Trailering
A trip to any
show or large animal hospital will quickly reveal this problem, the horse that
does not want to load onto the trailer. Some owners/trainers will try to
sweet talk the horse on while others will offer food bribes. There will
also be those who try to strong arm the horse on, slapping his rump, waving or
even hitting him with a broom. Neither strategy really addresses the
problem. At worst, the horse that won’t load is potentially dangerous to
all those about him as well as himself, at best his intransigence leads to
frustration and wastes time. If an emergency arises, such as a fire
or natural disaster, a horse that won’t load instantly and unquestioningly into
any kind of trailer will inevitably be left behind. While going into an
enclosed space is contrary to generations of instinctive behavior, which has
taught a prey species not to enter an area from which there is no obvious route
of escape and in the dark corners of which might lurk potential predators, almost
any horse can be taught to load swiftly and efficiently given a little time and
patience in the training.
In general
horses that don’t load well, also are not well
mannered when led in hand. Before you start worrying about the trailer
make sure your horse leads politely without forging ahead, lagging behind,
barging into you, spooking, stopping to graze or check
out other horses or points of interest. He needs to go forward so his
shoulder is beside yours; he walks when you walk, turns when you turn and stops
when you stop. He will also back-up on command.
There are many
methods you can use to improve your horse’s groundwork. Clicker training
(see related article) is an enjoyable way to improve your horse’s
responsiveness both on the ground and in the saddle. It may be useful to
carry a dressage whip when working in hand. This is not to beat the
horse, but to add stress to your commands. If he doesn’t come forward
when asked you can tap on the point of his croup until he steps forward on command,
stop tapping as soon as he lifts his foot, but resume if he stops before you
tell him to. If he forges ahead closing the whip across his chest in a
fluid motion should make him reconsider. If your horse’s manners are very
bad, having two handlers, one on either side, each with a lead rope, can help
channel him and produce the desired behavior. Ultimately though, whatever
method you have used until now, your horse will follow wherever you lead, at
this point you can begin to add distractions. These can include walking
between ground poles, stepping onto tarpaulins, and finally entering enclosed
spaces. These can include open frames, chutes, or even stalls. Make
sure he will proceed willingly even with distractions such as people milling
about, dogs running around, bags flapping etc. Remember you will want him
to load calmly no matter what excitement is going on around him, especially at
show sites.
You are now
ready to bring your horse towards the trailer. The actual type of trailer
is not very important, ultimately you will expect him to enter any kind, but if
you can move the central divider of a two horse initially, or have a choice
between a bright, airy open trailer versus a small dark one, the former will
make early lessons easier for most horses. If he has had past fights
loading expect him to become tense and agitated when he sees it. Resist
the urge to pet and reassure him. This will only convince him that his
fears are justified. Instead talk to him in a matter-of-fact voice, and
work on some of your earlier handling exercises. For example you could practise walking in a 10-meter circle. Reward (click and treat or praise) his compliance. As
he relaxes you can gradually work towards the trailer. Some horses may be
able to approach the trailer very rapidly but then balk at the entrance, others
will need to gradually approach and overcome their fears. Go at a pace
that is comfortable for your horse. Always end a training session at a
place where your horse can be successful, even if it’s only a few feet closer
to the trailer than where you started.
Once the horse
will approach the trailer, walk him around it, let him sniff it and explore
it. (You can reward this interest, but try and keep relaxed
yourself. Talking about the weather or some other mundane topic, singing
or humming may help to keep you both relaxed. Once the horse is
comfortable with the outside of the trailer take him back to the entrance – be
it a ramp or a step up. Further encourage his curiosity, let him stretch
his neck inside and explore. He may even take a step up. Calmly
reward him is he does. If he doesn’t give him the cue you have been
working on to go forward. If he won’t, resume the hip tapping to get his
feet moving. Reward him and/or stop tapping as soon as one foot goes
on. At this point some horses may happily load themselves. There’s
nothing wrong with this per se, except you may then have a problem with
unloading him. It may be simpler after getting one foot on if you tell
him to stop, and then ask him to back up. Once he is happily loading and
unloading one foot, you can proceed to load and unload two, then three and
finally all four. For the step up he will now be in the trailer, if
there’s a ramp you can walk him forward and back on this until he is in the
trailer. Do not immediately rush to tie him and close the rump bar.
Practise standing quietly, then unload and repeat
several times before adding these steps, then talk to him quietly while the
ramp or back of the trailer is closed.
Once he is
loading happily you will want to try and practise
with as many different styles of trailer as you can find – show sites may be a
good place for this, it might even evolve into a game. You should also
try and load him when it is dark out, in rain and high winds or other
unpleasant types of weather, just in case there comes a time when he will need
loading fast in far from ideal circumstances.
For some
horses, it is not the loading itself that causes their fear it is riding in the
trailer. These horses might have been involved in a trailer accident or
just the victims of a careless driver who shook them up too many times.
Learning to drive a trailer with respect and concern for the occupants is
definitely a skill. You want to avoid sudden stops and starts, going too
fast round corners and anything else that is liable to send the unwary horse
off balance. It is not safe for handlers to accompany horses while the
trailer is in motion, but having a seasoned companion along will help the horse
relax. Tranquilizing these horses is not a good idea. It will make
it harder for the horse to find its balance, and it will not learn from the
experience. Instead, gradually desensitize the horse. Once he’s
loaded, start the engine, run it for a short time, shut it off and unload
him. When he can handle this you can start short (couple of minutes)
rides, preferably on fairly smooth and straight pieces of road. Gradually
build up the time he rides, and always make a big fuss of him when you stop
provided he survived the trip in a fairly relaxed fashion.
Some horses go
on the trailer fine, but then don’t want to get off! It may be they feel
insecure going to new places, especially backing into areas that are
unfamiliar. In general, using the same loading and unloading one foot at
a time strategy described above should prevent this problem. However, if
you find out about this behavior quirk only after you already have the horse
loaded there are a few things you can try. With a ramp trailer back it up
to a bank so the ramp down is less steep. If there is room in the trailer
you can turn the horse. Most horses will go down when they can see where
they are going. Failing this attach a lead line to both sides of the
horse’s halter with a handler on each. Usually horses will fly off the
trailer with this arrangement.
If you have a
new horse with which you’ve not had enough time to work through the loading
process above you are liable to find yourself in a dangerous situation if he
does not load well and has to be loaded. If possible give him the time to
check out the trailer for bogeymen. Sometimes turning him in tight
circles several times before attempting to load may get him on before he
realizes what is happening. Grain or carrots may lure some aboard.
If these strategies don’t work you may need to re-examine the need to load him
right away. Blindfolding, goading and using a butt strap can all be extremely
dangerous. Tranquilizing is also a poor idea (see above). For these
situations research currently going on in
In the
meantime, given the pheromone is only being tried in France and is liable to be
expensive if it ever becomes available, training all horses to load happily and
quietly, whether you think you’ll ever need to or not, makes perfect
sense. In the process your horse’s ground manners will also have improved
and you’ll have forged a deeper bond with him while overcoming an annoying and
dangerous problem.