Trailer Travelling Trouble!

dsth

dsth

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Dartmoor Devon
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Today going hunting our lovely sweet mare always an angel to load, loaded lovely but started to panic and kick as we drove along, we stopped, reassurance given and tried again, lots of noise as we drove along very slowly, we even did the real "no no" my son went in with her (front section only) soothing and stroking her, he said she just kept trying to lie down all the time, but being tied helped keep her head up so she didnt get right down but she got down on her side several times, it was terrifying to see this lovely but big horse floundering about, we stopped and unloaded her as fast as we could, she was immediately fine, son hacked her home and she was quiet and lovely, no distress at all, one small cut (thank god for Travel Boots). A couple of weeks ago when travelling we noticed we arrived at our destination and she was drenched in sweat and fidgety. She has always loaded perfectly first time and she did again today, no problems in the last 8 months we have had her at all. i am a very careful (too slow if anything) driver, nice new Ifor W Trailer. Any suggestions anybody, we hunt regularly and compete we need to travel etc. When the ground is dry i thought of leaving trailer open in field and feed her in there build confidence, try short trips again, give her a little companion whilst travelling etc Please help!
 
Do you have the partition in?

My horse decided one day that he couldnt travel in the trailer without falling over! Took the partition out and put in full length bars and problem solved.

Always travel them without the partition now and havent hsd another problem.
 
Tamski said:
Do you have the partition in?

My horse decided one day that he couldnt travel in the trailer without falling over! Took the partition out and put in full length bars and problem solved.

Always travel them without the partition now and havent hsd another problem.
Click to expand...

This would be my suggestion too- try without the partition and a full bar
 
Our pony ,many years ago, suddenly did this. We took out partition and she was fine..We could never travel with a partition again and when we changed to a lorry she had to have lots of room.
 
Did you travel her on the same side as usual? My mare could not travel kerbside - it was like she had narcilepsy and would just literally fall down.

I was advised it is quite common that some horses cannot tolerate travelling kerbside - it's a different ride altogether. Driver's side she was fine again.
 
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You say it's a new trailer so was she fine in the previous one? I have known horses react badly with different suspension in a different trailer..
 
Agree take the partition out. Many years ago, before I had a lorry, I had a top games pony that wouldn't travel at all in a trailer with a partition, took it out and she was fine.
 
This might sound crazy but it might be worth getting her hocks checked. One of the first signs of Spavin can be difficulty travelling :(. As others have said, take out the partition and give her some room - that can make a real difference if she has got problems with her hocks.
 
Agree with all of the take partition out comments but if you have a partition that can be moved over at the tail end this might also do the trick. Old pony of mine just wanted and obviously needed to spread his hind legs. Used to try to lie down especially round right hand bends.
 
I would def. try her in another trailer first - if she is ok in another then double check your trailer floor and suspension etc !!

If she is not ok then try without partition and if still not ok get checked over - back/eyesight etc.

Good luck - its horrible when they dont load or travel well - my chap is ok now but had serious loading issues for a while !
 
Interesting OP you have described my boy ..it is soooo scary ..I have gone back to loading ..pulling forward 10 foot and unloading ..then 12 foot ect on a daily basis ..long,boring,a lot of time and effort ..but I'm hoping I can sort him :/ but he scared the life out if me :(
 
I wouldn't scare the op with health issues, just try taking the partition out first to see if that cures the problem. Many horses/ponies need the room to balance, some balance better than others, just like us!
 
Big horse floundering in trailer is a definate take out the partition, my big mares the same, will not travel with the partition in, perfect with it out. I now travel all my horses with no partition even when there is two of them in there and never had a problem.
 
We had this problem a while ago with one of ours, and discovered one of the tyres was a bit soft - got that sorted and though horse was a bit better still didn't travel well . We now travel him always on the left hand side, even if he's the only one in the IF, and we haven't had a problem since.
 
Also, get in the trailer for a short ride with someone sensible driving it and see if you can detect any issues with noises or imbalance. I did this for a friend and there was an awful rattle which her mare was scared of. We sorted it out and then she was fine traveling again.
 
Thank you all sooo much - very helpful. Mare was on drivers side with partition in. We have had Trailer from new for 9 months same time as the horse so she knows it well, i can undo half of back section of partition, shall try that, shall have a look at partition see if i can remove it but still have the front bars etc i have been thinking overnight, I shall try shavings on floor, maybe the floor was extra slippy, i am wondering about a middle ear infection which would affect balance as in a human??? I shall have another try this weekend and then call the vet, i have a great vet who i know very well and could pick his brains, get him to check her ears and hocks etc she is a very well behaved and good mannered Irish Horse but she is spooky and sensitive (only 6) Not sure if to fanny about with the trailer taking her in and out and feeding her in there just to relax her beforehand this week or just try loading and setting off without a fuss next weekend plus shaving adjust partition and any fuss get her out quick. Thanks again all of you i just felt i needed a bit of support and i got it x
 
My ISH suddenly started doing this after two years of travelling perfectly. Same trailer, same driver, sensible speeds. It seems to be particularly on corners and roundabouts. We've had antibiotics for other things, that would have sorted any ear infections, but nothing happened. We've never researched it more - she still marches in the box, and doesn't travel bad if she has my gelding in - so he has had to come on long journeys to BE many times!
We are lucky that its not far to the motorway and then she is fine.

There have been many threads on this over the years, a few turned out to be ears, some kissing spines, some that the horse didn't travel well in an Ifor. I mentioned this to my mechanic hubby, and he says the suspension is different on an Ifor, but in his opinion it is better in a strength and durability way..

We have invested in a camera to go in the trailer, to see what goes on more.

ps, agree that the boots don't help. My mare often kicks them off, so now we put overreacch boots on all 4 legs to travel, and I am going to bandage.
 
Have read more posts thank you again! Mare did have Travel Boots on thankfully she inly ended up with one small cut, they havent been an issue before but i could try bandaging her legs instead. I am wondering if she is telling me she hates the Trailer and wants a small Lorry! This is not an option sadly but something i would rather have. Very interesting what you all say about the partition as my son who is 14 went in beack of trailer with her for a couple of miles before we had to abandon ship and said there was no rattling and it was smooth in there, but as soon as the trailer started to move she leant on the partition heavily and then lost footing and started to panic etc i checked the tyres before setting off they looked and felt fine but shall check again. There must be a reason why she has just started this, its not my driving as i know i am a slug, i have been told by people towing behind me, i am so careful :confused:
 
Tamski said:
Do you have the partition in?

My horse decided one day that he couldnt travel in the trailer without falling over! Took the partition out and put in full length bars and problem solved.

Always travel them without the partition now and havent hsd another problem.
Click to expand...

Same here, not had a spot of bother since he travelled cross tied at the front and no partition. Hope you find an answer, I've been through this and it's awful. xx
 
Take out the partition if only one horse in. My old guy did this. Just oneday was kicking then next time he went down and hung himself in the trailer. Was very distressing and i thought he had died :(

I agree with skippy'smum get the hocks checked as the balancing can cause major pain if hocks have started.
 
Agree with removing the partition. My lad did exactly as you describe, after years of travelling really well in one side. I had a full width breast bar made for him. He's travelled fine in the full width ever since.
 
Taking the partition out is supported by research. The horse is trying to stand on what it is seeing as the flat surface even though it is the side or centre partition. It can start even in horses that have previously been good travellers. Some try to do it if up against the bulk head in a lorry as well. Both of mine load and travel well but one of them must go on the drivers side (right) otherwise her scrabbles and hurts himself. Both are excellent in lorry.
 
would def. try swapping sides - friends horse was panicking in trailer (but loading well) and they realised she had always travelled on other side in past - swapped her back over and she is fine again ! they put in down to her being blind in one eye but weirdly she prefers the bad eye to be on outside not partition side where she could see other horse !! odd... but easy fix
 
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