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Permalink Reply by Laura on February 7, 2009 at 1:26pm

My guy isn't the best loader either, so I've picked up a few books from Chapters about training and things, and some of the tips they give include: teaching him to walk over strange surfaces (i.e: tarps, paper bags ect). The idea behind this theory is that they will gain confidence in you and won't be so nervous with the trailer footing. The books also suggest getting a bridge and practicing that (they use bridges in trail classes) or even seesaw's. They also recommend playing the "squeeze" games as taught by Parelli.

I've been working with my guy on trust and confidence in hopes that he'll start to get better w/ loading however the test of this theory is getting him to load. I hope some of those suggestions help you with your guy. :)

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Permalink Reply by Kevan on February 14, 2009 at 12:20am

I've been hauling horses for over 30 years now, & have found one common thing encompasses more cases of "tough loaders" than anything else: ground manners. If that horse trusts you & obeys you, he will hardly take a second look at the trailer threshold. I've proven this countless times with foals, old-timers, so-called "tough loaders" & "problem cases". The only exception to this is the horse who is truly & genuinely afraid, due to some traumatic experience or accident.

I always emphasize ground manners first; if you don't have that horse's complete & willing obedience on the ground, you're asking for trouble trying to squish him into a little tin box. Here are the basic "musts":
S/he should yield the hind & fore at your request
S/He should follow/lead quietly & obediently
Horsey should stay wherever you park him
The horse will back up without a fuss

Big plus if s/he does all of the above on voice cues alone

Start by leading him onto a stout sheet of plywood laid on solid ground. The idea is not to have him dance over it, but quietly walk onto it, stand at your request, & walk quietly off of it. Make sure whatever you get him onto will hold his weight, not shift as he walks across it & is not slippery. The idea behind this exercise is to get the horse to trust you enough to follow you anywhere, not to scare the bejeebers out of him.

Lead him up to a gate that is wide enough for him to comfortably side-pass through. Line him up beside the opening & alternately have him yield his fore & hind respectively, ONLY one step at a time. So he will end up side-passing with one front leg, then a hind, followed by another foreleg & so on. The point of this exercise is to control those feet. If you can convince him to move his feet exactly as you ask, you have taken a large step towards trust & obedience.

Practice backing him into his stall at night, as opposed to leading him straight in. As you both improve on this, mix it up a bit; back him in on an angle, then correct the angle as you guide his hind end into the entrance; back him in a few steps, then have him yield his hind one way or the other, then resume backing.

With all of these exercises, YOU are the one who decides where horsey stops. Pick the spot you want to be, & look at it as you're guiding him. No different than going over a jump; you look where you expect the horse to land, not at the jump.

There are many more, but these are good starters.

Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions at all. info@h-4.ca

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Permalink Reply by Jen B on February 14, 2009 at 9:03am

Thanks Kevan and Laura, those are great ideas! I have done some parelli and other ground work exercises but will make sure I incorporate some of your suggestions Kevan. It is good to get feedback from someone with your experience.

My guys usually do load okay, but my mare in particular is a bit hit and miss. The part of loading I find hard to replicate at home is the walking into a small space where there is nowhere else to go. They'll lead most anywhere that they can see 'the other side', but there is no other side in a trailer, unless it has a front exit.

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Permalink Reply by Kevan on February 14, 2009 at 6:06pm

You can replicate a trailer space in relative safety by hanging a tarp from the aisleway in the barn. Let the horse sniff it, investigate it & get over the "It's gonna EAT ME" stage. Once she's OK with half the barn missing, walk her up to the tarp; as soon as she stands still, lead her away. That's her reward for doing as you've asked. Just a side note; tie the corners of the tarp off with binder twine, that way if something does go horribly wrong the twine will snap, dropping the tarp.
You can do the same thing outdoors by hanging 2 smaller tarps side by side, forming a hallway of sorts, but make the far ends meet. This way the "hallway" diminishes in clearance. It's also a good test of her claustrophobia (every horse is claustrophobic, some just deal with it better than others)

The idea behind this is the horse gets used to a diminishing clearance, & you can gauge how she will react once she's in there.

By the way, don't try this on a windy day! Best is to use a roundpen, arena or other area in which she is used to going to work. This associates it with her work ethic; essentially she comes to regard it as just another thing to do.

One lady whose mare I've been working with has an ingenious setup at home (thanks to her super-handy hubby). He made a low bridge, about 6 feet wide & 8 feet long (made in 2 pieces to make it easier to move around); very sturdy, very solid - but hollow underneath so it echoes just like a ramp would. He strung two lengths of clothesline about 6 feet apart across the top of their roundpen, roughly 10 feet off the ground. From this they hang an 8'x 10' tarp & an 10' x 14' tarp, which represent the walls. The longer tarp can also be used to close in the end of her "trailer". Hubby has even added a makeshift divider that can be swung back & forth.
The best part about this is every way is a way out in an emergency; but there's nothing to get tangled up in. So far she has done remarkably well in there, and we can tell when I show up to try the real thing.
Incidentally, this mare was in a frightful roll-over accident a few years ago. It took a month before she'd even follow her owner into a stall.

One thing I'd like to add is how you praise your horse. Be conscious of what you're reinforcing, & when. Limit the "Atta Girl"'s to when she's actually done what you ask. I've seen so many folks who laddle on praise constantly, but in the end all it becomes is background noise to the horse. Best thing to do is give her a rub on the neck while giving her a soft "Good Girl", or whatever endearment you choose. Follow that up a good "release" program too. Set her up so that whenever she makes the slightest move in the right direction, she achieves instant release from any pressure you're putting on her.

I have written a series of 5 articles on this, all of which will be posted on my website. They started coming out in print in Saddle Up magazine back in November, so I will be posting the first 3 installments next week.
Pop by & have a look ... www.h-4.ca

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Permalink Reply by Anni on March 3, 2009 at 4:20pm

Ditto the posters who mentioned ground manners and respect, those are definitely important. Another thought is to (if possible) have one of her horsey "buddies" on hand when she has to be trailered and lead them in first so she can see it's not so scary. I know this isn't possible in a lot of circumstances, but if you can do it even once it can really increase her confidence.

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