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Trailer loading

2K views 25 replies 9 participants last post by  bunny987 
#1 ·
Please can anyone help me?? My horse has always needed two people to load I'm on trailer and I have been working with him so I am able to do it myself. I worked with him every day, for almost a week, and actually got him to go on by himself and stand, but as soon as I go to put the but bar up, he backs out, and if I tie him first, he panics and breaks the tie, halter, whatever is holding him. I'm afraid one of is is going to get hurt.
 
#2 ·
This is what I was taught:

NEVER tie before the butt bar is up. You have found out why.

Use a flag to DRIVE him in, and use the flag to remind him to stay in until you have that butt bar fastened.

Get driving with a flag totally nailed AWAY from the trailer. If you don't know how to teach this find someone to show you.

Make sure that he gets to relax and eat something really yummy in there every time you load him.

I'm rooting for you -- working on this myself! Just learning how. My horse loads fine when I get all the moves right, not so fine when I don't. Neither of us is reliable yet!
 
#3 ·
Forget loading in a trailer for now, and get him to accept standing tied solid, no mater what is going on around him
A horse that halter pulls, whenever he gets out of his comfort zone, is a wreak waiting to happen. At he moment it is the trailer, but it could also be a hitching rail, a stall at a show, a tree out on a trail ride, ect.
Next, find out why he panics. I got rid of trailers with butt bars years ago. Many with that butt bar design, also have dividers, and if those dividers are solid, don't allow a horse to spread his feet to balance, when being hauled, that horse will develop a phobia for good reasons!
 
#4 ·
Go back to ground work. Get him to stop and go whenever you tell him no matter what. Work him in, around and over obstacles with you leading him so he'll follow you anywhere.

Now go back to working on your loading. At first get him to load and stand quietly, doesn't hurt to give him a treat and a bit of brushing. Back him out and praise him some more. Rinse and repeat until he loads well.

Next part is take him on a few short trips, without taking him out until you get back home. Drive easy and carefully so he isn't upset by the moving trailer itself. Work him up on longer trips.

Now be prepared to go through the motions again as he'll likely back slide at least once.
 
#5 ·
I agree with Smilie AND Avna; never tie a horse before butt bar is up. if your horse really feels bad about being in there, then that is what you want to focus on; making him feel ok about being in there.

people have achieved this by offering good food IN the trailer, and by making the horse work hard OUT OF the trailer. which will work best for you?
 
#6 ·
Thanks for all the great tips. I have given him a treat when he gets in, but he backs right out after he gets it. I will work on the halter tie ; he has broken away when tied to the side of the trailer. I just don't understand, though because he is fine if I hook him and someone is right there to put the but bar up at the same time. Is it ok to put the but bar up and not hook him right away?
 
#7 ·
If it were me, I would fix basic holes in training, and halter pulling is a big one for me.
If you have someone to show you how to apply a body rope correctly, I would get that help. A horse that halter pulls, doe snot lead with respect, anywhere you ask him to, is also not solid on giving to pressure.
Now, in all fairness, once you have that, you have to amke sure that there is no reason a horse fears being in that trailer, so, do you have dividers, that do not allow a horse to spread his feet, to balance, when moving?. What about head space? I have seen some 16.3hh plus horses, forced into trailers where they have to travel with their heads lowered
Yes, you should most likely put up that butt rope, before tying , which might make many horses think twice about setting back, but , which also can cause a wreak with a horse that really sits back anyways. Bandaids are never as good as fixing the real problem!
 
#8 ·
I worked with him every day, for almost a week, and actually got him to go on by himself and stand, but as soon as I go to put the but bar up, he backs out, and if I tie him first, he panics and breaks the tie, halter, whatever is holding him.

...

he has broken away when tied to the side of the trailer.
I agree with the others that you need to address this problem, first and foremost. He is not respectful of pressure. And that can be very dangerous in many situations, including hauling a horse.

I would work on densensitizing ground work with him. Teach him to "think" during a stressful situation and not just react by trying to get away. When in a stressful situation, teach him to "give" to the leadrope pressure rather than fight it. This usually takes a bit of time (weeks to months).

You definitely have a ground work problem with him pulling back, and ultimately, that is ALSO what a trailer loading problem is ---> a ground work problem.

I wrote this thread up a while back. I suggest you take a read.
http://www.horseforum.com/horse-training/trailer-loading-101-a-205770/

There are some ground work tips in there too. The most important thing is gaining control of your horse's feet.

I have given him a treat when he gets in, but he backs right out after he gets it.
He's backing out when HE decides he wants to, and that's what you have to change. You have to be the one in control of where he is putting his feet and when.
 
#9 ·
Congratulations on getting your horse to follow you into the trailer! You've already made progress that many people never achieve. I would suggest that you completely forget about trying to secure him in the trailer for the moment -- stop trying to tie him or connect the butt bar.

Instead, load him up and the second he starts to back out, you take charge and back him out. Once he's out of the trailer keep backing him all the way to the property line or lunge him for a little bit and then load him again. The second he starts to back out, do it all over again. At some point he will think, "boy, it sure is a lot easier standing in this trailer than backing out and doing all that work!"

I NEVER tie a horse in a trailer until he is content to stand in there without any restraint. Doing otherwise is an accident waiting to happen.

P.S.: if Smilie or Brittany tell you something you should listen.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Instead, load him up and the second he starts to back out, you take charge and back him out. Once he's out of the trailer keep backing him all the way to the property line or lunge him for a little bit and then load him again. The second he starts to back out, do it all over again. At some point he will think, "boy, it sure is a lot easier standing in this trailer than backing out and doing all that work!"
Personally, I would not do this. Ever seen a horse fly out the back of a trailer without regard for anything behind him? IMHO, if the horse decides, on its own, to back out, "taking charge and backing him" only reinforces that he IS supposed to back, but not how or when (ie. his decision, your speed and distance). Personally, if the horse decided to back out on his own, I'd let him, then IMMEDIATELY reload him to let him know backing out without being asked is NOT what I wanted.
 
#12 · (Edited)
I'm not referring to tying in the trailer, I'm referring to "taking charge and backing him out" AFTER the horse has already made the decision to back (not you). IMHO, you run the RISK of teaching the horse that you actually want him to back faster. You are teaching him HOW you want him to back, not WHEN. It has to do with the horse anticipating his backing off, not WHEN (his decision) and your reinforcement of HIS decision with HOW you want that backing to happen. IOW, a horse could think "boy, it sure is a lot easier standing in this trailer than backing out and doing all that work!" Now you have a horse that may not WANT to back off. Conversely, he could just as easily think "I'm going to get this done and over with" so he begins to back faster in anticipation of your "taking charge" and backing him. Either way you have a horse that doesn't understand what you want from him. You need to be careful when you take a horse's "want to" away. You DO want him to want to back for you, you just need to let him know WHEN, as well as HOW, you want it done.

Just my .02 worth…your mileage may vary.
 
#14 ·
I'm referring to "taking charge and backing him out" AFTER the horse has already made the decision to back (not you). IMHO, you run the RISK of teaching the horse that you actually want him to back faster.
OK, I see your point and I think that's worth considering. So far, even I haven't been able to confuse a horse that much. And I never try to hurry a horse off a trailer, so I probably didn't say that as clearly as I should have.
 
#17 ·
I see nothing wrong with it, but it isn't what *I* would do if my goal is to teach him to stand IN the trailer until I cue him to back. I want the trailer, and around the trailer, to be a good calm place to be. Timing is everything. I would immediately reload so that he has a better chance at understanding what I want, and that is him IN the trailer…not out of it. You could work him outside of the trailer, but I think it would be harder for him to make the connection between what he did "wrong" (backing out) and what I want him to do (stay IN the trailer). I guess what I'm trying, and failing at, is to convey the need to make sure that when you are fixing one problem, be sure you are not unintentionally creating another. Personally, I agree with the other posters and think if the OP teaches the horse to stand tied properly, her trailer problem will disappear.
 
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#15 ·
When I have taught horses to load, when they start backing out on their own, I do nothing until they are out. Then I'll ask them to load back up. This goes on until the horse stands quietly for a moment (or more) until I ask them to back out. When I ask them to back out, I put slight pressure on the lead rope and say "Back". Once they start to step back I release the pressure. One step at a time until they they are all the way out. Now, I just have to do it at the start and they will back all the way out.

If they blast out, I'll load them up again and then start backing one step at a time, stopping a minute between steps until they are backing out at a reasonable speed and quietly.

The only time I'll work one outside the trailer after they have blasted out of it, is if they do not load right back up when I ask.

This has worked very well for me. As stated by others, though, there are (many) different ways to do it. :)
 
#22 ·
bottom line, horses do not need to be taught to load.
If they are solid on leading, they will load. We raised horses for many years, and I never taught those horses to load into a trailer. They were solid on leading, not questioning as to where they would or would not lead. They were taught to accept being tied solid
Those horses were loaded for the first time, often when they were sold, went to their first show or trail ride, ect. All loaded, because they led.
THE OBSTACLE IS NOT THE OBSTACLE !
 
#24 ·
bottom line, horses do not need to be taught to load. If they are solid on leading, they will load.
Smilie, the funny thing about this is you sound exactly like Clinton Anderson, who I have gathered from your other posts is not exactly your soul mate. Every time I've seen Clinton Anderson, and in several of his video materials, he says you don't have a trailer loading problem, or a foot handling problem, or a bucking or rearing problem. You have a horse that isn't broke, and if you take care of that the issue you're so worried about will go away.

I can't remember if you have a sticky out there on teaching a horse to lead. I think it would be a helpful resource. I know it would have value to me.
 
#23 ·
Just for an example of point being discussed.
Yesterday, I took Charlie to the local indoor arena that I ride at sometimes.
While there, I observed a mother and her two daughters trying to load a horse.I offered to help, but they said they were fine
That horse would put front feet in, then back out. This occurred over and over again. After that horse backed out, they would pet her.
I had to bite my tongue. What were they rewarding?
I don't work a horse around at trailer, feed him treats, teach him to load, as , after all, he does know how to walk and lead!
If I do need to get after that horse-it is away from that trailer, working on the true problem-not leading without question
 
#25 ·
that may be true, that you if your horse leads well, they will GO INTO the trailer.

however, they may not STAY in the trailer. that can be a different issue.

of course, coming back down to having the hrose super confident in where you put him is the crux, but you may deal with it slightly difrferent.

the lease horse I have will go in without issue. but, as soon as he senses you starting to close the divider, he will want to bust out. he does not feel ok about being closed in. he'll back out, and lead back in easily, but want to back out as soon as things get tight.
 
#26 ·
Just wanted to thank everyone who replied to my question. I want to let everyone know that after working with him daily for at least a week; he now walks on BY HIMSELF ( with just a little tap from behind). I put the but bar up and then hook him up. We have gone on a trip where he got off and on the trailer 3 times and he was perfect. I can tell you that I cried the first time he went on and stayed on ! I also attribute success to my headphones. I listened to music while working with him, and this kept me calm, instead of getting frustrated.
 
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