Rearing while loading in trailer.

She is wearing a pole cap helmet, but she flings out so badly with her nostrils tilted straight up and sometimes sideways that she actually sliced horizontally down her nose the 2nd time.

She's been in this trailer before, and all other trailering experiences have been minimal and without accidents. When I picked her up from who started her she was perfect and when I took her to a new barn 2 years ago she loaded perfectly, with no trailer training in between. It's just been this year when she's ready to show that she's developed this issue.

I have worked on leading a lot over the last month (since the first accident) and I feel I've made some progress... where she's soft to go forward and back. She'll go over bridges, water, poles, tarps, whatever, with ease. She'll even load half in the trailer without much fuss, but as soon as her hind end is close to being in, she has the big reaction. And as we all know, there isn't much you can do to stop a rearing back horse.

Other than building some sort of very strong full face plate, and 'working her through the issue' by allowing her to smash herself and see that's not the right answer, I'm really stuck. Because normally I would just work through an issue with patience and reward, but when she smashes herself so badly that I have to call the vet out to stitch her out, I can't really proceed.

For a horse like this, I'd change things up to try to avoid her fear trigger. Meaning, instead of trying to lead her into the trailer - which she associates with bad experiences, I'd work on getting her to load without being led and with the handler behind to one side and not in front of her. She should be allowed to decide when it is safe, and feel free to get out without any pressure.

The other thing I would do to make things different is make the trailer entrance flat with the ground. You could use a natural hill or get some gravel, or build something with wood. The idea is to make the horse step up to the level of the trailer while out in the open rather than when in the opening where she could hurt herself. Then it would be a straight walk into the trailer from farther away. Once comfortable with this, you could wean her off by making the entrance area shorter and shorter or the ramp up steeper until it finally is your actual step or ramp. Gravel would probably be easiest to do this with.

A load of gravel costs a bit, but is cheaper than continuing vet bills.

Then I'd work her toward the trailer with low pressure, with a very loose lead allowing her to leave whenever she wants to. I'd keep working her back into the vicinity by having her stand calmly, but only moving her toward the trailer with a small crop and light mental driving pressure. For some horses you might just raise the crop to get a step, or you might tap her to get her to walk forward. If she doesn't know how to do this already, you might have to practice. But always let her head be loose and allow her to avoid the trailer if she wishes. I'd focus much more on getting out than in, because they say training a horse to load is really about training a horse to unload without nervousness. Once a horse is comfortable unloading easily and freely, they will feel safe to load.

So I'd work on letting her practice backing out over and over rather than focusing on getting her into or keeping her in the trailer. It might feel like you are allowing her to leave rather than making her go in the trailer, but really you're convincing her she can escape at any time rather than get trapped and injured.
Probably this process would be something to work on over a few days or even longer in short sessions rather than trying to do it in a couple of days.

My guess is that this issue is related to anxiety about either the step up or ramp, and feeling fear of slipping or being unable to get out safely. So the biggest work will be having her feel safe going backward to get out.

I feel like I am among the few on this forum that would suggest going to more "natural horsemanship" route, and begin teaching her to "send" places, and ultimately be able to send her into the trailer, like in this video: . I am a strong believer in not having to enter the trailer while loading your horse, and after teaching all three of my horses to load like this, I have yet to have them refuse loading in any trailer. I grew up having slant load trailers available, so it was truly easy to walk in with my horse, but my friend got a straight load trailer without a way to physically walk the horse in - thus the sending method comes in handy. My horse was awful at trailering for months before I taught him how to send into a trailer, and it truly has been a lifesaver many times. If you aren't confident teaching this, get a trainer, you'll thank yourself in the long run.

Whether you send a horse into a trailer, or lead him in, depends on type of trailer
Stacy is sending her horse into a two horse straight load, which is logical
My trailer is a three horse angle haul, googeneck, no dividers.
I lead my horses in, because they are tied, with safely quick release set up, so it makes zero sense to send them in.
I would forget about loading this horse at the moment. I would spend time having her just stand tied, time getting 100% respect on giving to pressure.
|The obstacle is not the obstacle'
Personally, I have no use for ramps. Horses can step up into trailers just fine
Right now, she has been allowed to develop a phobia with getting into a trailer,so working her away from the trailer, filling holes, makes sense to me
It si surprising as to how,many people think a horse is solid at leading, and they are, as long as you don't ask them to lead where they rather would not
I think I related this story before. We got two mare in to be bred, and one we had bred two years before. They were said to 'just love people',. Well, they did, walking all over them when led, trying to charge ahead,w hen they were going in a direction they wanted to go in.
When it was time for them to go home, the mother had sent her son to pick them up, as he had an interview at the local college.
As I was making supper, I watched out the window as he tried to load those old gals, trying first one, and then the other.
They would lead up tot he trailer, then instead of loading, dragged that young man away.
Finally, I could not stand watching any longer. They obviously had been trailered to our place, and the older mare had been trailered to our place more then once
I went out, took mare number one away from the trailer, ran a stud shank under her chin, and gave her a lesson in leading with respect.
I then attached an ordinary lead shank back on, and she loaded without missing a beat. Ditto for mare number 2
I am not saying this is the right technique all the time, as you have to know the horse, but it does show where a hrose can act like it is afraid to load, learning it can refuse, and then it just snow balls from there, with that trailer then having a bad association, for no real reason beyond the horse recalls some negative association with it
That is why I continue to believe , that you fix the true problem away from the trailer
In over 30 years of raising horses, we never taught horses to load. First time many of those hroses were trailered, was when they went to their first show, trail ride, or were sold. All loaded just fine because they truly led with respect, gave to pressure 100%

iT sounds like the horse rears, then runs out backwards, thus putting weight on the rear .
If the hrose is being hauled to shows, clinics ect, I just assume that there is no soundness issues
Still have not heard from the OP as to whether she hauled her before, and with that trailer,or, the horse was just hauled to her place, with seller perhaps having had trouble loading her
"has trailered before', is kinda nebulous to me. Those two mares I posted about, also had trailered before,LOl
perhaps if the OP gives better details, concerning her past trailer experience, it will be easier perhaps give advise, knowing if her blow ups are new, whether she trailered,loaded well before, and if so, same trailer. Does this trailer have dividers in it?
Some horses really get freaked, needing to turn into those 'stalls', and once in, feel trapped