Youngster still will not load!

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welshied

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I have tried to load my youngster ever since YO frightened him and that put him off trailers ever since! I have been trying ever since but one time he came out and i told him i don't want to force him on and every time he comes out horse freaks out as he is so frightened of him. Next time YO had got the message and left us to it and he got to the point where he was putting front feet on trailer.
Today tried again and managed to just get back foot on trailer which was the most progress we have made in week and then right on que YO comes out with whip and rope in his hand telling me how i should leaver him on etc etc and horse is frightened to death of him and then hes telling me how hes getting too strong and soon he will be too big to beable to force on!
I was so annoyed/upset i am just going to ring someone up first thing tomorrow to help me sort the problem and once he is loading fine we will be moving yards pointless post really but i am so mad!
 
I can see why you're so upset and rightly so!! The thing is tho that everone has different methods of loading and it rather sounds like your YO is 'old school', ie. don't give the horse any other option!! It does work with some horses but obviously not yours! As long as you have got the situation in hand and feel like you are in charge of your youngster and he is not in charge of you then the problem will solve, good luck X
 
oh thats not nice really. is there any time you could try when YO isn't about, then just go!!!

i had it last year at a show when couldn't load on way home (no surprise by the way!) and folk just wont let you get on with it, i had all sorts wading in with whips, ropes, plastic bags, afraid i really snapped at them in the end
 
See if you can leave the trailer (im guessing trailer) in the field for a few weeks and feed him off it and tie haynets on it, then he might learn that the trailer is not a scary place. thats what we did with my pony after someone actually tried to whinch her in!! i ended up screaming at him!!

she eventually got used to it but then stubben mare parts kicked in, so we used to sprinkle a bit of water up her bum to help her scoot forwards haha.

Good luck, its a long and hard process but im sure you'll get there in the end, Try reading the kelly marks "perfect manners" book its really good.
xxx
 
i know how you feel. i tried all methods to load my pony and each method wld work about twice then she'd get wise to it. and the worst time for not loading was always in a packed trailer park.

she wld load okish at home then be a nightmare on the way home so i wld have lots of people offering advice and help. sometimes i took it cos i just wanted my pony back in the trailer but this wasnt helping at all and just making her worse.

so i borrowed a 'be nice' halter - fantastic!
grin.gif
she loads well now and i can do the back bar up no problem too. i also feed her in the trailer/by the trailer/on the ramp as often as possible.

another thing to do is alot of ground work with your horse. backing up over poles/between poles/over tarpauline etc it helps your horse trust you about where his feet go.

its not impossible to turn it around so keep going and im sure you'll get there
 
I know i just kept telling him that i don't want to winch him in, drag him in or whip him in i was just so annoyed and upset i just ended up leaving him and putting him away now i just want to get away from that yard now
 
Tried and tested. Put a long lunge rein from his headcollar through the ring for the haynet if you have a front unload or one with a grooms door open up. then stand beside him no rush, just gently talk him in but have a firm grip on rein, don't let him back off too much and if he rears stand firm, when he realises he can only go forward, he will go in, just have plenty of time and make a fuss of him, try him again when you've unloaded him, again it may take time, make a fuss of him. Even if you only get half way up the ramp, make him feel he's done something really good. I had sidegates built for my trailer and it worked wonders has he couldn't step off sideways at the last moment. After a couple of weeks he loaded everytime.
 
Ditto a lot of this, it is imperative you dont turn him away from the ramp, keep him facing forwards at all times, he must realize the only way he can go is forward! It is a test of mind power not strength and horses do give up in the end.

Whipping and getting a horse is useless, constant pressure is the only way!
 
I had one really awkward chap who I eventually left to teach himself. I made a pen at the foot of the lorry ramp, blocked off the sides of the ramp so he couldn't fall and made a big show of putting his food, water and hay in the lorry. Then I left him to it. Once he got the idea that he could go in and out by himself I took out the hay a couple of hours before feed time and then caught pony, tied him up, put feed in lorry and asked him to walk in with me. He was allowed one mouthful and then we walked out again, and in for the next one etc. Eventually he got bored of the whole procedure and just walked in and out. It did take several days of him living in the pen and lorry though.

It is the ultimate in argument-free solutions to the problem!
 
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