one but here are a couple of suggestions.
Try a stable mirror in the trailer. Not sure where you could fit it but have heard they help.
Get a 'dually halter' and school the mare to have some respect.
Not a lot of help but good luck
 
Don't put the ramp up, just the bar at the back. Tie up outside the trailer till you need to leave. Train her to stand and behave.
Or as a last resort, hobbles?

This is from somebody who has one that kicks the hell out of the lorry when it is moving, and stops as soon as the engine does!! So I know how much of a PITA it is! Scary too when you're driving along, and that's just as a passenger!
 
I have one who won't stay in a box alone at shows and I spent ages at home feeding him in the box every day and giving him treats to get him happy with it, but it didn't make a difference.

He still dislikes it at shows so I never leave him in the box by himself. It makes extra work on the day but it keeps him happier. i bring an extra set of hands and bribe them with money or beg favours to walk the horse around between classes or stand outside the box with it at a haynet. Or if there's no-one to help i literally walk him with me everywhere and ask people to hold him when i need to get tea etc. It's a pain, but he gets so freaked out that I don't think its fair to leave him.
 
Question: can she tie the horse and leave it alone for say an hour at home with no problems? (No companions)

This is the homework as the horse needs to accept the situation and relax, no point in trying with the trailer until this can be done
 
Agree with the above. The base of the problem seems to be groundwork and respect issues. The box problem won't get sorted till the underlying issue does.
I'd be nervous of travelling with a horse like that in case it injured mine!
 
Totally agree with FF and Paddi. The trailer is an issue but its not the problem and cannot realistically be solved without going back to basics regarding manners and respect.
 
My horse did this all up until a couple of weeks ago it was getting to the point where I was going to sell him .

What sorted it is closing the back doors and blanking out the windows the more he can see the worse he is this has solved my problem .

I was going to park him up at my friends and leave him on it all day but I had no need once I'd done this.
 
I dont think you could safely put hobbles on in a trailer unless it had no petition .
The leaving the ramp down thing is worth trying .
But what I did with my kick the back of the trailer horse was I just loaded him up every day after i had ridden at home and left him to to.
The first day it took him three hours to settle but over time he did settle .
You have to be strong though .
I was in the bust the trailer kill yourself but you are staying in that trailer stage.
Travelling a lot may help so trips out almost everyday as may keeping the on a minimum food and giving lots of work so the horse is tired .
 
Is the owner willing to devote some time to training? Because this is a training issue.

At some point, once or several times, the owner has clearly unloaded the horse while she is in the middle of kicking the trailer, and the mare has learned "kick lots, get out quickly". It happens a lot, because owners get all worked up with the kicking and try to get the horse off as soon as they can, where in fact they should have waited a very short time for a pause in the kicking, and then unloaded.

Leaving the horse in the trailer to kick will eventually work, as the mare will kick, hugely increase the level of kicking, and then stop (this is called an extinction burst, where the animal realises that a behaviour that worked in the past is no longer working - we do it, pressing lift buttons when the lift is out of order ;) ). However allowing a horse to go through an extinction burst in a trailer risks (1) damage to the horse, (2) damage to the trailer, (3) the horse having a panic attack as they realise they are totally trapped with no means of getting out.

What you need to do is spend the time to teach the horse how to behave in the trailer. And that involves walking on, walking off, walking on, walking off, walking on, walking off, walking on... hesitating a few seconds, walking off... then building up the standing very very slowly, until horse can stand while bars go up, then walk off, stand while bars and doors done up, then immediately off (while they're still standing quietly). Then bars, doors, wait with horse on trailer for a short while, off while horse still standing quietly (or even better, off while horse sampling hay net). You need to "reinforce" the correct behaviour on the trailer (standing quietly), by rewarding it - and the reward the horse wants in this situation is to get off. Your end point is where the horse has learned that standing quietly is what gets them off the trailer - and at that point, build up the time in the trailer.
 
I have decided it is time to get tough. I am going to get her to reinforce the stable as in bar across the top to stop her coming over the door. And shes going to take that bloody pony away and the mare will learn to deal with it. Its time for her to grow up and accept its not all her way. Thanks for the helpful tips. It all seem simple once its pointed out but I think you are all right and it is a seperation issue not a trailer issue and she needs to learn that its ok to be on her own. It will help in so many ways. Thats not to say I feel sick at the thought of trying to stop the animal trashing the stable when she takes the pony away. :) There is a reason my pony is only 13.2hh lol
 
Have you tried one of those horse mirror things? Don't know if it would work, I have no experience of them, having never used one, but was just a thought.
 
tillsmum said:
My firends very large horse absolutly kicks the hell out of the trailer when she has to stand in it and we're not going anywhere. This is proving a bit af a nightmare now she is starting to compete. As soon as you load her up after her class and she realises we are not leaving straight away or take any horse away (she is extremely clingy, doesn't even need to know the other horse) she bucks and boots the ramp and the side of the trailer. She has already stripped the lining off the side and gouged holes in the wood. Any ideas. She is an attention seeker and won't do it if her owner gives her attention but this means the poor girl can't even go and get a cuppa. It is so severe that leaving her to get on with it could prove dangerous not just to her but to the horse she is terrifying next to the trailer as they don't seem to like a trailer jumping around next to them ;)
Thanks in advance would be nice to not have to hide our heads in shame at being involoved with the beautiful, rude, obnoxius, spoilt black monster
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Can't you leave the top door open over the front ramp to let her see things? This way she gets to see her surroundings, has a bit of fresh air but is still confined within the trailer. Or maybe even put the ramp down, so long as the breast bar is still accross. Alternatively tie her to the back of the trailer. I always unload my horse either as soon as we arrive at an event or within ten minutes. And he spends ages tied to the back of the trailer, as long as he has a hay net to entertain him. Then I am free to go and have a coffee or walk the course. He is on bailing twine so should he get caught up (hasn't in nine years or going out nearly every weekend) then he will break free.

I think the main problem you have is the clinginess which would drive me insane to be honest.

You need to crack this before attempting to leave her really.
 
applecart14 said:
Can't you leave the top door open over the front ramp to let her see things. This could work, alternatively tie her to the back of the trailer. I always unload my horse either as soon as we arrive at an event or within ten minutes. And he spends ages tied to the back of the trailer, as long as he has a hay net to entertain him. Then I am free to go and have a coffee or walk the course. He is on bailing twine so should he get caught up (hasn't in nine years or going out nearly every weekend) then he will break free.
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No shows round here allow tieing to the trailer unless someone is there all the time , so it you are going anywhere alone it's no help.
OP while she's dealing with this a bucket full of shavings solves the loo problem.
 
Tiddlypom said:
Don't load her until you need to leave. Take some waterproof rugs or rain sheets and tie her to the trailer with a haynet. Someone will have to stay with her, of course. And ditto take a flask and sandwiches!
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This? I had a horse who also used to bang about like hell if we weren't moving, problem was that if he got really annoyed then he'd jump the breast bar! So I just left him tied to the trailer with a haynet and only loaded him to go home straight away. He was absolutely fine outside.
 
OP you're quite right in that the work needed on this mare needs to start at home. Once she can accept being left alone for increasingly long periods, then it is time to try it when in the trailer.

Unfortunately, some horses will never settle when left in the trailer. It depends really if it is temper (which can come right in time) or claustrophobia too (which is harder to deal with). Some seem to be happier if the top door is open, but others will jump out if there is a route out.
 
I have a mare who can leave anything, but cannot be left by another horse, other than out hacking etc. I have owned her from being a 5 year old. When purchased she had been stabled for 6 months and suffered from extreme anxiety and agoraphobia. Over the 10 years I have owned her we have worked through many of her issues. I found it safer for all concerned to travel her alone, with a mirror. I also had a load and go policy for a couple of years. I tried leaving her at home alone for short periods but was never able to build it up long enough to risk taking my other horse out to a competition since she worked herself up into such a state. She would be drenched with sweat, white over, and has twice removed the door from it's hinges! (These are Lodden internal stables). Once the door is off however she goes nowhere, just continues to whirl around the box in a state of extreme anxiety. Since she succeeded one day in working herself up into a colic attack which required surgery I gave up. I purchased a youngster. I saw no point in having the cost of an old pony etc with all the associated issues that come with them, and felt my money was better spent on a horse that would grow into something of value.
I have found that when travelling her in a trailer the safest way is to remove the partition and double tie. This gives them plenty of room and helps keep the front end anchored. I also put a portaloo secured in the front of the trailer and take food and a flask. It was a slow process, but gradually she became more and more settled at competitions. There is light at the end of the tunnel.
Good luck!
 
Goldenstar said:
No shows round here allow tieing to the trailer unless someone is there all the time , so it you are going anywhere alone it's no help.
OP while she's dealing with this a bucket full of shavings solves the loo problem.
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They don't round by us either, but when you are on your own at a show you have no choice. Not everyone can take someone with them, I go out every weekend competing, if I have had someone with me three times this year thats all its been.
 
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