Urgent trailering help needed

highlandstep · 06-17-2008, 03:55 PM

OKay so we bought this two horse straight load trailer so we can save some money trailering to places. So when we went to load our horses up neither would get in. We have to TBs one OT and one that never tracked or raced.

Eventually we got one in and then he kicked and fussed and then my horse wouldnt get in. It was extreamly frusterating. We tried to coax them on nicely without for or anything, using treats and hay.

But that didnt work so we started using a chain and we got the OTTB on, but then he fussed and kicked around so we had to take him out. Any help would b apprieciated!!

Xiphias · 06-17-2008, 04:23 PM

How small of a straight load? Some horses don't like tight cramped quarters....

Cathy

UncleJohn · 06-17-2008, 04:48 PM

Teaching horses to get in a trailer - especially big (TB) horses in a small (2 horse sraight load) trailer is a pretty big deal. Most likely you would be better off getting a professional trainer to come in and work with you and the horses.

There are books out there and videos too - but there are a lot of ways to create problems if you don't know what you are doing.

One way to start is to back the trailer up to a pen and put their food inside. That way, the horses have to go in to eat and start to associate the trailer with something good.

Good luck!

CatandMinot · 06-17-2008, 05:00 PM

Here's a post that I wrote on another trailering help thread. I'm not sure if you are having the same severity of the problem, but hopefully it will help a little...
__________________________________________________ ________________________

" I believe that your biggest problem, is that you are TOO focused on getting her in the trailer. She is getting aggressive, because she feels like it is her last resort. She needs to learn that the trailer is a pretty nice place to be, and is not always the location of a fight or a bad experience for both of you.

What I would do is to try and do everything on the ground near the trailer. Get her comfortable with the outside of the trailer before even trying to get her in. If you can, have a halter and lead while she eats her grain/ dinner/ breakfast/ whatever, near the trailer. Spend a lot of time grooming her near the trailer. Basically, do anything that would make the experience enjoyable and peaceful for both of you.

Next, I would re-teach her some basic ground manners (once again near the trailer). Get her to yield from direct pressure and driving pressure (ie; get her used to moving away from physical pressure in her flank, nose and neck areas. The for driving pressure, swing a rope in a circle at her but to get her to get her to disengage her hindquarters away from you.) Then, I would teach her how to back by rhythmically shaking your lead rope up and down until she leans or takes a step back. When she moves, let her stand there for a minute and ask her to come back to you by pulling lightly until she takes a step forward.

With all of these exercises, you want to stop the second that she thinks about moving in the direction that you want to do. Look for signs of her relaxing, head down and lowered, soft, blinking eyes, hoof- cocked, lips "chewing", etc. And remember to go slowly. You are going to want all of these things handy for when you actually begin to trailer load.

Now for actually entering the trailer. Spend a couple days where you have plenty of time to work with her with the trailer.

Before you begin, open up the trailer as much as you can. Though it may seem "roomy" to you- she probably doesn't think so. Take the center dividing partition out (my two-horse straight-loads, comes out), open up the roof vents, the escape door/ tack room door (if you have one), both trailer doors, and all of the windows. Put some hay in either the trailer manger or in a hay net as an extra perk for when she comes in.

To begin, stand at the top of the trailer ramp, with her facing you. Back her up a couple steps and then ask her to come to you like you asked her to on the ground. If she is nervous, do not increase the pressure on the rope, but hold it until she gives to you. Get her comfortable with coming forward and away from the trailer. This shows her that she doesn't need to worry that she is being forced inside.

When she gets pretty good at that, back up so that you are halfway in the trailer and do the same thing, getting her to back up and come back to you. When she gets more confident, don't back her up quite as far, and see if she will come closer to you, whether it be she puts her nose in the trailer, etc. In this since, you are kind of playing "hokey-pokey" with the trailer- put a nose in, a nose out- a neck in, a neck out, etc. When she puts a foot in the trailer, let her relax for a couple seconds and then back her out.

Pretty soon, she will have both of her front feet in the trailer, and before long will be completely in the trailer. When she does enter the trailer completely for the first time, praise her like crazy, let her chew on a treat or some hay for a minute, and then back her back out. Get her comfortably walking in and out of the trailer about 3 times and then have your dad or someone close the door. If she gets nervous, wait until she relaxes even a little before opening the door and backing her back out. Do this a million times until she doesn't feel worried at all.

Some key points are not to have a butt rope on her. While this may work for a couple times, she will soon learn to resist it and will only grow even more claustrophobic. You can use her favorite treat as a reward, but only give it to her when she takes couple steps forward and is remaining calm.

I know from personal experience how frustrating unsuccessful trailer loading can be and what you are dealing with. My mare, Minot, fell in a trailer once when we were on the road. Although she didn't really hurt herself, she would not load again for the longest time (previously, she had LOVED the trailer-- trailers meant hay and dinner). If I could even get her to put a foot in the trailer, she would quickly get nervous, jerk her head way up, and usually hit her head on the roof. She would quickly back out and freak out on the outside of the trailer. However, after a couple sessions of "hokey-pokey", her old confidence was restored, and she now loads like a pro.

My personal basic goal when trailer loading is just keeping myself and my horse relaxed throughout the entire process and giving myself plenty of time so that neither of us are rushed. The trailer loading experience should not be as dreaded as it too often is now, but presented more as a unique challenge for you and your horse to handle.

Good luck and keep us updated on how it goes!

(oh Wow that was LONG! Good grief...)"

luv2event · 06-17-2008, 05:46 PM

Ya, having too small of a trailer is a major problem. I own only one horse, (who had major trailering issues when I got her) and we were thinking about buying a straight load. So since there was only one horse, and she is pretty big, we took out the divider thinking she could go in there diagonally. I think it took an hour to get her in....we tried everything-treats, grain, whips, etc. In the end, I found out that I was having doubts in her going in and so she kinda decided it wasn't worth it. Butt ropes also help!

Anyway, she was totally cramped in the trailer even tho she was diagonal; so we decided it wasn't worth it. Much to my parents dislike (and financial woe...P.S. this new trails west only cost 1700 more than the aluminum 7 year old straight load - kinda a no brainer!!

) we bought a special ordered warmblood package trailer. (7'6" tall and extra long) And much more open than other trailers. Now she steps right in all on her own without even caring. So I guess what I'm trying to say is make sure you have a big enough trailer. Horses were not intended to be put in small dark places and really dislike it. Have patience and don't give up!

highlandstep · 06-18-2008, 08:44 AM

okay firstly thanks for all the advice ill try that stuff. And its a really big straight load. not one of those mini squatty ones its monstrous for a 2 horse s-load. and its bright since we painted it a couple weeks ago and we left the doors and stuff open so it wasnt dark.

06-17-2008, 03:55 PM	#1
highlandstep Full Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Sherwood Park AB Posts: 99 Images: 2	Urgent trailering help needed OKay so we bought this two horse straight load trailer so we can save some money trailering to places. So when we went to load our horses up neither would get in. We have to TBs one OT and one that never tracked or raced. Eventually we got one in and then he kicked and fussed and then my horse wouldnt get in. It was extreamly frusterating. We tried to coax them on nicely without for or anything, using treats and hay. But that didnt work so we started using a chain and we got the OTTB on, but then he fussed and kicked around so we had to take him out. Any help would b apprieciated!! __________________ Check Out My Site: www.freewebs.com/myhorsechester . Its Sveet!- Ally <3 Chester

06-17-2008, 04:23 PM	#2
Xiphias Senior Member+ Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Maryland, horse country USA Posts: 16,763 Images: 627 Blog Entries: 29	How small of a straight load? Some horses don't like tight cramped quarters.... Cathy __________________ Member COL Club- hand over the Oil of Olay and nobody gets hurt! http://www.freewebs.com/xiphias21034/ I was on HGS the day we made 2 million posts and 3 million posts I've been snowballed 6 times

06-17-2008, 05:00 PM	#4
CatandMinot Senior Member+ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Georgia Posts: 711 Images: 64	Here's a post that I wrote on another trailering help thread. I'm not sure if you are having the same severity of the problem, but hopefully it will help a little... __________________________________________________ ________________________ " I believe that your biggest problem, is that you are TOO focused on getting her in the trailer. She is getting aggressive, because she feels like it is her last resort. She needs to learn that the trailer is a pretty nice place to be, and is not always the location of a fight or a bad experience for both of you. What I would do is to try and do everything on the ground near the trailer. Get her comfortable with the outside of the trailer before even trying to get her in. If you can, have a halter and lead while she eats her grain/ dinner/ breakfast/ whatever, near the trailer. Spend a lot of time grooming her near the trailer. Basically, do anything that would make the experience enjoyable and peaceful for both of you. Next, I would re-teach her some basic ground manners (once again near the trailer). Get her to yield from direct pressure and driving pressure (ie; get her used to moving away from physical pressure in her flank, nose and neck areas. The for driving pressure, swing a rope in a circle at her but to get her to get her to disengage her hindquarters away from you.) Then, I would teach her how to back by rhythmically shaking your lead rope up and down until she leans or takes a step back. When she moves, let her stand there for a minute and ask her to come back to you by pulling lightly until she takes a step forward. With all of these exercises, you want to stop the second that she thinks about moving in the direction that you want to do. Look for signs of her relaxing, head down and lowered, soft, blinking eyes, hoof- cocked, lips "chewing", etc. And remember to go slowly. You are going to want all of these things handy for when you actually begin to trailer load. Now for actually entering the trailer. Spend a couple days where you have plenty of time to work with her with the trailer. Before you begin, open up the trailer as much as you can. Though it may seem "roomy" to you- she probably doesn't think so. Take the center dividing partition out (my two-horse straight-loads, comes out), open up the roof vents, the escape door/ tack room door (if you have one), both trailer doors, and all of the windows. Put some hay in either the trailer manger or in a hay net as an extra perk for when she comes in. To begin, stand at the top of the trailer ramp, with her facing you. Back her up a couple steps and then ask her to come to you like you asked her to on the ground. If she is nervous, do not increase the pressure on the rope, but hold it until she gives to you. Get her comfortable with coming forward and away from the trailer. This shows her that she doesn't need to worry that she is being forced inside. When she gets pretty good at that, back up so that you are halfway in the trailer and do the same thing, getting her to back up and come back to you. When she gets more confident, don't back her up quite as far, and see if she will come closer to you, whether it be she puts her nose in the trailer, etc. In this since, you are kind of playing "hokey-pokey" with the trailer- put a nose in, a nose out- a neck in, a neck out, etc. When she puts a foot in the trailer, let her relax for a couple seconds and then back her out. Pretty soon, she will have both of her front feet in the trailer, and before long will be completely in the trailer. When she does enter the trailer completely for the first time, praise her like crazy, let her chew on a treat or some hay for a minute, and then back her back out. Get her comfortably walking in and out of the trailer about 3 times and then have your dad or someone close the door. If she gets nervous, wait until she relaxes even a little before opening the door and backing her back out. Do this a million times until she doesn't feel worried at all. Some key points are not to have a butt rope on her. While this may work for a couple times, she will soon learn to resist it and will only grow even more claustrophobic. You can use her favorite treat as a reward, but only give it to her when she takes couple steps forward and is remaining calm. I know from personal experience how frustrating unsuccessful trailer loading can be and what you are dealing with. My mare, Minot, fell in a trailer once when we were on the road. Although she didn't really hurt herself, she would not load again for the longest time (previously, she had LOVED the trailer-- trailers meant hay and dinner). If I could even get her to put a foot in the trailer, she would quickly get nervous, jerk her head way up, and usually hit her head on the roof. She would quickly back out and freak out on the outside of the trailer. However, after a couple sessions of "hokey-pokey", her old confidence was restored, and she now loads like a pro. My personal basic goal when trailer loading is just keeping myself and my horse relaxed throughout the entire process and giving myself plenty of time so that neither of us are rushed. The trailer loading experience should not be as dreaded as it too often is now, but presented more as a unique challenge for you and your horse to handle. Good luck and keep us updated on how it goes! (oh Wow that was LONG! Good grief...)" __________________ "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good"

06-18-2008, 08:44 AM	#6
highlandstep Full Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Sherwood Park AB Posts: 99 Images: 2	okay firstly thanks for all the advice ill try that stuff. And its a really big straight load. not one of those mini squatty ones its monstrous for a 2 horse s-load. and its bright since we painted it a couple weeks ago and we left the doors and stuff open so it wasnt dark. __________________ Check Out My Site: www.freewebs.com/myhorsechester . Its Sveet!- Ally <3 Chester

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06-17-2008, 04:48 PM	#3
UncleJohn Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Ramona, California - near San Diego Posts: 233 Images: 21	Teaching horses to get in a trailer - especially big (TB) horses in a small (2 horse sraight load) trailer is a pretty big deal. Most likely you would be better off getting a professional trainer to come in and work with you and the horses. There are books out there and videos too - but there are a lot of ways to create problems if you don't know what you are doing. One way to start is to back the trailer up to a pen and put their food inside. That way, the horses have to go in to eat and start to associate the trailer with something good. Good luck!

06-17-2008, 05:46 PM	#5
luv2event Full Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Great Falls, MT Posts: 88 Images: 3	Ya, having too small of a trailer is a major problem. I own only one horse, (who had major trailering issues when I got her) and we were thinking about buying a straight load. So since there was only one horse, and she is pretty big, we took out the divider thinking she could go in there diagonally. I think it took an hour to get her in....we tried everything-treats, grain, whips, etc. In the end, I found out that I was having doubts in her going in and so she kinda decided it wasn't worth it. Butt ropes also help! Anyway, she was totally cramped in the trailer even tho she was diagonal; so we decided it wasn't worth it. Much to my parents dislike (and financial woe...P.S. this new trails west only cost 1700 more than the aluminum 7 year old straight load - kinda a no brainer!! ) we bought a special ordered warmblood package trailer. (7'6" tall and extra long) And much more open than other trailers. Now she steps right in all on her own without even caring. So I guess what I'm trying to say is make sure you have a big enough trailer. Horses were not intended to be put in small dark places and really dislike it. Have patience and don't give up!