Are some of them just BAD loaders/haulers?!

[relocatedTXjumpr]

The first two times I loaded Lola on a trailer she was fine...sniffed a little and hesitated, but got on without much of a fuss.

After that all bets were off.

The third time I attempted to put her on my 3 horse slant load step up it took 4 HOURS!! There was yanking and rearing, and snorting and backing...she did get on, but needless to say we missed out lesson.

Since that horrid morning I have worked hard at this issue. I have a step up and a friend has a large gooseneck with a ramp, so we have worked on both. She will walk on the ramp load with no issues what so ever...the step up and she stops before we even get close enough to it to smell it.

So far we have worked enough that it takes about 15 minutes and shes on...she does show her distaste for the first few minutes and then will put her front two feet and and just stand there...we are working in it though.

Now, when she is on the trailer, she paws, kicks, screams, rocks it side to side, the entire trip. She backs off just fine, no issues there. and she is calm and cool where ever we happen to unload at.

I know I can fix the loading issue...its getting better and I have learned how to do it alone.

But, for the actual hauling part...is there any remedy for that at all? Or, are some of them just always bad loaders and haulers?

And help would be appreciated.

[cavalli]

One of my horses kept on kicking to the point that he made a hole in the partition of a friend of mine slant trailer. I resolved the problem by having him loose in a stall box, with no raps on the back leg. This horse of mine is 17'2 and I am sure he was claustrophobic. Since then he has been a wonderfull hauler.

Best of luck.

[Equibrit]

Some horses just don't like being hauled in a slant load. It's a balance issue. Besides it's just not WhAT SHE IS USED TO !

[relocatedTXjumpr]

Interesting, I thought they would have more balance in a slant load....hmmm.

[Equibrit]

Try tying back or taking out the partitions and see which way she likes to travel. She'll probably turn around facing the back and plant her ass on the front wall !

[relocatedTXjumpr]

I will take out the dividers and see what she does. I worry about leaving her in there untied and able to wander around....she is 4 after all.

I figured she had never been in a step up trailer and thought that maybe as a trackie she was used to being hauled in a larger trailer with other horses in it, if at all. Or that she didnt know if she was going to the track or not...but shes been on enough short trips lately to know she is always coming home and the places she is going are not bad places.

[NoDQhere]

Slant load trailers seem to cause many loading/hauling issues. As already suggested, take out the partitions and take her for a ride or two, loose, in a box stall situation. This might help her adjust and you can then go back to the partitions. But many horses just can't do well in a slant.

Work her on loading in the step, patiently, and give her a food reward EVERY time she gets on the trailer. I know there are many folk out there who think rewarding with food is a big no no, but I disagree. We load and haul many horses, mostly youngsters, and never have trouble with loading or hauling. We start with a box stall if possible for the first ride or two, then they learn to stand in a straight stall. They are always rewarded and they always have hay on board.

AND, pay very close attention to your driving. Especially starting and stopping. Be as "steady" as you can changing lanes.

[Green Acres]

I also agree with taking out a partition and see if she's more comfortable with more room.

I have a 2 horse slant load and my guy is much better with the partition out of it. He loads easier, travels better and gets off better. Before taking the partition out, he was difficult to load. He would paw and be totally impatient and would unload like he was shot out of a cannon.

I would not trailer her without tying her but w/o the partition she can stand the way she feels more blaanced. If she feels more balanced, then she should get to the point of loading and even traveling better.

The last few times I have hauled my guy, he likes to turn around now and come out forward. :yes:

Also, the best encouragement I have found to help load a horse is a broom. We don't have to use the broom but just show my horse the broom and on he goes.;)

[Mtn trails]

My horse it doesn't matter if it's a slant or straight load, she'll paw the entire trip and work herself up into a lather even if the ride is smooth as silk and 10 minutes long. She'll arrive coated in sweat and uptight and nervous. Fortunately, once she's off she's usually okay and our lesson is fine. Loading has gotten better, it used to be a battle but now she gets in and out pretty easily. But the ride in the trailer, oh lord!

[Alex2]

Has there been any improvements or progress with the horses that are not hauling well?

[Mtn trails]

Actually yes, My horse has mysteriously stopped pawing and being nervous and will even eat a bit of hay enroute. I had to wait around before unloading her recently and she stood in the trailer like a lady and only briefly pawed once or twice. Maybe she's finally growing up and dealing with it. Fortunately, my other two horses are great loaders and I have to practically hold them back if I'm not ready for them to get in yet. They are the type that you almost forget they're back there they ride so well.

[Alex2]

Thanks for responding! Your horse's behavior of incessant pawing and dripping with sweat matches what I'm dealing with now. He has made great progress in loading and un-loading which had been a problem and now he's a role model in that department. He stands well while the trailer is not moving but when the trailer moves, so does he...a lot and very loud.

I'm losing faith and getting depressed about him ever traveling well. Was it just time and repetition with your mare or something else?

[goodhors]

Flooring of trailer might matter for bad riding horses. Some mats without bedding get very slippery, worse after they get urinated on! Straw bedding is REALLY slippery, had a horse go down with that under them, wood floor, no matting. Some trailers just have slippery floors, should have matting. Solid dividers with big horses and horses who like to spread out, can make him into a bad traveller. Tall horse needs a wider base of support when traveling, to keep himself riding comfortably. Some little horses also like to spread legs WAY out. We only have partial dividers, makes all our horses MUCH happier on trips. No they do not ever seem to hurt the legs of horse beside them with spreading out under the dividers.

I want horses to spend extra time on the trailer before we MUST load and haul. They get meals there without ever going anywhere. Getting a hungry horse to load is rewarded with the meal he is looking for. Giving him quiet time to munch, adds to the reward. He then progresses to quiet riding short trips after being loaded. Hay while in transit is helpful, just make sure any haynets can't sag to catch a hoof.

I always tie horses to haul, unless they are a foal with the mare. I think that limits trying to turnaround, can be a bit of a brace point if they need it for a turn, prevents head into the roof. Even a small pony can rear, young horses try jumping into the manger, so restraint on them is helpful. Ours ALL wear head bumprers, every trip. Kind of like seatbelts, there when you need it, if you use it every trip. No one EVER EXPECTS to NEED a head bumper.

My best advice is get horse loaded when it is meal time, feed her in the trailer, then unload after a reasonable time. You have the time to wait her out, get horse loaded anyway. Can be the box stall or the narrower stall of smaller trailer. I am not a slant stall fan, really not much room unless horse is both short in height and length. My horses don't fit slants COMFORTABLY, our stalls are straight loads. Some stalls are frontward, some backwards. Depends on the trailer. I do not have a step up anymore. But when I did, we practiced that, in and out, handful of grain for hungry horse each time she fully loaded. Spent LOTS of time just standing in there, got to be the horse's second home. Had a couple horses who would load and wait for food, if you left the doors open and they were loose.

Trailer in the paddock is an old method, with food inside, trailers doors left tied open. Trailer is hitched to truck or blocked up solidly, so loading horse can't move or tip it. Hungry horse is in the paddock, sees the hay and grain go inside, then is left alone with the trailer to work things out by himself. I have not heard of the horse who didn't finally load himself, to get the food. Some take longer, as much as a couple days, but loading is self-training, you just leave them alone. He won't starve in a day if he doesn't get in very quickly. Water in a tub always available in the paddock.

And lastly, nobody likes being criticised, but maybe the driver is making the horse be a bad rider. What YOU think in the truck cab is a good ride, is shaking the horse around like the one peanut in the can! He gets thrown all around, can not anticipate what is going to happen on turns, stops, start-ups!! Have you EVER ridden in a trailer yourself?? Going back there for a ride can be a real revelation, especially wearing a blindfold, with your hands tied behind your back, to ride like the horse does. You don't know what to expect like he does not. Even riding at very moderate speeds, such passengers come out of the trailer SWEARING the driver was going at LEAST 50mph, driving like an idiot!! Racing starts, slamming on the brakes, turns at high speed, all tossing the person in trailer around!! Passenger beside the driver testifying that is not true, only got up to 20mph, usually is ignored! Yet drivers routinely drive much faster, with no consideration for the horses behind them in the trailers.

That trailer ride behind, certainly changes how most folks drive their horse afterwards. Truck driver ride and trailer ride are NOT EVEN CLOSE to being the same.

[emaren]

I have to agree about thinking about your driving on your first two trips out. When I was younger my mom hauled me all over. I had a seasoned show horse since I was a novice and my mom was too. After a few trailer rides to various places, my seasoned show horse wouldn't load anymore - we had no idea why. One day on the way to pony club, the instructor was driving behind us and saw that we were taking curves way too fast, it didn't feel fast. As soon as my mom started driving very slowly around curves, my horse stopped having loading issues.

[Foxtrot's]

Drive coffee-on-the-dashboard slow.
Some horses cannot travel on the righthand side of a trailer, even though it is customary to put the heavier horse on the left (or crown of the road.)

[MandyVA]

Mine has always been difficult. I *thought* I was so smart and had taught him to self load, but this spring he decided he wasn't getting on anymore. After dozens of rides. In my stock trailer. That I haul like I'm dead.

After his outright refusal to get on one day, I hired a cowboy for mucho money to work with him. He reared and backed up and made an ass of himself for about one minute, and got right on and promptly turned around. I have never allowed him to turn around on the trailer. But this trainer said it was ok to let him ride backwards if he wants to.

So far, so good. He gets right on, promplty does his little in-trailer pirouette, and hauls backwards.

Anyway I don't have any advice, only sympathy!! Except maybe to say it was worth it to just throw some money at the problem.

[Alex2]

Thank you for your responses. It's possible his reaction is the result of poor driving but I don't know. He came to me with trailer issues that were confirmed by a 3rd party who volunteered a trailering problem with him. The short trips he's been on with me have been as smooth as possible.

He had been a nervous wreak even just to look at a trailer much less go inside. It's taken over 3 months and he's now calm and relaxed about loading, un-loading and standing quiet and relaxed inside. The moment the trailer starts moving, he starts pawing. The trailer stops, he stops.

I realize he's come a long way in becoming comfortable with the trailer but being able to move the trailer with him in it would be nice. I'm also thankful for having a well built trailer but the force of his pounding concerns me. It is a slant load with partial dividers. I've given him the single stall as well as a double stall. The double stall is marginally better then the single. The mats are not slippery and I do have shavings on top that get pawed away.

We seem to have reached a plateau and I'm looking for success stories from others who have had a positive outcome. Is this where I'm supposed to be happy that we haven't had any backwards steps?

[MintHillFarm]

Is this where I'm supposed to be happy that we haven't had any backwards steps?

You got farther then I did...My TB, Fred, will NOT get on the trailer anymore. He did off and on for a few yrs, though we never went much of anywhere. Last yr I got a trailer, had not had one in awhile; a very nice Hawk 2 horse straight load. He got three times and then decided there was no way he was going on again. Frankly, I really think he just doesn't want to leave his friends. I give up! I decided that after trying the last time for over 3hrs and getting nowhere, I am not trying again...I have had ones in the past that were tough to get on and over time they got the idea and no problems, even loading and unloading alone.

With this one, it is just not happening...My non-horsey boyfriend helped me with him the last time in August, just to try following him up the ramp, and he finally said to me, "get on him, ride him till his tongue hangs out and we will try again" I thought that was pretty good advice from someone with limited horse experience! I got on and schooled him and tried again; he was tired but would not budge and that was it. I was done.

So, you are one step ahead of me and I am very hopeful you will succeed.

Now I take the 5 yr old paint who is thrilled to go, hops right on and loves all the attention...

Please keep us posted on how you are making out

[GreyDes]

My Arab used to do something very similar - paw whenever the trailer stopped, then be fine once it moved again. He's a very nervous horse, and was a difficult loader. We worked through the loading issues with a lot of time, practice and patience (the trick REALLY is to load when you have all day to do it and nowhere to go...)

He has gotten much better over time. Here's three things that helped us.

1) Time, time, time. Just taking him for lots of trailer rides, with most being for trail rides rather than lessons or shows.

2) New trailer. I switched from an older steel trailer to a Brenderup. The steel trailer was roomy, but would sway side to side when the wind hit it while driving. I don't know for a fact that this is what he didn't like, but I saw a marked improvement with the Brenderup.

3) Not tying his head. I know there are a lot of opinions on this, and I do tie all my other horses. However, this horse does not tie well off the trailer, and is definitely claustrophobic. Leaving his head loose seems to help tremendously. I always put a lead rope back on before taking down the ramp and opening the rear door.

Best of luck!

[Mtn trails]

In my experience and in my own defense, I am a very careful driver and always take corners extra slow and smoothly and leave plenty of braking room when coming to a stop and just take is easy. They have a lot more to contend with back there and they don't need to be thrown around. I think part of my mare's problem was she was herd bound and didn't want to leave her friends because when I first got her, she would ride just fine with minimal pawing and no sweating but when she got close to my other mare and gelding, that's when the problem started. Then it was almost all at once it just stopped and she's fine again. Go figure.

[Catalina]

My new guy is a very nervous and tense Tb. He loads just fine and will stand well on the trailer, but he rock and rolls it while moving. I creep around corners, leave pleanty of braking room, make the cars behind me mad, etc, and he still bounces all over the place. So much so that the second to last time I trailered him, we were creeping around a traffic circle when I heard a crash and I looked out my side mirror to see the saftey glass from my side window all over the road :eek:. Somehow he destroyed the aluminum bars and broke the window with his hip :uhoh:. The next time I trailered him, i put him on the right side and he was significantly better. I guess he just doesn't like trailering on the left side.

I have another horse that is seriously claustrophobic and will.not.trailer :(. He will get on no problem, but the second it starts to move, he explodes and loses all sense of self preservation. He would probably kill himself and destroy the trailer trying to get out. My husband and I joke that if we ever sold our place, we would have to say that they grey horse in the back conveys :lol:.

[Ecks Marx The Spot]

I think some ARE SPECIAL NEEDS loaders and haulers. I have had 2 experiences with bad loaders and haulers.
The first was a mare that had been in an accident. Took hours to get her on the first time we went to get her, and when she would get on, she flew off a million miles an hour. It was a multi man job. She had to ride sans partition, and with out a buddy or she would scramble and kick out.

THAT mare was a CUPCAKE compared to the mare I had later a 5 year old OTTB... She was claustrphobic, and I found out much later, she had flipped over in the gates at the track. Of course seller neglected to tell me this.... When i bought her , friend had 4 horse trailer to get her in, and it took hours to get her on. She had a box stall and traveled fine.

Later on, when we tried to use a 2 horse it was a night mare. I began working with her, daily. Eventually she went on , and then would literally JUMP on my friends slant like yipee give me my dinner! Everything seemed to be going great, so I tried to haul her in a 2 horse stock. She loaded right up, and we tied her in, and closed the door. She immediately tried to turn around/back out. And when she couldn't, she flipped out and tried to rear up. She eventually stopped( even with the "safety knot" we couldn't release it with her 1200 lbs on it) before we got a knife to cut the rope, and stood there trembling. We took her for a 5min drive and got her out. She came out quietly... but even with wrapps on her hocks were like hamburger from sitting back on the stock door. Head all banged up. It was a nightmare.

After that I sold her, to a knowing party that she did not trailer well. Some one bought her with a 4 horse trailer, and she went right on. When the closed the first partition she twirled so fast it would put a top reiner to shame! But as soon as she saw she could turn around, she immediately relaxed and went back to eating hay.

1st Moral of the story, it scarred me for life, and I will never own a horse that is not a soild hauler. Loading up a horse can cause me to break out in cold sweat.
2nd moral, 99.9 % of horses can eventually load and haul if you find what accomidations work for them!
Good luck!

[awqawq]

The first two times I loaded Lola on a trailer she was fine...sniffed a little and hesitated, but got on without much of a fuss.

After that all bets were off.

The third time I attempted to put her on my 3 horse slant load step up it took 4 HOURS!! There was yanking and rearing, and snorting and backing...she did get on, but needless to say we missed out lesson.



When I was about 12 years old we bought a mare like this. She absolutely refused to get on our 4 horse straight load bumper pull(I hated that trailer and am so glad we got rid of it) and threw an absolute fit everytime we tried. When we unloaded her at home after buying her, her poor legs were cut/scraped all to pieces...to make a long story short, we figured out that for some reason this mare simply couldn't keep her balance when hauled this way(facing forward w/ dividers, etc), however, if she was put into the same situation only facing backwards she was absolutely fine...no trouble at all. So for the rest of the time we had that trailer, she was loaded on it backwards. She was also fine if put onto a stock trailer/etc..where she was not in such a tight space.

[CrazyDog]

Some horses do have trouble travelling facing forward. My mare won't travel forward facing as she has a lot of trouble balancing...thank goodness I have a rear-facing trailer.