I am having trouble getting my 3-year old horse to load into my trailer. He has only ridden in it once when I bought him and it must have traumatized him. It was a five hour ride over the Sierra Nevada mountains. Since getting him home, I placed the trailer in his field and have been feeding him grain in the manger. He will enter the trailer on his own, but constantly backs out to ensure that he can escape. On one occassion, he seemed calm so I fastened the butt bar. Unfortunately, he panicked before I could lift the ramp and he managed to slide under the bar and scraped up his back. Now, any attempt to tie him in causes him to panic.
I just received a dually halter and began ground work with him. He caught on very quickly and is walking at my shoulder. It did not help get him in the trailer though. He seems even more upset when I try to load him. Because it is a side by side, I can’t walk in there with him. I passed the line through the manger window but he is so strong I’m not getting him in there. He is rearing and thrashing around and there are sharp corners on the top doors that can’t be entirely folded out of his way.
All of the lessons that I have watched show loading into large stock trailers where the human can walk in with the horse. Suggestions?
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Continue to feed him in the manger. Let him move freely in & out of the trailer without you having any concerns. Learn to control your breathing & body language. Study the Uni lessons & learn the concepts thoroughly. Do not use the Dually to force his behaviour or he will become desensitised to it. Use it to gently show him when his reactions are unwanted & be very generous with your praise when he cooperative.
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We are here supporting you. You are not alone & this mess can be fixed - but not by fighting with him. That will only serve to confirm his fears are justified. I have a question. Why can you not go into this trailer normally, accompanying him & tie up? It is inconceivable to me that a trailer would be put on the market where loading could only be done through a window.
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Given the circumstances you have described you need to approach loading incrementally. You need to give him time & opportunity to understand that he is safe, that you are not instantly going on another very frightening journey. You need to teach yourself to relax around the trailer, to stop fixating about loading. Do you have an older, confident horse who will happily go into this trailer? This would be moral support for him. I'm looking forward to continuing this conversation so stay in touch. Cheers, Jo.
I will take all of that to heart. I do not have any other horses to help. The trailer does have small escape doors near the front of the stalls, but it would be tight and dangerous for me if he panicked after I tie him.
As far as join up, I don’t have a corral or round pen to work in. He is loose on 15 acres. I know that it’s been said that you don’t need a round pen, but I don’t understand how it would be accomplished. Are there any lessons that would show how?
Thank you for your support
Big Brown, Join-Up without a Round Pen