Trailer loading tip, unexpected benefit and a question.

Big Ben used to be good to load, but then when he was hauled by someone else, she couldn't get him to load the other end, had to delay his return by a day I still don't know what happened but ever since then he has been a PIG to load.

I spent days and weeks getting him to load onto my stock trailer, the one he had hopped up on happily when we bought him fought him through rearing, breaking away, panicking, all the way to popping on and off quietly if not happily. Then a friend turned up with her trailer and he downright refused to load, so had to leave him home. Went back to square one, and worked him through it until he would load on the stock again, back to loading OK (ish)

Then I bought the slant load, narrower door, darker smaller interior and higher step, and sir is having NOTHING, not NOTHING to do with that monster. I spoke to my new trainer and she suggested taking a lasso, roping his butt in the loop and using that to help him on. My initial reaction, "yeah right" I've tried a lunge line behind him and it made things worse rather than better, but when people give you tips, you have to try, and


It works, as simple as that, walked him up to the trailer, "NOPE not getting on that" roped his butt, took up the slack and he's "Oh you want me on the trailer? OK" and he jumps on as quiet and relaxed as anything. I'm loading him 3 times a day at present, and it is like night and day to what he has been like before, I'm still in shock I don't have to pull, or coerce, he just loads.....

The benefit, I've been working on trailer loading with Ben and the others for a couple of weeks, and it's like a step class. Although I haven't been following any sort of diet I have lost a pound, and feel so much fitter. I found myself springing straight up from the couch here, rather than having to fight my way up

The question.

Ben is a big lad and looks cramped in the slant load, I haven't actually closed the partition on him all the way yet, I have just been closing it round on him, and he gets restless. If he turns around he will stand very happily facing the back door, so is there any reason that I can't tie the partition out of the way and let him travel like it's a box stall?

I always give my boy Pilgrim two stalls in a slant load, I closed the single stall divider on him once and it was just too small, so now my three horse slant only holds two horses. The last stall is bigger than all the rest so in a pinch Pilgrim can go in the last stall and he fits okay.

Same here, I have a 3 horse slant but I took out the first gate and made it a roomy 2 horse.
Posted via Mobile Device

LOL, I only have one partition at present, so I guess I could just move it along,

Hey! Your tip sounds great, but can I get a few more details? How do you rope his bum/where does the rope go? Do you pull the rope a entertain way?
Posted via Mobile Device

^^^ Yes, details please,

Literally I just take the lariat, and drop the noose over his butt, loose enough that it hangs just above his hocks, and the knot is halfway along his side. I then get in the trailer, keep the head rope steady, and just take up the slack on the butt rope, and he hops right in. You can then use the noose to keep him up in the space while you shut the gate around.

I have an older rope here, I'm going to cut it off shorter, at the moment I'm using a full length one and I'm not handy with dealing with all the spare rope.

Here you go

Here you go, we went from this:






To this



In literally 2 minutes, I was amazed

Awesome! Thanks :)
Posted via Mobile Device

That exact same method is also a great way to teach youngsters to lead.

As for when to pull the rope, I only apply pressure when they balk. So long as they are going the way you want them to, then just let it hang loose.