Travelling help please!

[littlen]

I am thinking of taking one of my horses to a fun ride about 10-20 miles away with a couple of friends from my yard.
Horse is well behaved but has not travelled for about 3 years, since she came and I have afew questions please!!

- I do not have a trailer/lorry to practice with. Is there any way to get her used to the idea of travelling without actually using a trailer?

- Are there any excersises I can use to get her used to situations such as this?

-Do I travel her with tack on or off?
Also do I need to bandage her/use travel boots/rug?

- Do you think its pointless, as I have a feeling she will be so worked up after travelling that the ride wont be worth doing?

She is a stressy horse to begin with.

 

[KS1]

Set up a make shift trailer, you can do this by using 4 jump wings and cover it with tarpaulin but make sure the tarp is securely tied so it soesn't blow off.

Travel boots, tail guard and travel rug are important to protect against knocks.

Travel with tack off, one it won't be comfortable for your horse travelling and secondly if she moves about a lot the tack could get damaged. It doesn't take long to tack up at an event.

Is it poiintless you ask, see how she copes with the trailer simulator, does she calmly go through it, will she back up through it and stand instead on her own calm?

 

[Natpillai]

A few questions in response:

- Does she have a history of being a 'bad' traveller, i.e. when you got her did she travel badly, not want to load, sweat up etc? If not, there's no reason to think that, as long as she is given a steady, comfortable ride this time that she shouldn't be perfectly fine.

- Under what circumstances is she 'stressy', and how does this reveal itself? e.g. my horse gets stressed when last one to be turned out, or if he's left on a wagon on his own (weirdly he's fine being left in a trailer!) and he chucks himself around, rears, launches himself at the door/partition etc. What does your mare do?

- will she be travelling alone or with others, and will it be a wagon or trailer?

In terms of exercises, it's difficult without having the lorry or trailer to work with, although it might be a blessing in disguise since it sounds like you're very nervous about it and to 'practise' might mean you communicate that to her and create a problem where there isn't one (again, this depends on if she's had a history of travelling badly). What you can do, is just do some work on the ground with her, so get her to move away from you when you ask, through using a little bit of pressure and then releasing as soon as she steps away from it, and also practise getting her to walk on and halt, in hand, when she's told to, whilst keeping her nice and calm, so she's all set up to be listening to you when you go to load her.

In terms of the ride being worth doing, I'd say that a fun ride is an ideal thing to do as her first trip out for along time - there's no pressure when you get there, it's meant to be exactly what it says -- FUN!! So if she does have any qualms, she can start to associate travelling with going out and having a nice time.

Personally, if you're worried that she's going to stress, I wouldn't travel her with tack on - I very rarely travel mine tacked up - usually a maximum of 20 minute trip. having said that, if you think she's going to be difficult to tack up when you arrive then maybe travel with a saddle on, but DEFINITELY put a rug over the top, even if only a thin one, so there are no 'dangly' straps from the saddle to get caught on things and make her panic. I wouldn't travel in a bridle - for one thing, if she is a bit worried about loading it's hard to load with a headcollar over a bridle since there will be a slightly different feel to the pressure, plus there's lost of bits on bridles that can get caught/hooked on things. If you have a leather headcollar that would be better than a fabric one as, if she does get caught, it will snap easier. Also, make sure she's not tied directly to the tie ring, but to some bailing string connected to it so that can snap of she pulls back.

Now, having said all of this, this is very much a response given that you haven't given any information about her travelling history. If she's travelled fine before, there's absolutely no reason to think she won't now, and as long as she's given a nice, steady ride this time you shouldn't have a problem in future. If you're really worried and think she's going to stress, give yourself loads of extra time - load her up and get going a good half hour before you technically need to so you don't feel under pressure to get her loaded and then transmit that to her. just stay calm - if you don't think there's a problem, neither will she.

And, most of all, HAVE FUN!!!!

)

 

[Natpillai]

In response to KS1, I'd advise against the tarpaulin/wings idea (sorry, each to their own and all that, just wouldnt' do it myself!) - reasons being:
- Sounds way scarier than a trailer and might cause unnecessary stress, especially if she's already that kind of personality
- There's no solid side on it so it's a different thing to being loaded into a solid trailer where she might actually feel more secure
- it might mean she stops trusting you and if that scares her, it might make her less willing to follow you into a trailer
- a good gust of wind can knock over a jump wing, which could cause general carnage, not only scaring your horse but any other horse in the vicinity

Although I do agree (and forgot in my previous post) that travel boots, tail guard etc. are a must. That's one thing you can practise - put them on and walk her round in them so she gets used to the feel of them and doesn't see it as something new and an extra worry on the day you're travelling. You only need to put them on for a few minutes and let her walk about in them and get used to them.

Sorry KS1 - as I said, each to their own and I don't think anybody's right or wrong, just my own opinion so please don't be offended!!!! ;o)

 

[littlen]

When I got her she travelled a long way. Roughly 4 hours in total. She took around an hour to load at first and came off stressy, sweaty and nervous. She took months to settle with me and trust me, and she has improved with most aspects of her training but I have never tried loading as I dont have access to a lorry or trailer.


She is a stressy horse in general. She gets panicky if she is left alone or without her companion. She also gets nervous in unfamilar surroundings and can become spooky.

Normally I would never concider this but she has improved no end and I would love to have some nice memories of us over summer. I wont take her if its going to be bad for her of course!

She will be travelling with 2 others one of which is a hacking companion of hers, but isnt in 'her' herd so to speak, in a lorry I believe.

I didnt think she would need to be travelled with tack on, but I was worried that she will be stressed when leaving the lorry and wont stand to have her saddle put on etc. I dont want her running away in the park lol!

 

[Natpillai]

If there's a risk of her running away when you arrive and you won't be able to hold her in just a headcollar, just put the bridle on before you come off the lorry (I'd advise this to anyone anyway, where possible - always good to have that bit more control!).

A 4 hour journey is not the nicest thing for any animal, but 10-20 miles should be 1 hour max. and, as I said, as long as she's taken nice and steadily and all the starts/stops/corners are done smoothly she'll start to learn that it's ok.

If possible, put her on the end of the wagon - let her watch the others being loaded and then put her on - make sure you've got someone there to help you shut the partition etc and wait until it's closed before you tie her up (but make sure you know where the partition is behing you so you can nip out underneath if she does get upset).

I wouldn't travel with a haynet - it will reduce headroom and if she's stressed but decided to start pulling at that you could have a choke hazard.

just give yourself loads of time - when you arrive at the place, take her straight off the wagon and walk her round in hand before attempting to tack her up - don't worry about boots etc., just let her get her bearings, see where she is and relax a bit. Then, of course, when you start out give her a long walk, get her chilled out and allow her to warm up properly to avoid her tying up.

i really think she will be ok - if you're struggling to load her, just make sure you don't get stressed and upset. Talk softly, reassure her - keep some small treats in your pocket and reward her with a pat and your 'pleased' voice whenever she takes a step forward, even if it's only one. the way I work is, any forward motion, however small, is rewarded. Backwards is not punished as such, just enforced with pressure on the headcoller (if you've got a pressure halter this might help loading) and release as soon as she comes forward again.

Really, really good luck - keep calm, remember how far you've come with her and if she does get stressed, remind yourself that this is difficult for her and you need to try to be understanding with her and not get frustrated/annoyed (and believe me this is tough after even 10 minutes of trying to load!!).

)