Trailer training a scared horse

Identityincrisis

Identityincrisis

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Hi All

I'm just looking for experiences, positive and negative of trailer training a horse who is very scared.

A bit of back ground, 2 years ago I bought my then 3yr old Anglo Arab from his breeder, he was an incredibly aggressive, dominant horse (Lord knows why I bought him?!) Anyway I went to collect him and when they went to get him from the stable they said 'Oh we thought we'd better sedate him as he's never been on a trailer' they looked like a bag of nerves and had hats and gloves on, now I'm one for this as precaution anyway but I didn't get the impression they were.........yes alarm bells should have been ringing at this point but I was pretty high about getting my new horse home! He travelled well (clearly well sedated)

Over the last 2 years we have had many ups and downs, especially with ground work, but we have overcome everything and he is very respectful now and leads beautifully, he will yield to me just using the slightest gestures BUT 2 years on he is still terrified of the trailer, he will go on, reluctantly, and stand absolutely wired with everything ready to bolt, if he hears/sees anything behind him he flies off the back at a million miles an hour, he is clearly scared.

I can only surmise he has had an accident of some sort (he has a scar on his chest that could suggest this too)

What have I tried? Everything!

Pressure headcollars of all types (he has been trained to yield to pressure)

Chiffney

Time, lots and lots of time!

Patience, no one could be more patient!

Broom up bot (not my idea and I really didn't want to but everyone has a solution to a bad loader, don't they?!)

Hassling him (again I didn't want to as he is very reactive and is better kept quiet)

Feeding him on the trailer, he relaxes a bit while doing this but just didn't seem to 'cure him'

2 x different Intelligent horsemanship people (still persisting with one but don't see him doing anything different to what I have already done)

Rewarding every step forward (a treat)

A true, old fashioned horseman (he helped me cure the leading issues and I have a lot of respect for him)

Explaining to him if he went on he would go to fun places like the beach/forests :D :D


I believe hurdle one is getting him on there and staying on (so far the longest period has probably been 5 mins) then hurdle two is getting the ramp up.

Sorry that is very long!! I'm just so desperate :( I don't even want to set the world on fire, just go on fun rides/beach etc
 
It sounds as if getting him on is less of an issue than what happens once he is in there, is he small enough to turn round inside if the partition is out? if so rather than doing the normal walk through then gradually increase the standing time, which I assume you have already been doing, I would walk him in and turn him round on himself so he faces back out and then gradually get him standing for longer periods of time, it will break the pattern of rushing out backwards and make the coming out much easier than going down the front ramp.
It will not solve everything, that will take time and even more patience but if it breaks the behaviour pattern it will be a big step in the right direction and may enable you to beg, borrow or hire a small box to make a few journeys in rather than a trailer which he may never be truly comfortable in, traveling with another would make life easier for him, get a mirror in the trailer and see if that helps.

If he is really scared it has to be done at a pace he is comfortable with, hassling, getting cross never helps with these types, they have to want to do it and gain a "reward" in some way, thinking outside the box and being calm and patient is usually the only way to get them completely over such a major issue.
 
You say you have tried with treats, and lots of other methods, and TBH it doesn't read as though you have persisted with any one in particular. It took months of reinforcement training for my horse to be comfortable in the trailer and not rush out, go back to the reinforcement and do it over and over until the pleasure of getting his reward overcomes the fear.
 
I'd use a clicker; start with target training away from the trailer, then work out what distance away from the trailer he is OK with and start target training there. Then do it nearer the trailer every day 'accidentally' getting nearer and nearer the ramp - but only in tiny, tiny steps, always going back to the distance he feels 'safe' with rather than pushing his boundaries too much. This has worked for me with various phobias, but you have to really take it at the horse's pace - lucky you said you've got lots of patience ;-)
 
be positive said:
It sounds as if getting him on is less of an issue than what happens once he is in there, is he small enough to turn round inside if the partition is out? if so rather than doing the normal walk through then gradually increase the standing time, which I assume you have already been doing, I would walk him in and turn him round on himself so he faces back out and then gradually get him standing for longer periods of time, it will break the pattern of rushing out backwards and make the coming out much easier than going down the front ramp.
It will not solve everything, that will take time and even more patience but if it breaks the behaviour pattern it will be a big step in the right direction and may enable you to beg, borrow or hire a small box to make a few journeys in rather than a trailer which he may never be truly comfortable in, traveling with another would make life easier for him, get a mirror in the trailer and see if that helps.
Click to expand...

Someone suggested the turning inside the trailer, I must admit I didn't try this but I did try him in a 3.5 side loading van and he wasn't very keen either

I have to say JillA I may have tried lots of things but that is over a 2 year period and time and patience have been the main focus, I will go back to feeding him on there as I did just try that (gradually feeding him further in) for 2 weeks before the second Intelligent Horsemanship guy arrived

I had considered clicker training. He has no issue standing around/near the box, he's very relaxed about that part :D
 
i'd a rescue in who was a nightmare loading and would just completely shut down when it saw the box. . I ended up taking partition out and parking the trailer in their paddock with front and back ramps down, and feeding in it every day, first near, then on the ramp, then gradually in the box. Eventually the pony would walk through after the bucket and out the front. the first few times were a bit of a paniced run down, but then id stop and feed on out ramp. Eventually the box just became part of it's daily environment and the associated panic went. I hook a bucket over the front bar now to encourage it and distract it when i'm loading it for normal journeys now. Also first first journeys were literally starting the engine and pulling a few feet then unloading. All very slow and gradual.
 
You've done the ground work so that's good.

Now you need to teach him to put the ramp up. Do this with a blanket. If he is really bad you might need to start outside then move to his stable. He needs to be completely unphased by this (him being tied up/contained and you lifting a blanket up off the ground as if it were a ramp, hope you can picture this). Wear gloves, hat and so on. Ideally you don't want to terrorise him so if necessary start as far away as needs be to provoke no reaction. Then move closer. Do it from every angle, do it slowly, quickly, flappily, until he doesn't care if he is completely "hemmed in" by the blanket if that makes sense.

Then do the same around the trailer, tie him outside for instance. Then leave him tied outside or if very reactive tie him near by, while you put the ramp up and down multiple times (think 50 minimum).

Then daily load him and don't put the ramp up and then unload him again, minimum 50 times a day until he walks on and off like this is boring.

Then you can do the blanket training in the trailer (or outside it if too reactive to start with).

Essentially bore the pants off him. Once you've done all that, and it will take a while probably and don't be in a rush to move on to the next stage and if it goes wrong don't give up, simply repeat the previous steps until they are boring again! Then and only then, think about putting the ramp up. Then you need to do that daily multiple times until that's boring etc etc.

It's boring. But it works. I do it with all of mine and all of mine self load, stand on the trailer either asleep or eating hay and wait until I am ready to unload them perfectly happily, without any anxiety or fear. I've bought many bad loaders and put them through this process with the same end result.
 
FfionWinnie said:
You've done the ground work so that's good.

Now you need to teach him to put the ramp up. Do this with a blanket. If he is really bad you might need to start outside then move to his stable. He needs to be completely unphased by this (him being tied up/contained and you lifting a blanket up off the ground as if it were a ramp, hope you can picture this). Wear gloves, hat and so on. Ideally you don't want to terrorise him so if necessary start as far away as needs be to provoke no reaction. Then move closer. Do it from every angle, do it slowly, quickly, flappily, until he doesn't care if he is completely "hemmed in" by the blanket if that makes sense.

Then do the same around the trailer, tie him outside for instance. Then leave him tied outside or if very reactive tie him near by, while you put the ramp up and down multiple times (think 50 minimum).

Then daily load him and don't put the ramp up and then unload him again, minimum 50 times a day until he walks on and off like this is boring.

Then you can do the blanket training in the trailer (or outside it if too reactive to start with).

Essentially bore the pants off him. Once you've done all that, and it will take a while probably and don't be in a rush to move on to the next stage and if it goes wrong don't give up, simply repeat the previous steps until they are boring again! Then and only then, think about putting the ramp up. Then you need to do that daily multiple times until that's boring etc etc.

It's boring. But it works. I do it with all of mine and all of mine self load, stand on the trailer either asleep or eating hay and wait until I am ready to unload them perfectly happily, without any anxiety or fear. I've bought many bad loaders and put them through this process with the same end result.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your suggestion, I have tried this near the trailer, as expected, he reacted! As I said I have all the time and patience in the world but unfortunately my various helpers didn't and 'pushed' when he really wasn't ready, despite me telling them not to do it and them carrying on regardless :( needless to say they were dumped smart-ish but I now have no helper :( :D

Any suggestions how I could do this on my own as I think this will help with 'phase 2' and I'm useless at thinking outside the box! Although I did 'build' a fake trailer with straw bales and tarp, again he wasn't happy with the simulated ramp but would stand inside that without the 'ramp'
 
All of what I suggested is to be done by yourself. There is nothing worse than having helpers. I never have them and never need them. If he won't stand tied sort that out first.
 
There is nothing worse when trying to load than "well meaning helpers". You have to be firm and patient and tell them to leave you alone. Has he travelled with a companion at all? It may help when he's got someone with him who isn't scared although that could open up the possibility that he won't travel alone I suppose. Presumably the trailer is all checked out mechanically wise? Could you borrow a lorry to see if he's happier with that and then go back to a trailer once he's more relaxed about travelling. There is nothing more demoralising I know, so I hope you can sort him soon.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions i will continue with theIntelligent Horsemanship guy, continue feeding him on the trailer and also start practicing the blanket thing as i was thinking today about it and can now visualise doing it on my own.

It is so demoralising as so many have said they would have given up by now and have commented on my patience with him! But we WILL get there.

Thanks everyone!
 
Give him a couple of drops of Rescue Remedy inside a hollowed out piece of carrot. Give him some before you load and then another dose just after loading. We did this with our mare and it worked like magic. She actually turned it down when she did not need it. Obviously use all the recommended other tactics as well.
 
Erode the fear. Feed in the trailer daily. Don't stop him backing out if he wants to. A herd animal's worst fear is being trapped. Try and arrange things so he feels relaxed inside. Get him pulling at a small meshed hay net and leave him to it. Gradually introduce slightly disturbing things so he does come out, but goes back on again. Rattle bars, lift the ramp a few inches and dop it, etc. After a while, he wil realise that backing out just interupts his meal and staying inside doesn't hurt but is safe and secure.

It helps to back the trailer up to something like a round pen so feeding can be controlled. As an added incentve, you can work him in the round pen and take off all pressure when he steps on the ramp. By removing pressure, I mean turning and walking away and standing with your back to the horse for, say, 30 seconds. Then gently start working him again. Up the 'ask' at each session. The object is to make staying inside more comfortable than being outside.
 
Introducing the clicker would help you with doing it by yourself - it allows you to instantly acknowledge a good moment without needing to be close enough to instantly reward, so you can stand at the back with your blanket (I like this idea!) and click as you lift it, then drop, walk, reward, back to the blanket, lift click reward, back to the blanket etc etc. This way you can break it down into tiny tiny steps, he never feels alone with dealing with it because he knows you can mark the behaviour from a distance, and he will start to look forward to the "ramp" going up because he gets paid when it does.
It would take a couple of sessions just to get him understanding the clicker concept but would give you a stronger result than just the blanket on it's own.
 
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