Travelling advice

B

bounce

Well-Known Member
Joined
19 January 2009
Messages
809
Visit site
I have very recently purchased a new horse, she is very green, only 4 and has only been travelled 3 times by myself in my lorry, first trip was away from the breeders yard, second trip was with another horse and third trip was by herself for a very short distance. The first two trips she was an absolute angel, stands very well, travels fine, doesn't get in a state. The third trip however she decided she didn't want to be there and started thrashing around and getting in a right state. She wasn't falling about but purposely kicking and pawing. After only a 15 minute journey she got off dripping in sweat. She wasn't quite so stressed on the way home although still had a few moments of kicking, but then she had done some work in between and was probably fairly tired.

Obviously it is going to take time and practice but I have to get her used to travelling by herself as I spend the majority of my time competing and going to training by myself. Any views on how to progress this to be a positive experience for her rather than making matters worse or letting them escalate?

She is an anxious horse in general and paws the ground when tied up anywhere other than her stable and is generally a real fidget.
 
I had a similar problem with my mare when I got her and she was also 4. She used to travel ok with the slight bang but would stress come off dripping with sweat. I have a trailer and also had some issues with her loading. I just had to practice loading her a lot and leaving her on the trailer feeding her etc. and each time leaving her on there a bit longer. The more she travelled the better she was and now is as good as gold, occasionally sweats a little bit but she is a very sweaty horse.

Hope this helps.
 
Thanks Daisy. She loads fine at the moment but even if I offer her food on the lorry she is too stressed to really eat it. Good to know that yours got better with repetition.
 
She was fine for feed but wouldn't touch her hay whilst travelling, now she will happily munch.
Only other thing I would suggest is Nupafeed liquid calmer. I put my mare on it when I got her and it was brilliant, it really takes the edge off a stressy horse. She's older now so doesn't need it, it's not cheap but it defiantly worked for my mare.
 
Can someone stand in the back with her, (obviously the other side of the partition for safety sake. ) just for a couple of trips, so she's not feeling quite so alone? She's still young, hopefully as she realises going out in the lorry is fun, she'll settle.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top