Trailering a colt that isn't halter broke!

Friday I am going up north to pick up two weanling colts and I'm very, very excited. There is just one teeny, tiny little problem.... they're not even halter broke and I have to trailer them almost 2 hrs home!! Personally, I would have had them broke to halter/lead by now but that's okay, to each their own. Plus, their lack of training reflects in the price that I'm paying so once again, I'll deal with it.

I've never been in this predicament so I've been mauling it over exactly how to get them onto the trailer. Obviously I could throw a halter and lead on them and pray for the best in dragging their butts to the trailer but I really don't want them to resent/fear the halter/lead because of this and thus making my training them harder. I don't really want to have to spend all day at this womens place halter/lead breaking them and loading them!!

Oh, the trailer is a 4 horse gooseneck slant, no ramp.


I'm open to suggestions and ideas!

When I picked up Mystic & Molly back in the spring, both of which were the same as your dealing with, we just backed the trailer up & ran them in. Then left them loose so they could balance as needed. With several stops to check on them & just running them out into a small paddock when we got home, it went great! Mystic was much easier to gentle than Molly but within a week they would both come right up to me. Good luck!
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Thanks. I am hoping that backing the trailer up might be an option. The good thing is that they were imprinted at birth and have had attention regularly up until recently. When they were weaned they were put out to pasture but they should still be people friendly, it hasn't been but a month. The dividers can all be removed in the trailer and I'm thinking about removing two and giving them the run of the front space. I'll probably make DH stop every 10 miles, I'm a nervous mama!!

When we picked up our friends 2 year old, we backed the trailer up & herded them in also.

BF was a yearling when I picked her up and she had never had a halter on. The set up did not allow us to simply run her into the trailer (step up converted stock, with divider removed, no way to back up to a small opening).

We put the halter and the lead on her, put a halter and lead on one of the mares and got her as close to the trailer as we could. We then spent over an hour trying to get her inside.

It was not a pretty experience (muddy and it was raining) but we got her in there.

She was left loose in the trailer. At home we had to again lead her to a stall (something else she had never experienced). Again, it was not pretty but it went OK.

She had no long term fears associated with this day. She is not afraid of the trailer or the halter.

Nope. Once you have the trailer on the road, a steady continuous motion is better and easier on their legs then stopping and starting frequently. Stop for fuel or coffee and take a quick peek at them.

We've hauled many newly weaned - as in putting baby in the trailer straight off mama newly weaned foals. We have a stock trailer we either back to the barn door or lead mama in and then lead mama back out. Since the colts are already away from mama, you would back to the barn door method.

Not being halter broke at this time can work to your advantage. They won't fight getting into the trailer and have a horrible first time trailering experience.

When I bought my yearling, he was halter broke but had never been on a trailer. They tried just leading him on, but he broke the lead rope and took off. They had to herd him on and leave him loose. Fortunately, the ride was only 20 minutes. When he arrived at the barn, we backed the trailer up to his private run, opened the door and he stepped off calmly. For good measure, he kicked the door of the trailer as he walked away.

@Courtney, lol that made me laugh...kicked the trailer for good measure! I talked to the lady and apparently backing up to get him is not an option how her place is set up. I'm going to have to bite the bullet and halter them. I may try a good ol' food bribery!

When I picked up a weanling for a friend in my two-horse slant load trailer, we loaded the foal's "uncle" (the gelding he was turned out with), into the trailer and the foal followed him in. Then we unloaded the gelding and shut the foal in the trailer. Baby hauled fine.

That may be what I end up doing :) I'm taking an arsenal of treats, leads, and halters just in case! Thank you for the replies everybody!