Travelling question

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Dizzle

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My pony travels really badly on the left hand side of a trailer, she bangs about the second you start to move (even with a really careful driver), she sweats up too and often nicks herself with a hoof on a back leg.

She travels much better on the right hand side but she’s still not 100% relaxed (she’s a very relaxed girly by nature and once out the other end she’s laid back and chilled).

I’m planning on getting my own trailer soon so want to make travelling as comfy as possible for her.

Someone suggested trying without a partition but as she’s only 13.2hh won’t she find it harder to balance without a wall to lean on? Is it safe to travel like that? Is there anything else I could try to help her out?

She hasn’t done huge amounts of travelling so will little and often help her improve?

Is there anything physical that could effect her travelling but not ridden?
 
I'm going through the exact same thing at the moment, so will be interested to hear replies.

From my understanding, they balance better when they have nothing to lean on and often when you take the partition out they position themselves diagonally which stops them from falling over :)
 
When travelling with no partition would you cross tie?

Seems sensible that they would balance better leaning diagonally, thing is you can't really try these things out when you rely on other people for lifts, can't wait to get wheels, hopefully it will be this year!
 
Dizzle said:
thing is you can't really try these things out when you rely on other people for lifts, can't wait to get wheels, hopefully it will be this year!
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I have the same issue. It was suggested to me that you swing the back of the partition over and secure it but leave the front where it is. That way they can at least spread their back legs.
 
I used to have a pony that literally cantered on the spot in a trailer. Loaded fine and walked off calm but engine started and so would he. Cured overnight after a year of trying by padding the breach bars with foam and then travel boots on top. Turned out he was scared to use it so spent all journey tryin to stay back. Never did it again.
 
This reaction is due to pony slipping. Put bedding down if you don't already and remove partition and put in full width breast bar. No need to cross tie. I'm sure you'll find it travels fine. be careful loading tho' as you won't have breeching bar.
 
My pony was an absolute nightmare - we just tried loads of different things. He stood perfectly if the back part of the partition was taken out completely, he wore bandages and pads instead of boots, the back window on his side (left) was always closed, and the haynets were tied at the very front of the trailer (not where they are tied up). I had to tie him up very loosely too.

It is agonising hearing them bash about and it was such a relief to finally get it sorted. I found wearing rugs and having bedding down or not made no difference. The main thing was allowing his back legs to spread out but still manage to travel 2 as the front part of the partition was intact.

Trial and error is the only way and then build their confidence up by going on short (say 10min) journeys. Hope you get it sorted eventually :)
 
I though there was a "rule" that when travelling a horse alone with the partition in place to always have them on the right side to account for the camber in the road? But yeah, cross tying when travelling sans partition :)
 
*sprinkles* said:
I though there was a "rule" that when travelling a horse alone with the partition in place to always have them on the right side to account for the camber in the road? But yeah, cross tying when travelling sans partition :)
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I was always taught that single horse goes on right hand side and if travelling two the heavier horse goes on the right hand side.

My friend had a horse that couldn't stand up if he was travelled with a partition but was absolutely fine without one.
 
A single horse should go on the right but mine would only stand up on the left. It didn't cause us any problems and he travelled Edinburgh - Cheshire perfectly.
 
May I suggest something completely different?

Always make sure the journey ends somewhere nice. We are training youngsters to load and travel at the moment. Because of earlier training, they are no problem to load and we want to keep it that way. They get a short journey around the fields (so far more bumpy than being on the road) and are then unloaded onto fresh grass or to get a large bowl of hard feed. They are then rested and led (not driven) back to their usual field.

The idea is to get them to associate loading and travelling with something nice. So far, so good. Obviously, we start with short journeys and gradually increase them.
 
Dry Rot said:
May I suggest something completely different?

Always make sure the journey ends somewhere nice. We are training youngsters to load and travel at the moment. Because of earlier training, they are no problem to load and we want to keep it that way. They get a short journey around the fields (so far more bumpy than being on the road) and are then unloaded onto fresh grass or to get a large bowl of hard feed. They are then rested and led (not driven) back to their usual field.

The idea is to get them to associate loading and travelling with something nice. So far, so good. Obviously, we start with short journeys and gradually increase them.
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That's a great idea :) however if OP's horse is anything like mine he loads and unloads perfectly each time, he just can't stand up in the trailer.
 
Bit of back ground: She did load well, but just after I bought her last summer I accepted a lift from a friend and her dad, pony was on the left, friend’s dad was awful at towing, he was approaching roundabouts faster than I do in my car and didn’t even slow down when pony was banging, I was gutted I’d not checked with other people what his driving was like.

Since then I have been out a couple of times with a friend who is an excellent driver (it was her suggestion to try pony on the right hand side) and pony is getting a lot less sweaty and a bit better at loading. The two times we’ve been out since were hound exercising and autumn hunting so we were out doing enjoyable things. I’ve purchased a Monty Roberts headcollar for loading and when I get my own wheels I’ll probably spend a bit of time feeding her in the trailer so she’s happy in there.

Also, when she was travelling on the left it was because the heavier horse was on the right (she’s only 13.2hh!).

When you travel without a partition do you not have a full length breaching bar? Surely you just get someone to close that when you load like you would with the partition in???
 
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