Need tips on loading youngster onto trailer?

Question

I have to load my 2 1/2 year old TBX onto a trailer on the 1st. The last time he was on a trailer he was loaded onto a cattle truck and was slaughter bound (rescued). He may surprise me and walk right on, but all the same any advice? I have to rent the trailer so practicing isn't an option.

Answer 1

A good way to get a horse on a trailer in a reasonable amount of time is to make it uncomfortable for him to be away from the trailer. What I mean by this is make your horse work when he is away from the trailer and let him rest by it.

You can start now by doing groundwork every day so that you have a head start before the 1st. Practice lunging him, disengaging his hips, and moving the forehand around. Back him up and work on your leading so that he stops when you do and doesn't creep up on you.

Then when you are ready to load him on the trailer, don't just go walk up to it. Take him and and do a quick run through the groundwork exercises. Then walk up to the trailer and let him sniff it and see what he does. If he won't get on, then back him away from it and lunge him a few times. Then walk him back up to the trailer and let him rest, again seeing what he does. If he stays calm then ask him to move forward into the trailer.

Each time don't get too greedy about it. In other words if he is reluctant to get in the trailer and he is uncomfortable about putting more than say one foot in, don't ask him to go in further right away. Let him sit and rest for a second with one foot in so he builds some comfort, then gently back him out of the trailer and walk away from it in a large circle. Then go back to the trailer and try again.

Hope this helps, and good luck.

David

http://gentlenaturalhorseman.blogspot.co...

Answer 2

I was taught to load horses with this method and it's never failed.  Get a long rope, about 25' to 30' long.  Have the horse wear a stout halter.  Also have a long dressage or lunge whip handy.  Put hay in the feeder.  Lead the horse up to the open door of the trailer.  Snap the long rope on the halter ring and run the end up through the trailer window and back to the trailer door.  With the whip GENTLY tap the horse's butt while taking the slack out the the rope to urge or "lead" the horse forward.  If the horse steps into the trailer then flies out again, that's okay.  Try again.  The horse may back out several times before he's ready to stay in the trailer.  Keep trying till the horse steps in, relaxes and begins eating hay.  Remove the long rope, close the trailer door, snap the trailer tie on the halter and you are good to go.

Answer 3

Well it he gives you troubly try some grain or hay in the trailer and see if he follows. i he doesn't you could try to tap him lightly with a crop or your hand it's not to hurt him but to anoy him enough to walk into the trailer. and if that doesn't work ask someone to help you and hold a leadrope behind his rearend and that tells young horses to move foreward. That is how you teach horses to be lead. another thing you can try is to join up with him which i where you free lunge him in like and arena or a round pen you keep him running until you see his inside ear fliker tward you then he will start liking his lips and chewing. and finally he will put his head down. What he is doing is telling you that he doesn't want to run anymore and he wand to be friends with you. then you turn your back to him and put down a lunge whip or something if you had to use one. Then he will come up to you. then reward him. Then walk away he will follow you. try this several times then just wlk him into the trailer he will probably follow you.

I hope this helps you. Good luck!

Answer 4

if its an open front trailer open the front so its really light and he can see through.

if this is not the case u need to get your body position so that you are looking forwards.

dont turn round and try to pull him in as this wnt work, just look forwards the whole time

you could also try leaving him in without food for say an hour (this wont harm him) and thenuse food as a temptation as this worked for my youngsters and alot of my older horses. you could aslo try placing guide ropes either side of the trailer and guide him in by bringin them behind his quaters to tell him to go forwards:)

just use alot of praise and rewards once he is in to make it nice for him :)

Answer 5

here's just another tip that i've found to be effective with my mare.

first off, you should NEVER walk into the trailer with your horse, especially if you dont have an escape door. or if you're in the stall next to the one with the escape door. You're safest option is to teach your horse to load himself. my horses all know when i say to "walk on" i mean it.

now i'm not cruel and i'm bot rude, but the gentle approach didnt work with my mare, she all she did was push me around . the last straw was when she reared up, and came down on my shoulder. one hoof clipped my shoulder, while i got kicked in the head with the other. Trailers are a dangerous device, but these days you gotta use 'em to transport horses.

We ended up solving my horse's loading problem by doing a few things.

- we got a stallion lead, you know, just a regular lead rope with a chain. make sure the chain is long enough to take through the halter, over the nose, and clip it. you should have extra chain as well. make sure you get one of those twisted cottonj leads, tie a big knot on one end. alsdo, it needs to be long enough that you can use it to encourage your horse forward with the knot on the end.

- i carried a dressage whip with me, holding it in my left hand. walking at my horse's shoulder, i made sure to never let her get behind me by tapping her flank lightly with it.

- if she were to refuse, she got a firm yank on the lead, and i commanded her to back up several steps before turning her around and trying again.

- if she were to rear, the dressage whip was to be used rather harshly on her front legs. never hard enough to injure of bruise her, but hard enough so the she knew that rearing was bad. she usually backed up when this was done, and several circles were required before attempting again.

that's just what we did, and for all you animal activists out there, dont say that's cruelty. there's a fine line between discipline and cruelty, this is meerly discipline. rearing up with the intentions to injure someone is unacceptable. [note, when she reared up, her ears were pinned, her teeth were bared, she she was purposely lunging at me to come down on me.]

oh and a few more hints.

NEVER look him in the eye while approaching the trailer. especially if you're even the least bit nervous. he'll see it in your eyes, and some horses will then refuse to walk into the trailer.

Also, some horses dont like ramps. none of mine do, so all of my horses load the old fashion step-up way. it's much more convenient knowing i dont have to put a ramp down when i need to get to my horse.

oh and one more thing. some horses dont like loading outside, so back the trailer up into an arena, if you have one. eventually you'd have to break this habit, but that takes time and patience. Make sure it's just you and your horse when you load. having people stand around sometimes makes the horse nervous. you wouldnt like being in a scary situation with a bunch of people watching you would you?

i really hope this helps a bit!

Answer 6

remember horses dont respond to anger and rough housing  (at least my horse doesnt) you shouldn't yell no matter what.

before you load him let him stiff the ramp /trailer when he gets both of his front feet in the unit praisse him and give him a small treat.

close off the butt hook or the door quickly so he doesnt back out suddenely.  glad to help : )

Answer 7

We just did this with our 3 year old.  Our first time hauling them we always use a very small amount of ACE just to keep them from freaking and hurting themselves.  It only takes one or two times and they are fine.

Answer 8

take your time!! let him walk up to it, and sniff it, etc etc. dont force him in unless he is being stubborn. dont' get mad at him if he's scared, you'll only make it harder for yourself next time. if he just bulks cuz he's being stuborn, you can try a butt rope, or linking hands behind him. one of my horses wouldn't go in the trailer unless we set one of her feet in it for her. you could also try rubbing the back of his fetlock with your foot to encourage him to lift it. you could also lounge him in small circles away from the trailer if he bulks, because then, the only way to avoide work is to go in, make it a good place.

before you try trailering him, build his confidence by walking him over tarps and other strange things, trust me it does wonders.

Answer 9

David M and CNS Dubie (did I get that spelled right) have the right idea - one cannot FORCE a 1200 lb. animal to do anything they wish to do.  And if they do succeed at getting the horse scared enough to get in the trailer they haven't truly done the work properly to give the horse confidence enough to learn from it - the next time, he's more afraid than ever.

What else have you available that's like a trailer?  Any close area that could be viewed as a cave by a horse will work.

Read David M's suggestion again- he's got a lot of the same ideas that I've used to train horses well to load.  If at all possible to use another trailer to try until that day, do so.

However, do NOT put a rope around his rear - do NOT confine him in any manner at all - this will not make him comfortable, will only increase his stress and the potential for harm.  Do NOT pull and tug on his lead - and allow him time to think if he does not go forward.

If he does walk in right off, speak soothingly to him and pet him all the while.

If not, let's say he puts his front feet in the trailer - that's a sign that he wants to try, but he's afraid.  Allow him a moment to relax with his feet in there - he will see it won't hurt him and he'll move right in.

Keep his head direction toward the inside of the trailer and his body properly aligned to walk right in.  Coax him and the moment he moves forward or takes a step in, remove the pressure.  Stop coaxing.

Here's something you CAN try if all else fails, but it's really not a good suggestion - although better than a rope around the butt.  Take a whip and tie on a plastic bag - like one you'd get at the grocer's.  Keep it right low to the ground and move it a little behind him.  That bag will be scarier than getting in the trailer.  I've done this as well with just a whip end.  The end of a buggy whip snaked on the ground behind him may prompt him forward - do NOT touch him with the whip - it can't be used as a painful reprimand, it must be used as a tool.

I sure hope you are successful and I'll pray that he just walks in.  If at all possible, it would be worth your while to rent a trailer before you must travel and take all the time needed to properly train him to accept it - even a short turn around the block to ensure he's OK before NEEDING to use it.

I have a new trailer.  My mare is accustomed to trailering, but she's not been in this trailer.  Next Friday she needs to go about 3 hours to a trainer.  I will take her in that trailer this weekend and see what her response is.  I will also take her for a short ride to be sure she's OK with it before jumping in and taking off for a 3 hour ride.

Good luck!

Answer 10

Not saying you would, but the trainer who lives next door to me has never had one he couldn't load..and he says "you can't beat a horse into the trailer."  Nice guy, really great with them.

He helped my load my sole trailer-phobe 4 year old with a butt rope.  I kept pressure (not yanking or pulling, just resistance) on the head while he put a butt rope across the butt and nudged him forward.  Just quietly applying pressure did the trick...I had to load him 3 times in 3 days, and by the 3rd day, he walked right in.

The best thing about that is with a long line on the head, you can run the rope out the side of a the front of the trailer and remain safely on the outside while you load an unknown.

A few pointers...

One, have the trailer WIDE open before you approach.  Creaking doors and banging latches will frighten him.

Two, tie him (safely) to the trailer for grooming before you load him.  Walk him all around it...and act all nonchalant.  Let him check it out.

Three, make sure when it's time to load that he is out of eyesight of herdmates who may be whinneying and carrying on.  You and he don't need the added distraction.

If you're taking another horse that loads easy, try loading him first and see if he'll monkey-see - monkey-do it.  BUT...if he starts to struggle and another horse is in the trailer, I'd unload that one and get the other one in, then reload the easy rider.

Calmness and pressure...and patience.  You'll be fine.

Answer 11

one thing you can do to teach a horse to trailer load is take a 4x8 sheet of plywood (1/2") and lead your horse over it to get it used to the sound that it makes over and over till it is just another piece of ground to your horse.then you can place it in a stall at the entrance so the horse gets used to walking from daylight to semi darkness on the wood.once your horse gets used to the different sounds and footing it will load into a trailer fairly easy.i dont use force to load a horse into a trailer it makes a skittish loading horse worse.i have a rope that is 15 feet long and 1" in diameter with a quick release that i use to load skittish horses.i lead the horse up to the back of the trailer and stop it, then i get into the other end of the trailer and apply pressure to the rope untill the horse moves forward.i release the pressure and praise the horse and give it a short rest, then i start the pressure again over and over till the horse loads.

i also have a large pallet that has a thick piece of plywood nailed to the top so it gets the horse used to stepping up into a trailer,i can raise it by adding more pallets under the stage pallet.

Answer 12

If he doesn't go in willingly put a lunge line under his butt (NOT near his legs)  they have less of a tendency to back up when something is behind them.  Also have two people stand on either side of the ramp.  Before using the lunge line let him sniff the ramp and stuff, if he wants to walk up slowly let him :)  Good luck!

Answer 13

Practise walking him over 'scary' objects or a makeshift ramp mad with 2 pieces of long wood.