trailer problems

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westparc

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im new to this forum so dont know really how it works but i was looking for someones help

we have done up my rice richardson trailer (old style) for this show season, but have only used it twice because my mare wont load, but hopefully have solved this problem with food, time and a be nice head collar!

we aimed to go to leominster show last monday after hours of washing and plating the night before we loaded with no problems and swaped her head collar over to a normal leather one to tie up shut all the ramps up, with no problems. ready to go we closed the door above the front ramp and she went mental
after cuting all her legs with bandages on we quickly and calmly unloaded her and put her out in the feild covered in purple spray

she has traveled in an ifor williams single no problems and double with friends horses but now i have my own its a bit of a disaster with loads of time and money spent on the trailer,
i got my own to remove the hastle of going with other people.

the main problem is we have had two back leg injuries and so cant really aford any trauma to them
can anyone help
 
Did she travel in the double on her own?
When she travelled ok in the double I guess it had a partition up.
Does your rice have a partition in it, is it the same as the one that was in the other trailer?
Does your rice have a window and did the other one?
You could tryher with or without a partition depending on what you've already tried.
Or perhaps a horse mirror up in the trailer for company as it were?
I'd try loading up at home and shutting all the ramps to test theories before trying to move her anywhere.
Is the floor in your rice all ok with rubber mats down etc?
 
Is your trailer much darker than the other trailers she's been in? She might be feeling claustrophobic once all the doors are closed?

If it is this, I'm afraid there's not much you can do really other than persevere with really baby steps starting with loading her and not closing all ramps/doors and building up slowly to how long she's in there and how many ramps/doors are shut?
 
It's just I know there can be a big difference between trailers and horses are naturally happier when it's brighter! (although obviously most travel happily in the dark!) Maybe an addition of windows (if it doesn't have these already) and bright white paint inside would help? (although not sure how long it would take the paint smell to fade away and not "offend" her!
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Got to be worth a try?
 
she traveled in the double with other horses
but oviously the single on her own
the partion is the double wing one like the ifor williams
it has one small window at the front i cant remember about the ifor williams
wouldnt the mirror make her feel that the horse in the reflection would cause her to panic more because she cant get out the way
we practised shutting all the ramps and she was fine the only thing we didnt practice was shutting the top door
would she load if the front was closed up before she loaded
the floor has recently been done with keruwin wood very hard wood that they are originally done with and rubber mats out of a scrap lorry in reasonable condition
 
she will stand happily if the ramps are shut its the front door above the ramp but being a rice she cant travel with it open because of the shape of it and would also be scared of her having her eyes poked out by a branch!!
the interior is painted white gloss to reflect the light and and draker ply wood
 
i will try and convince dad to do some more work and take a window out of the scrap lorry we took the rubber floor out of and add a window into the door as they are quite big windows in lorries
 
Oh gosh, I wasn't meaning to even consider travelling with the front top door open!!
blush.gif
But if you could get a window put in it, it might help a bit. I've got an Ifor William HB401 (single horse trailer) and it has a window on each side at the front- my nosey mare loves looking out of them!
smile.gif
 
we had a richardson and mare was a poor loader to start (she was a baby back then)

we could never load her with the top door shut but she was always fine

We now have a nearly new ifor and she was very suspicious of it to start and very shaky.
She is infinitley better because the ifor is the classic version and has windows in both sides for the horses and she will load without top door open, I would try and fit a window to yours if possible.

She travels better in the ifor than she ever did in the richardson.

I think go back to basics, lead her through it, feed her in it with top door open, do it lots of times before even trying to shut the top door, then shut it half way then all the way etc etc.
 
got to say, some might disagree. One of my horses gets v claustrophobic and when we travel her in the trailer (ivor william 510) we leave the top door open.

She loves it. She has never been struck by trees etc

She sometimes puts her head right out. Sounds shocking I know but if you consider how wide the roads are, she isnt going to get her head chopped off by an oncoming lorry.

Some may disagree, maybe I would have in the past but we travel youngsters, mares and foals, hunters, jumpers etc and I feel its just a case of doing whats right for each horse.

Bear in mind that in the USA they travel in topless trailers!
 
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