Travelling Issues - balance problem?

[Fifty Bales of Hay]

I have a little horse, who is not difficult to load onto a trailer, but will not even attempt to try to balance himself once the trailer starts moving, but goes into a complete panic attack and melt-down.

He will throw himself violently and repeatedly against the centre partition, and wedge all four feet at an angle on the right hand side and wall of the trailer (loaded on the right hand side of partition in an IW 505 trailer) scrabbling and almost climbing the wall, whilst damaging himself and lashing out with any leg that he can.

No amount of talking to him or trying to get him back up on his feet will work. If he just got back up on his feet I could unload him safely and as quickly as possible, but the last time I tried it ended up with him exhausted and he collapsed to the floor before we could enter safely, dismantle the trailer around him and get him off.

He was tried in a forward facing lorry, which he'd travelled on before numerous times in 2015, a week later, he did the same thing in there.

Totally losing the plot, not just a little unsteady on his feet, or no room to spread his legs to balance, he simply just isn't trying to balance at all. So I am not sure even without the partition in there he would try to balance, as it's quite easy with the rubber skirts in the 505 to spread their legs either front or back if theres no other horse loaded in the other partition.

What should I now do as would like to work through this issue with him, quietly and in time hopefully get him travelling alone at first, then with a partition and another friend with him. Am I able to progress doing this with my current IW 505 trailer? Do I need to get a backwards facing trailer?

Without some sort of damage limitation insurance I dare not put him in anyone else's vehicle, and cannot see anyone really wanting to help me out on this with their own lorry, due to the problem, I am not expecting anyone else to take that risk of letting me borrow or hire a lorry to try him in.

There are lots I know that have gone through this - and come out the other side - but is this a very "extreme" case in that I cannot get his legs back down on the floor when the trailer stops and is stationery?

Help and thoughts please?

 

[Red-1]

I have met this a few times, often removing the partition does help.

Only twice have I known horses to "recover" by the person going in the back and helping them understand, but obviously this is risky for the person doing this. We have positioned their legs and not allowed them to get all on one side. If your horse is as bad as you say, though, this will not be possible.

More commonly I feel there is a physical issue with the horse, causing the horse pain when it tries to balance. It could be hocks, SI, ringbone, whatever. IME it can be a while before the horse is diagnosed, but of those with issues that are not fixed by patience and a wider space then they have been diagnosed later.

Some horses will travel fine herringbone. I guess that uses different strain to stop/start.

Other wise you could try just loading every day, until this is OK, then add a start of the engine every day, then move a foot every day etc. My bet would be on physical issue tough.

 

[Goldenstar]

Every time I have come across this it turned out that the horse was carrying a physical issue no knew about .

 

[doodle]

My horse always used to load and travel perfectly. Suddenly started scrambling about. Removed partition which sorted it. But shortly after he was diagnosed with a bone spavin in his jock so I would get your horse fully vet checked first.

 

[Fifty Bales of Hay]

Thank you all. If the horse has passed a 5 stage vetting recently, would this have shown up any physical issue? He shows no signs of any lameness or hock issues in his ridden work at all. But I could get him vetted again if need be? Since his back loading and problems he's lost a tiny bit of muscle on the left hand side, but it's not really visible to the naked eye.

 

[Clannad48]

We had this with our mare,she wouldn't travel in the trailer, we tried both sides of the trailer to no effect. However, once we removed the partition, installed full width bars front and back and cross tied she travels fine, she likes to travel diagonally to enable her to keep her balance. It may be worth a try.

 

[PollyP99]

Really interesting for me to follow since this is exactly what happened to my mare. She was fine to travel right side and secured via lead rope, switched to left and secured with a bungee and exactly what you described happened, by the time we came to a stop she was wedged legs up the partition, collapsed as I got front ramp open and sadly severed an artery in doing so. Many weeks of box rest, hospital etc and now she is back in full work, I need to know if she'll ever travel safely, I just can't bear the thought currently so interested to read people's thoughts! It 'could' be the side change but I had to get her to the hospital after the accident and I travelled back with her in the back of a van conversion type box backward facing loosely partitioned and she just didn't seem to spread her legs so I'm thinking is there a physical reason, it was the worst 20. Minutes of my life, I had to keep urging her to stand up, she was lightly sedated so again not a true test. It's scarey to face but at some point I need to.

 

[irishdraft]

My mare will throw herself to the floor if she is asked to travel in anything other than ifor Williams 510 without a partition, although you think they could spread legs with the rubber skirt my mare will not. Immediately starts scrabbling/panicking, she will not travel in any sort of lorry even if she has the whole thing with no partition but thankfully will in a trailor so definitely worth trying no partition & just going round the block.

 

[paddi22]

a friends horse does this and she travels him with the back part of the partition missing, if that makes sense? I believe with her horse though there is an underlying physical issue.

 

[nicelittle]

Hi, our pony suddenly panicked when travelling, galloping up the wall sideways and cutting himself badly.
It turned out, after many months of investigation, that he had rotated hind pedal bones which were caused by him having a cyst in his front fetlock joint. So in our case, pain caused it.
However, we managed to travel him safely in the mean time by removing the trailer partition and using a full length bar. We made many visits to the vet, so it was essential, and we installed a camera so we could see what was happening.
We can now travel him with another pony and the partition, but always take it our if he's on his own.
Hope you get to the bottom of it!

 

[SusieT]

Often there is a physical reason - vet check
trailer check
take partition out and try that

 

[Fifty Bales of Hay]

I have the vet coming out on Wednesday this week, so I will get him checked over for any visible physical reason, but I cannot see anything, nor can the chiropractor or physiotherapist or my trainer. It make come out in a years time though and we will say "ah yes" that must have been lurking. I am not going to get a full investigation or work up for something that shows no signs at the moment.

The trailer is brand new, and has just had it's 3 month service, so thats' all good to go.

I have purchased a full length breast bar to try, but am concerned he will throw himself over and scramble up the walls the same as he did with a partition in place, what is it about having the single bar up that stops them doing this do you think?

 

[TheSylv007]

I had exactly this problem with my mare. Took the partition out and put in full length bars and solved the problem. She will travel with a partition in but only if she's loaded on the left hand side. If we put her in the right, she starts falling about again. I have absolutely no idea why but having done some online research, it seems to be more common than you think.

 

[Annagain]

I too would take the partition out. You could also try loading him on the left? My horse will only travel on the left (although he just has the odd stumble, he doesn't have an awful problem. I've met quite a few others who will only travel on the right too. It's more common for them to be happier on the right, but there are some who only like the left.

 

[debsflo]

We had the same but mare was fine with the partition out and would balance across the trailer...

 

[Morgan123]

Another vote for - I've come across this quite a few times and the best option has always been to remove the partition, or at the v least use a partition which doens't go down to the floor. It seems like some horses just feel they need more space for their legs. It is a weird problem.

 

[Shadowdancing]

Friend's horse started doing this. Equine chiro or similar came out and found pelvis was totally out, but even once fixed he was very anxious and would do it. Takes a while to forget I guess.

 

[nicelittle]

AMP - I would say that the main difference with a single breast bar and no partition, is that the horse can stand diagonally, and it seems to be easier for some of them. Having watched our boy with our camera, he has his front end on the left, but then is diagonally across the trailer. He can now travel with the partition too, but I know he's happier without it.
We cross tie him do he cannot turn round.

 

[Fifty Bales of Hay]

Thank you everyone for the sharing of all your experiences, it seems a more common problem than I first thought, and definitely has now given me a bit of hope and something to work through.

Has anyone had this happen when their horse is loaded on the left - out of interest? Or is this mainly a "right hand side" of the trailer partition problem?

 

[Merlod]

He probably isn't happy facing forwards - remove the partition helps them to balance better as they have enough room to angle themselves in a comfortable position. My horse had the same problem scrabbling - I bought a herringbone trailer and he does briliantly in it. Also consider your tyre pressures, floor soundness and suspension (ifor have quite old fashioned suspension even in their new trailers compared to most modern trailers)

 

[Fifty Bales of Hay]

Merlod - I did think of this, but he's travelled absolutely fine before facing forwards in a trailer (unsure if it had a partition or not?) and a 3.5 tonne horsebox forwards facing with partitions and him stood on the right side? Not had the chance to try him in either a herringbone or a backwards facing trailer, as only have my Ifor Williams trailer here.

Which make of herringbone trailer have you got please Merlod? Is there anywhere near to me Oxfordshire that hires out that make of trailer?

Tyre pressures are fine in my trailer, and floor is new alloy. Suspension is as it is in all Ifor Williams trailers I guess, but has been successful I guess for them for years as they've not changed it?

The fear and this didn't start in my trailer but I cannot get to when or how it started unfortunately, so just dealing with the aftermath and trying to get him safely travelling and a happy boy once again.

 

[Bec26]

A mare I had started doing this after years of being a great traveller. I swapped sides and for the first few journeys put a deep straw bed and she never did it again as long as she could travel that side.

 

[Annagain]

Thank you everyone for the sharing of all your experiences, it seems a more common problem than I first thought, and definitely has now given me a bit of hope and something to work through.

Has anyone had this happen when their horse is loaded on the left - out of interest? Or is this mainly a "right hand side" of the trailer partition problem?

AS I said above my horse is much better on the left but is nowhere near as bad as you describe your horse to be. I'd say this is quite unusual though as most horses I've come across who favour one side favour the right.

 

[serenityjane]

My mare did exactly the same in an Ifor 510- cannot remember which side she was on but it was horrible and she went down even at 5 miles per hour! To get her back home as she was on three legs as she injured herself on the outward journey, we removed the partition and travelled her loose (untied) facing backwards (not good re health and safety but was an emergency and we were 50 mins from home- she travelled fine). We then bought an equitrek trailer and she travelled fine with another horse and alone if she was on the passenger side and not tied, we did lots of local journeys before venturing further afield. After many months of travelling like this, we (stupidly- with hindsight) travelled her on the drivers side- and when we took a right turn she went down again! She loads like a dream and has no problems with the trailer but it is definately a balance issue which gets much worse when she is tied.

 

[applecart14]

Remove the partition. When our horse went down in the trailer we tried to 'hem in in' using the partition. But then we thought about how a person gets on when standing on a moving bus or train. You actually spread your legs as wide as you can to keep your balance. So we moved the partition 3/4 / 1/4 and the additional room really helped him.

 

[MagicMelon]

I've had 2 horses who were always brilliant at travelling begin to do this - check your wheel pressures as the second horse who started this was just after we'd had the trailer professionally checked over and theyd put too much air in them (which we worked out after and sadly the horse continued to "fall"). The thing that fixed it immediately in both horses was to remove the back half of the partition completely, then could spread their hind legs out then and were absolutely perfect from then on.

 

[Fifty Bales of Hay]

Thank you all, very interesting reading, there are so many cases, so many ways to resolve, it's all a case of try it and see isn't it? It's just the "trying" is so frightening and I don't relish going through that "wall climbing" again!

MagicMelon - removing the back part of the partition is a good idea, but surely you can't do this with two horses on-board? Can only do it when travelling one on it's own?

 

[nicelittle]

Can you get a cheap camera to monitor what is going on in the back?
We did this and then tried the pony in different positions in the trailer, only very locally so that we could ride home if needed.
I'm sure you'll solve this with patience!

 

[Jade Robertson]

I hope you get to the bottom of it. My family and I are planning our first trip with our pony, we only have one so pairing her up isn't an option. Do you think the trailer was the problem then? Interested to hear peoples thoughts on trailers, we are looking at getting a caravan probably from this company , but not sure about trailers yet. It will need to fit onto a caravan obviously, what would you recommend?
Thanks for the help

 

[Jade Robertson]

oops I gave the wrong link! Sorry about that, I see there's no edit option on this forum, so it's https://www.campanda.com/ if anyone can see a caravan that they think would work with a specific type of trailer, it would be greatly appreciated!