my mare is terrible to load into horseboxes and trailers. Her previous owners said she had an accident in one. she can be incredibly stubborn and on some occasions will load fine and others panic and fret. We have tried a few techniques, the problem is she gets too dangerous to handle and has a tendency to get carried away and rear. Any tips or ideas...all my others load fine but to my horror food doesnt work!
Answers:
You need to spend a lot of time working with her when your only goal for that session is to get her to load. (Not get her into the trailer so you can go somewhere for an event and you have to be there at a certain time--this needs time.)
Put a halter with a long lead rope on your horse. Lead him up to the open door of the trailer. (If it is a step-up trailer, get it parked so that the step isn't very high, such as backed up to a slight hill, so the ground is only a few inches from the step, if at all possible.) Your horse will probably stop and balk at the door. Leave the halter rope as slack as possible to let him sniff and breathe and lower his head to "check out" the trailer floor. He needs to test it to see if it is safe. Pet him just a little, then ask him to go forward by "popping" him lightly on his back, which is beside you (don't stand behind him or in front of him; you are not pulling him or driving him into the trailer). Pop him consistently until you get a response from him (you may have to pop a little harder for a desensitized horse; a sensitive horse, you will hardly need to even touch with the rope and they will jump forward). If he pulls back, or tries to go around the trailer door, give him TROUBLE (either jerk down hard on the halter rope straight toward the ground, holding the rope just under his chin, or if he really wants to back up, MAKE him back up quickly with short jerks backward on the rope.) And IMMEDIATELY get him up to the door of the trailer again, before you let him stand perfectly still and relax.
The main idea here is to make the trailer the "safe" place for the horse to be. Start with the "safe" place being the open door. (Later, the "safe" place will be inside the trailer.) Your goal is to get the horse to want to stand at the door, then encourage him to take a step forward. What you MUST do to accomplish this is reward him for ANY forward movement to the trailer. This includes just barely inching one foot forward. The second he lifts a foot to move forward, your consistent "popping" with the halter rope STOPS IMMEDIATELY and you praise the horse, pet him, talk to him, and let him stand a moment. Then, ask him to take one more step by starting the popping again. This is how you move his "safe" place forward into the trailer. Any backward or sideways movement results in his getting jerked, backed up, or, if he is moving wildly, run him in circles around you to take out some of the energy he has. He should learn that it's a lot of hard WORK for him to disobey. Use his lazy nature to get your desired result: standing in the trailer.
If you get him right to the trailer door and he won't step up, you can pick up a front hoof and place it in the trailer. He may take it back, but continue the popping, then. Eventually he will learn to step in. At first, only let him put his front feet in, and then stop him and after a moment ask him to step back out. You can pet him, praise him, and then ask for forward movement again. Remember to ALWAYS reward his forward movement. Once he is completely inside the trailer, try to back him out again. It is scary for a horse to get out, and you don't want him to "freeze up" once he gets inside. Repeat the whole process a few times, and only when he is loading smoothly would I give him any treats or grain inside the trailer. Let him stand for awhile, just petting him and standing near him in the trailer.
The more this is repeated, such as the next day, and the day after that, the better your horse will get. Remember, you are not PULLING or DRIVING the horse into the trailer. Your desired result is that he sees the open gate of the trailer, and thinks "oh, that's my comfortable safe place...I'm gonna go jump in there." The horse should walk right in comfortably.
Hope this works for you. If your horse is really wild, you might have a little more trouble, and need to do more groundwork before you try loading him. But I guarantee you this is the best way to put a horse in a trailer. The other methods (coaxing in with treats, or putting a rope on his hind end, or hitting the horse to drive it in to the trailer) aren't good for you or your horse, and though this way takes longer initially, it will teach your horse the best mindset to have when trailer-loading.
my horse was terrible also. blindfold her out of sight of the trailer. you probably think i'm crazy, but it forces the horse to trust you. it works wonders on most horses. then lead her in. once she's in take off the blindfold and pet her and calm her down. there are special herbs for horses to put on their nose to calm them. if that don't work, put food in the trailer to reward her once she's in, because it won't bribe her, like you said. have a long lead on her, then bring the lead in the trailer, through a window, hopefully you have one, and bring it around her butt. pull gently, pulling her forward and putting pressure on her butt also. worked for my horse. be sure to have loading protection on, especially a poll protecter. i hope your troubles end soon. ps work with her on loading, like: get her in, then once she's in, give her a treat/apple carrot/ something to reward her. leave her there for a few secs. once she's calm take her out. do often. it might help
What type of trailer are you attempting??
Is it one of those dinky 2 horse trailers?
Does it have a divider?
you should eat it and then barf it back up once you get to the destination of were you need to go. i like the taste of nice mare. good yummy.
This is what I do with mine.
I bring her close to the trailer and if she gets scared far away just stay there until she is over it, it my take a Day or a week take your time.Then move her closer and closer never until you reach the trailer.Then when your at the trailer just get her to step on the ramp or up on it then that's all for that day.Even if she wants to go father never let her, we don't want her ever to get to the point of total break down.Just do that everyday getting farther in the trailer and always stop the lesson on a good note. hope that makes since!
Bach Flower Essences, is a rescue remedy!! It comes drops %26 spray. You can put 6 drops in a water bucket or spray in to mouth. It works like a charm!! I keep it in my first-aid kit. You can use it on a horse that is hurt so it can be helped. Good luck!!
Here is what I have done with my difficult to load mare, in a 2-horse slant load. I secure the divider out of the way, and make sure that the back end is facing the sun, that way it's much brighter in.
Bringing the mare up to the trailer, let her stand there and sniff, she will likely sniff the walls, the floor, look around. Just let her stand and look. If she starts to get antsy, take back a bit and ask her to walk circles around you. When she puts her head back down, bring her back up to the trailer. I usually enter the trailer at this time, and ask her to step forward, keeping tension on the leadline. If she even shifts her weight forward, release the tension and praise her for the effort. Let her stand, then repeat. Anytime you see effort of any kind on her part to move towards the trailer, release tension and praise. If you get even one foot in the trailer, praise, praise,praise, end the session. It may take several tries to get her successfully loaded. Make sure not to shut the divider or door once she does load, because that is what she is fearful of. Let her stand and munch some carrots, pet her, praise more.
The key is to practice loading before actually needing to go anywhere. If you try to do this when you need to go somewhere, she will feel the pressure and not react as well.
And patience. Lot's and lots of patience.
Well maybe you should start with showing the mare that you can go in and your fine (ok, that isnt going to make her think ok and jump right in lol). After, try, very slowly leading her in just the smallest amount with you at her side patting her and encouraging her with quiet and kind words. Get her used to the ground changing...also I know you said that food doesnt work but every, lets say two steps...stop her, tell her she is doing very well and give her a half of a small carrot(dont start to far away from the trailer though lol). Once she tosses her head and starts getting nervous, soothingly say shhhhhhhh...give her a carrot, and dont look at her and keep walking forward, giving her security. If she gets into the trailer a little bit and then shys, try it again without as much carrots. Try this, it worked when I did it to my friends gelding.
Load her "best friend" first maybe.
Most of the answers contain valid points. We had a horse that was horrified of the trailer.
We removed the divider and put the trailer and horse in a corral with her feed in the trailer. First we placed the feed on the mat so she didn't have to get in the trailer - just stretch her neck. Over the process of a couple of weeks, we moved the feed further back. Then we added the divider. It took months, but finally she overcame her fear.
The trailer was hitched to a tractor - you don't want it to move!
There is no quick solution to any horse's "bad habits" Just reassurance; patience; and rewards.
try leading her in with her favorite treat or some grain have people behind her clapping or clucking
I had a mare that I couldn't load for about 9 years until I got a richard maxwell halter. these are rope headcollars tied in a way that applies pressure to both the poll and the horses nose. you use them with constant pressure which you relieve momentarily as soon as they step forward and then apply again. practise getting your horse used to the headcollar away from the trailer then use it to help you load.
We tried this and within 45 minutes our mare was on board eating happily. Be prepared they will rear, pull and even throw themselves on the floor so try to do it in a safe and secure area preferably an arena but this headcollar was a miracle.
once you get her in just walk her straight through and take her again through without enclosing her. then start shutting the front bar and giving her a mouthful of feed then bringing her out. build her up slowly to her allowing you to put the the doors without getting stressed then take her for short journeys making sure you make them as smooth as possible and rewarding her for behaving.
it may take a long time to get her fully happy in the trailer as she has had trouble but I would try this headcollar as they are great!!
good luck hope you manage to sort this problem
try this website for info
http://www.richard-maxwell.com/index.htm...
plus you can also try looking at monty roberts as he trained richard maxwell!!
She needs retraining from a professional. Can you get hold of a John Lyons certified trainer, or at least watch one of his videos. Not loading is actually a leading problem, not a trailer problem.
i have seen blindfolding work!!! it sounds crazy but it works because i makes the horse have to trust you because they cannot see, you just need to go slow and be calm so she will relax. if she had an accidient that would mean that she is afraid of the place. so dont force her ease her in slowly and be calm as she will too.
I would try the parelli/natural horsemanship way.
Daisykj, seems to have it in detail.
I used it on my mare who also had an accident in a trailer and from that point forward would not go in.
I tried, feeding her in, lunge line behind, blind folds I found dangerous as they cant see so if they rear they may smack their heads, I tried almost everything.
That method that she explained, really worked. My horse walks in no problem now
Another thing that helped with another one of my horses was to take a lunge attach it around the stomach then through the front legs, and through the loop on the halter. It gives you more pressure to their sides. Kind of like riding. Works for some, not all.
I would look into a horse helmet so if your horse rears it wont cut its head.
Good Luck and I hope everything works out, I know how you feel!
UM. HOOK A LONG LEAD ROPE ON HER HALTER AND PUT THE END OF THE LEAD ROPE TROUGH THE DOOR BY THEIR HEAD OF THE TRAILER .THEN STAND BACK AND PULL. WHEN SHE GETS IN THE TRAILER GIVE HER A TREAT SHE REALY LIKE!
If I had a horse like that I wouldn't load her any more than I had 2. She probably remembers the accident %26 doesn't want it happening again. NOW what U CAN do is if U MUST load her %26 IF she does well, IMMEDIATELY reward her w/ her favorite treat %26 praise her.
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