Trailer disaster-was all going so well :(

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Frankie10

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Hi
Following on from my last post- asking for advice on my 5 year old gelding who didnt like loading or travelling on my trailer...
Have spent the last few weeks feeding on the ramp, feeding him inch by inch further into the trailer until he would stand happily on the trailer eating until I asked him to walk off.all going great. Put my very quiet pony on the trailer and have been feeding him on the trailer next to him and all wonderful. My hubby came to help tonight- I asked him to put the back ramp up whilst he was eating, expecting all to be fine. As soon as the ramp went up he went bananas and was bucking and broncing in the box. Somehow I managed to get him off without him, pony or me being hurt.
What next? Just keep feeding him on the trailer? Sedate him?! Buy an old kronk of a box?
Feeling really upset as have been working on the trailer issues twice a day every day and felt like I was getting somewhere.
Poor horse seems genuinely scared and panicking. I know he has been in a box before and his old owners said he was fine. He has only been on my trailer a few times but has got worse each time.
It really scared me when he freaked out in the box just now as he could have really hurt himself or my pony.
Thanks if you made it this far.
X
 
have you tried taking the partition out - it may be that he feels he hasn't got enough room

have you tried walking him through and out the front ramp?

have you tried giving him a calmer to help him travel?

have you tried putting him in the otherside of the trailer or facing backwards?
 
poor you, sounds like you have done everything by the book so far and it really is either a "dont like being enclosed" issue or possibly could your other half have put up the ramp a little quickly?

my first thought was that if money were no issue (haha, who is in that position !!! not anyone I know !) then try a lorry or borrow a friends lorry to see if the same issue is there.

Or... i have an equitrek and the ramp is at the side - is it the ramp going up behind that is frightening ?

Just thoughts, have been there with the travelling issue to the point of having to walk/ride horse 10 miles home as he wouldnt go back in a lorry (ifor williams back, transit front v unstable)

What helped me was a. change vehicle - changed to ifor then to equitrek - he was fine in both b. get an experienced and calm friend to help. I think its much easier to be subjective and calm if it isnt your horse.

But most of all make sure you dont put youself in any dangerouse situations (I know easier said than done)

Good luck x
 
Thanks both. Really don't know what to do. Ive lead him through the box and he was fine.I don't think it's just the ramp going up as he didn't travel well when I previously took him out in the trailer. It must be a panic when he is enclosed. I could try with the pony out but would be wary of doing this as I think I wouldn't be able to control him once he panicked. I think I will have to try a box. The box he was in at his last home was a side load/unload I think- they said he travelled fine& I do believe them. I will try a calmer but to be honest I'm a but nervous about trying him again as he was a bit extreme :( maybe I need to just take a lot more time and go slowly whilst he is doped up on calmer.
He is fab to ride& we're all ready to get out and about now- just this sticking point with the trailer :(
Thanks again for the ideas- feeling really glum :(
X
 
If it was the ramp going up that scared him I would open the front ramp up and as the horse is walking slowly through the trailer put the rear ramp up (or even just stand the horse outside the trailer and desensitised him to the sound of the ramp by putting it up and down). Once he doesn't react to the sound of the ramp going up as he's walking through ask him to stand while the ramp is going up, keep repeating until the horse doesn't react to the sound. He probably panicked because he was trapped so by allowing there to be an 'escape route' he'll realise that the ramp going up is not a scary thing.

Once he is happy to stand while ramp goes up try with the front breast bar across and then gradually build up to having the front ramp up too.

I know this probably sounds silly but it worked with my horse who would panic as soon as the ramp went up......
 
Thanks 3beasties- good advice. He is definitely panicking because he feels trapped I think. More work,time,patience needed. How long did it take you to get yours travelling ok? X
 
I know what you're going through - it sounds like my own recent experiences even down to the panic. Don't lose heart; just take it back to where he's comfortable for a while. I found that my horse coped better with having the front ramp closed first. We left the rear ramp alone until he had become used to just standing for while in the trailer with both bars closed. It does test the nerves, doesn't it!

Every case is different - I'm sure you'll find a solution.
 
Personally i think i would get someone like Richard Maxwell out if you can afford it to get the problem sorted.
 
For a couple of awkward loaders, I got our local horse chap out.

Now, on the whole, our horses load well. We're still a bit of a work in progress, but he worked with the horses in a way that I wouldn't have done. His way was far more effective.

If you want more info feel free to pm me. His name is Mickey Gavin and he does travel out of the area :D
 
I recently loaded our old cob into a trailer, he hadn't loaded in years as a result of being beaten into a box before we rescued him. (had only travelled in a box previously)
It took me a long time and I had alot of experiences similar to yours, you're doing all the right things just don't let it get you down. With him, I practice for a few days then he gets a few days off, otherwise its a massive stress and with him he just couldn't deal with it and he'd freak out. Ending in disaster.

Getting the back ramp up took forever, he would freak each time, so I took it back to basics and ended up standing with him in the trailer with a haynet and the bars up for a long time, eventually he was so calm doing this that I was able to hop out and slowly put the ramp up, judging his reaction the whole time, until one day he just accepted it (rabbit in the headlights look but he soon got used to it).
The only thing I would say is that I personally prefer to do it all by myself, I find that other people aren't looking at the horses reaction the same way you are, if I do it myself, I am constantly watching him so that if there is any panic the ramp comes straight back down, whereas when my dad helped, he put the ramp straight up, sorted.. but no poor horse was terrified and dad got a few stern words to get the ramp back down! (bless him, he means well)

Keep working at it and each time you get a setback, don't let it bother you, go back a step and get him totally settled before you try again, It'll come eventually. I feel for you, I know its a horrible situation to be in. Good luck :)
 
Sounds like some good advice on here - persevere with the ramp going up - how is he if he is outside the trailer and the ramp goes up and down - is it the noise as well, if so you can desensitive him to the noise whilst outside the trailer which is much safer.

If all else fails try another side loading or lighter trailer (bateson v light) dont give up x
 
Thanks so much- Amy I really needed that pep talk.basically, I need to put more work in,be more patient and keep trying.
Thanks for being so nice everyone! X x x
 
Thanks meesha- posted before I saw your response. Can't let this beat me- have a lovely competition horse but we're grounded! X x x
 
Yep you just have to think of every possible thing that could worry him, noise is a good one. I'll admit to my neighbours thinking I was a loon when loading my youngster for the first time, jumping up and down on the trailer, ramp up and down, top doors open and closing.. bless her she got to hear everything!

The cob I was speaking about hadn't loaded in 12 years, possibly longer, and it took me a good few months of serious trying to get him in at all, then the next 6 months to a year getting him happy and settled travelling. Just remember to give breaks every now and then, otherwise it can all get too much!
Don't give up hope, you're doing really well :)
 
i'm really sorry your having such a bad time with your horse and i would hate to upset you further but because he was ok and has now got worse i'd tend to think there is either something the matter with the trailer the horse or the driving


please don't take offence as i'm not picking on anyone's driving etc but there must be a problem somewhere and i can only suggest you find the problem before trying with him again

on the bright side you are doing exactly the right thing by taking it slowly and feeding him on the box but you need to work out what the problem is ,watch very carefully next time and maybe try him on his own with out the partition and stop and reward/put him away BEFORE he panics

it will take a while to get his confedence back now that he has had a fright but he will get there ,horses are very forgiving creatures so just take a few steps back to were he is confortable ,before you put the ramp up make sure he is happy about you walking down it or if you have help with someone standing at the bottom

don't be in to much of a hurry to put the ramp right up just get your helper to lift it an inch of the floor and put it back down ,then 2 inches etc
if his breathing quickens or there are any signs that he's unhappy stop ,watch very carefully for any signs of stress and stop before it gets to panic stage

gradually work very slowly like this until you can get the ramp up ,every time you think he is ready for the next stage repeat the previous stage another 5 times to make sure

then repeat with the front ramp ,make sure he is completely happy before you travel and when you can drive him away just go a few yards and get him out as it really is slowly slowly catchy monkey
you will make better progress going as slow as poss because as you've found if they panic your 'll have to go back at least 5 stages

hope this helps a little ,good luck
 
Thanks angelish- no offence taken. I know he is fine in himself- a 5 stage vetting when he came over from Germany this year& another when I recently bought him. He didn't have a good journey home from where I bought him from - he was a bit stressed, didn't obviously know me, the journey was long& he was colicky the next day. I have taken him on 2 short trips since I've had him and he wasnt great on either- tbh I just think each trip compounded the problem . I've driven one trip and my husband the other so I don't (hopefully) think it's just the driving. Other horses have travelled fine in my trailer too. It's the ifor 510 so he has plenty of head height. I think he has got more stressed with each journey as I should have stopped and realised he wasnt happy. My fault I think.
X x
Thanks for all the advice.
 
hi have you seen reaction to front ramp going up? know it's a very scary situation to be in but take out partition and then if he freaks he got plenty of room to back away instead of going bananas wanting to climb out forwards. hope this makes sense!
 
If a pony is genuinely afraid of being floated, then tricking him onto the float with food, and then shutting the door, is not going to improve the situation, as you have just found out.

Food only works where the pony is just a bit reluctant or uncomfortable, or not really that bothered, just a bit stubborn.

Float loading can be difficult because the horse is claustrophobic, because the horse has seperation anxiety, (does not like leaving herd). I am sure that there are other reasons as well. i had a horse that was particularly difficult, and I had help from NH horse people. It took some time, but he is gauranteed to load now, he trusts me and feels comfortable on the float.

I have seen some horses badly injured on floats, and it is much better to take time to get this right than force a horse.
 
oh dear i know exactly what your going through have been there myself. Had to take things really slow and build his confidance.
I dont know what trailer you have or how old it is, and this may sound stupid but, is the floor sound? my lad reacted the same when he was put on a friends lorry, hed just went into shear panick and sort of piaffed on the spot, he isnt a naughty horse and we couldnt understand it at all, we went through the feeding on ramp gently gently and he got allot better but still he wasnt happy, he used to be dripping by the time we got anywhere.
We found out a few weeks later that the floor was rotting, where he stood with his front legs, :-0
I felt awfull, all he was trying to do is let us know there was somthing wrong.
It might not be the case with yours, but its worth checking out.
good luck, youll get there. x
 
Teeni said:
Personally i think i would get someone like Richard Maxwell out if you can afford it to get the problem sorted.
Click to expand...

You don't need to pay Richard Maxwell prices ( although he is very good!) contact the Intelligent Horsemanship group and ask for a list of their associates. They have all done the Monty Roberts Diploma and they have people placed all over the country just waiting to come and deal with ponios like yours. I had my local guy out to sort out my rather naughty unruly youngster. He charged £30 plus mileage so it cost me £50 each time but it was worth it and I only had to have two sessions to sort this particular issue out. I will be having further sessions next year though once I have got winter out of the way. He did not try and sell me further sessions, each time we had completed a session he left it as " if you want any more help either ring, email or book another session" ( yes you did hear right, free advice by phone and email!)

Don't struggle on on your own, it just gets disheartening after a while and a fresh pair of eyes on the situation is always a good thing:-) Good luck.x
 
As others have said, just accept that yesterday was a bad day and carry on... don't give up. Consistency and repetition. I have a non-loader so we're building up to borrowing the yard's trailer over winter (quiet season!) and doing exactly the same as you so I understand how you feel.

And if you can afford it, I would also recommend an RA from Intelligent Horsemanship... they'll be fresh eyes and 9 times out of 10 help immensely. :)
 
Ugh i've been there and it's such a worry :(

One of ours was sheer hell and I thought i'd have a heart attack just taking her anywhere!

Miles on the clock i'm afraid. Load and unload them until they find it boring, short journeys, as previously suggested try different arrangments with your partitions, an IW510 is very adaptable and you can either take everything out or leave a bit in. If you have a small pony, you could try pinning the back partition close behind the pony so your horse has company but also feels he can spread his hindlegs to balance.

Another thing that's important and scary is that some horses mess about in a stationary trailer but once you get moving they're better.

I can assure you, your 510 trailer won't turn over with a panicing horse in it as none went more beserk than one of ours!
 
Just wanted to say thanks so much everyone for all the advice. It's so helpful - feel really positive I can crack this over time x x
 
Frankie10 said:
Hi
Following on from my last post- asking for advice on my 5 year old gelding who didnt like loading or travelling on my trailer...
Have spent the last few weeks feeding on the ramp, feeding him inch by inch further into the trailer until he would stand happily on the trailer eating until I asked him to walk off.all going great. Put my very quiet pony on the trailer and have been feeding him on the trailer next to him and all wonderful. My hubby came to help tonight- I asked him to put the back ramp up whilst he was eating, expecting all to be fine. As soon as the ramp went up he went bananas and was bucking and broncing in the box. Somehow I managed to get him off without him, pony or me being hurt.
What next? Just keep feeding him on the trailer? Sedate him?! Buy an old kronk of a box?
Feeling really upset as have been working on the trailer issues twice a day every day and felt like I was getting somewhere.
Poor horse seems genuinely scared and panicking. I know he has been in a box before and his old owners said he was fine. He has only been on my trailer a few times but has got worse each time.
It really scared me when he freaked out in the box just now as he could have really hurt himself or my pony.
Thanks if you made it this far.
X
Click to expand...

Ok, so now you know that its the ramp going up behind him that scares him, and you can deal with that by simulations. In the mean time I would keep up the regular feeding on the box etc without touching the ramp - you may need to go back to square one if he mistrusts the situation again now, but have patience, it sounds like you have done really well.

You'll need to enlist the help of two friends, a jump pole and some rugs. drape rugs over jump pole. Get yourself and him into the school, and wear hat and gloves and whatever you feel will help most on him in terms of headcollar or bridle. Friends should start from 20m + away, behind him, lifting and lowering the pole to simulate ramp action. Get them to step closer if he's okay. Repeat, slowly until he's okay with it happening almost touching him. All the better if he'll let it touch him without a worry. Lots of praise for desireable behaviour, and take a step back if he's worried. Make it short sessions, doesn't matter how much or little you achieve in each.

Once he's happy with that, use jump wings and more poles and rugs to create a dead end to simulate the inside of the trailer. Walk him through without the front in place to begin with, and then see if he'll stand inside it, and see if he will walk in and stand in with the front up. Test him to see if things either side of him are a problem, and if so work as above, fron a distance then closer. Then add in the ramp simulation behind.

Once he's happy with all of the above, go back to the trailer, and get his confidence up doing all the things he can do happily in it, such as walking through it, over the ramps, etc etc. start without the partituion or front bars at all, and gradually add things in, with the ramp at the back being last.

Good luck :)
 
Thanks naturally! Really good idea.
I parked the trailer outside his stable & last night& this morn spent lots of time opening and shutting the back ramp to get Him used to the noise. Then I led him out and did it while he was stood next to the trailer. He had his food on the ramp as well so it's all going ( albeit v slowly) in the right direction I guess.
Hopefully I can post a picture on here of a happy horse on a trailer trip in a few months time?!?!
Fingers crossed. Thanks again everyone x x
 
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