"The Reluctant Loader"

I would like to extend my thanks & deep appreciation to Joanne Braithwaite for her time, expertise & talent! Joanne has been working tirelessly on producing videos based on trailering & loading, & the love of horses we both share comes through in the meticulous detail of her work.

The first installment is entitled "The Reluctant Loader". In this sequence I will show one method of dealing with a horse who just needs a bit of extra time to take those few steps on board.
"Traveler" is our subject for this installment. Traveler is an Appaloosa gelding who has had limited exposure to trailering, & is therefore still leery about stepping on board. I feel it is in the best interests of horses like Traveler to be respectful of their limitations, & allow them the extra time needed to gain their trust. One of my most frequent utterances in situations like this is "I may have to load this horse again one day, so I want to make the next time easier!"

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Comment by Kevan on July 22, 2009 at 1:00am: Thanks Trish & Jackie!

I'm trying to show that force is not necessary when working with hesitant or reluctant horses. The next video is of a weanling who went through a very traumatic experience just the day before; which ended up with her rearing & flipping over backwards because she was being forced beyond her abilities.
You'll see what we did & how we made out ...

Comment by Jackie Cochran on July 20, 2009 at 3:02pm: I love your patience. Good work.

Comment by Crofton Horse Transport on July 13, 2009 at 12:05pm: Hey! Great video Kevan! You've provided a great tool and helpful information that everybody can use. Well done!

Comment by laura day on July 10, 2009 at 3:52am: Thats fantastic that your grandfather passed his knowledge on to you! and you're right..i suppose nothing is new, just adapted..and sometimes badly these days! hehe! Its refreshing to see a video (certainly when viewing from England) where horses welfare is at the forefront of training techniques, as it is so often forgotten in persuit of a hurried 'end goal'. Thankyou again!

Comment by Kevan on July 9, 2009 at 11:21pm: Thanks for that Laura! A funny thing about this approach; my grandfather taught me this over 40 years ago ... so as much as it's not magic, it ain't new either.

Comment by laura day on July 9, 2009 at 6:24pm: this video shows perfectly the use of Operant conditioning as a training tool!!! i love it..no 'magic' just science! super duper!!! x

Comment by Kevan on July 7, 2009 at 8:57pm: Thanks for the nice compliment Cyndi! I always try to keep one thing in mind when handling others' horses: I may have to load this horse again one day, so let's make it as painless as possible!

Good approach to take Jen. If your horse needs a moment like Traveler did, then tell everyone to either do as you ask, or back off. They're not the ones who have to deal with the aftermath. I probably could have gotten him on a lot more quickly if I took a longe whip to him, but what do you suppose would have happened the next time, or the time after that? Every time you force a horse onto a trailer, you add one more brick to the wall you're eventually going to hit one day.

Comment by Cyndi on July 7, 2009 at 9:48am: The world needs more transport people like you! I look forward to watching more of your videos.

Your photography is pretty amazing too!

Comment by Jen B on July 6, 2009 at 10:55pm: Thanks! You've described my young horse perfectly. He is cautious and wants to take his time to investigate. At my last show people started putting pressure on him right away and, like you said, his "head exploded" and he reared up very dangerously. Now I feel even more justified in directing everyone to back off and let him take his time.