I wanted to bring up a time, when Fritzy had trouble loading and hauling. As most of you know, we purchased Fritzy from an auction, so we didn't know a whole lot about her. When our friend came to pick her up, she loaded just fine in his 3 horse slant. We had put her in the middle stall. We didn't live far from the auction, only a few miles. After I hired my trainer, and we would go on "training" trail rides, Fritzy would load and haul just fine. I didn't think anything of it. Until I bought my trailer. We hauled her to the training barn in my new trailer. I loaded her up into the front stall. She managed the 3 mile trip just fine. The times we hauled to the trails from the training barn, was in my trainer's 6-horse slant trailer. She never had a problem. Once Fritzy came home from the training barn, we would haul her back to the barn for weekly lessons. About the second or third time we went to haul Fritzy, she started balking at loading. We'd eventually get her in the trailer. But she started freaking out in the trailer. She'd rear, thrash around, she cut her face up. I started panicking. What could be wrong? Why is she panicking at loading and hauling? We got to our lesson, and I talked to my trainer about it. Before we unloaded Fritzy, my trainer jumped into the driver seat of our truck, I went along, and my OH stayed behind, worrying about his truck, I am sure! A couple miles down the road, my trainer pulled into the fire station and went to the back of the trailer, opened the back door, opened the divider and said "let's try leaving the divider open. Maybe she has a fear issue with being up on the wall of the trailer." So we hauled back to the barn. Once there, and sitting, Fritzy had calmed down. She wasn't rearing or freaking out. So we unloaded her, had our lesson and than when my trainer went to reload her into the trailer, Fritzy panicked. She did not want to load. After about a 15 minute struggle, she got Fritzy loaded. She told me to haul her with the divider open and see what happens. She also said to load her in the middle stall in the future, or if we loaded her in the front stall, to leave the divider open.
My trainer eventually left the training barn, so I would haul to her house for lessons. Also only a 3 mile trip. If I was hauling to a lesson, I would load Fritzy in the middle stall. Guess what? All of my loading and hauling issues went away, very quickly. What we came up with was, Fritzy could not handle being up against the wall of the trailer, I am assuming she couldn't get her legs spread out enough to balance with the wall right there. Also, we came to the conclusion that when my trainer hauled Fritzy in her 6-horse, and when Fritzy was the only horse in her trailer, she never used the stall by the wall. And if she had a full trailer, she never put Fritzy up on the wall. So when I got my trailer, I didn't think anything of it, and put her in the first stall.
I am so glad my trainer was able to figure out what was going on, and quickly. It could have turned into a much worse situation. Now when we go riding, if it's just me and my OH, Brandy goes in first, than Fritzy. If my sis goes too, than her boy goes first, than Fritzy, than Brandy. I know you are supposed to put the heaviest horse in first. But we have to make an exception when it is just Fritzy and Brandy going. The Fritzter outweighs Brandy by about 300 lbs!!
My horses load like a dream. I am very comfortable loading and hauling my horses. They just jump right into the trailer. I know it isn't that way for a lot of people. I have seen so many people struggle to load their horses at the trailhead, I always wonder why they take their horses when they can't get them loaded, than I think, well, I don't know what the problem is, maybe their horse knows how to load, and doesn't feel comfortable loading in this environment. But than again, I think a lot of people force their horses into a trailer and just take the risk that they will get back in. I believe you need to take the time and get your horse comfortable loading before you even take them off your property.
My mom has issues loading her horse. When she got him, he loaded fine. His previous owner even demonstrated to my mom and sister how well he loaded, even when he arrived at the boarding stable where my mom was going to be boarding him. She can get him in a slant trailer, sometimes it can be a struggle. They have been working on it. If I lived closer to her, I would help her. I hope she can get Dusty's trailer issues resolved, quickly!
How many of you have had trailer issues? Were you able to resolve it quickly, or do you still struggle?
22 comments:
That is great you worked through it with Fritzy!
I enjoyed your loading story - you never know what will set a horse off. Your black and white is lovely - reminds me of my girlfriend's big black & white Paint. He's a 5 year old that still acts goofy like a 2 yr old.
My mare has only been loaded in a stock trailer and she did fine. We put her in it when we bought her and the ride home was about 80 miles. My gelding however is a different story. 2 yrs ago I purchased a nice 2 horse trailer. Steph and I were all excited to meet a friend of ours at Kentucky Lake for a day of trail riding. It never happened. That horse will NOT load in a small trailer. Now he is a big horse, almost 16h so I guess I can't blame him. I ended up having to sell the trailer and lost money one it! We don't own a trailer now. Just ride around the neighborhood and it seems to be fine for us.
Ooooh, trailer issues are the WORST! My arab that was the first horse I ever hauled "fought" with the front wall constantly, making a huge racket and giving me an ulcer by the time I got any where. Took me a few tries to figure out she was fine if I put her in the middle stall instead. I've had a lot of horses have problems loading in the front stall of my trailer. Midori never has a problem with it, but has been known to kick when horses load in behind her. In my open, metal trailer that makes a bunch of noise and freaks the other horse out. After my friends horse literally did a back flip out of my trailer, I chose to take her out and reload her in the back if I was hauling someone else. Then there was my other friends horse who kicked/bucked while loaded and got stuck up on top of the divider. It was great fun.
Needless to say, I've learned some tricks and ways to get around/fix things and am also VERY thankful that all of my horses right now load, unload and haul like angels. Issues with trailering can totally spoil an outing.
You could try a little of Clinton Anderson's loading techniques on the Dustbuster, maybe?! :) I think he's getting better. If mom had a trailer she could practice every day like with the biting and he'd be loading in no time!
We are lucky we have no loading issues....knock on wood!
Well said , trailer issues can be huge ,so far I do well we use a stock trailer ,large with lots of light ,I did have a problem with an agnle haul in that the last stall you have to have a horse self load or wing up in a vry usafe place ,but we figured it out .Slow calm and patient .
It's frustrating when horses get worse about trailer loading. It makes you think something happened to scare them. I've gone through that will all of my horses.
This might be a bit long (sorry in advance):
Applejack loaded great when we picked him up from the seller. After that he became a nightmare! Even if he did load okay unloading was scary, as soon as the divider opened he'd fly back. He broke about 5 or 6 heavy duty trailer ties and once I even got a concussion from the trailer door hitting me in the head.
What we eventually figured out is that he felt claustrophobic. He was used to big, open stock trailers (I have a 2 horse slant and my friend has a 3 horse slant).
Our quick and easy fix you ask? Open the window! We tried that so the trailer would seem more open and he marched right in and stuck his head out. lol
Now he loads fine (window open or not). We just don't tie him.
Hay there cousin...I got your comment, just got in from vegas. Couldn't find what you were talking about on your post?
Our horses load fine, our problem was me :) I was always so nervous about it that the horses would feel my nerves and freak out. So, before I load or unload I really have to take some deep breathes and calm myself - then they are just fine. We have a 4 horse slat with a tack room in the back corner (I just posted pictures of our trailer with the new flooring) and only 2 horses will ride against the front wall - our big 16+ hand horse will have nothing to do with being in first - she is just too big. Then the only horse I will put in last is Tonka - he is big, but I have to squeeze out next to him and there isn't a mean bone in his body so I know that I won't get smooshed.
hi paint girl! seems all of us have had a loading issue at one time or another. jess has to be on the left regardless and blue is much heavier than she! so far so good. and, i have to load jess on first, otherwise blue would bulk and be bad! he dislikes being left on the trailer by himself while i turn jess out in the paddock... still busy, miss reading my favorite blogs (yours!) but will get back into the normal routine in a week or so.
Cousin B~ You need to go to my Honest Scrap Award post, from last week. I left the link on your blog. Hope you had a good time in Vegas! I am sure you won a bunch of money, to buy a horse, right?
I love black paints! :) Hubby handles the loading and hauling, and for the most part, all 3 of our horses handle quite well. Murphy's an old pro at trailering. Sometimes paint can get stressed while we're driving, but we don't usually have any problems loading him. Stormy has only been trailered a few times, since we've only had her since January.
I love the pic of Dakota rolling in the grass in your masthead!
I haven't had a horse since I was a teenager, so I feel like a horse newbie all over again! I wish I had a KS friend to help me while hubby is at work, but since I only moved here a yr ago and haven't started a job yet, I haven't made any friends. :-( I start a temporary job on the 8th, so I'm hoping I meet some new friends then!
Sometimes horses with their loading preferences remind me of my kids and the way they argue over how gets the window seat..or the front seat...or who gets to sit next to whoever, etc. lol!
Baby Doll isn't a dream to load, but she's not impossible. We only have a two horse bumper pull, as does my neighbor friend, Val. We went through heck trying to load my mare in her trailer and realized her trailer is about a foot shorter than mine.....which, as you know with our big paint mares is a big deal. Baby Doll's neck is long and wouldn't fit over the crib area, and her poor rump was squashed against the back door. Not good.
I got her to go into my 2 horse bumper pull trailer just by putting some hay in the crib area or walking up into the other stall and calling her up, or going to the window outside and calling to her, and she would come to me and step up on her own.
I've not worked with her on just stepping up on her own with me standing by the back door. That was my plan this past Spring...and you know why that plan hasn't panned out. sigh.
~Lisa
My Annie was a terror! Worse!! The day I bought her we had issues loading her. I believe she had only ever been loaded in a large stock trailer before. She pulled back time after time and hit her the front of her head. She broke the lead room and fell over backwards. We finally got her loaded by forcing her in with a panel behind her, closing in on her.
After I got her home, I wondered if she'd live. She bled from her nose for three days. Even now she has a raised hardness on her forehead on one side.
I've had her 12 years and it was only last year that I taught her to load. Before that, I always said I couldn't sell her because I couldn't load her. And I couldn't trail ride or breed her...
I decided last year that I had to breed her soon if I ever was going to so I worked at her for weeks to trailer load. I stood for hours with her in the triler doorway, both night and day. I starved her for three days with a hitched open trailer full of food. I worked on backing and moving forward. I pushed, pulled, and used a butt rope. I literally tried everything I could think of. I hired a trainer and it took over two hours for him even with all the groundwork I'd already done.
He ended up using panels, like a chute. He worked at her until she finally gave up and moved forward. I was thrilled to see success, finally!
It took several more lessons from the professional trainer and the 10 trips to the vet for her breeding before I really felt that she was "trailer trained." She hasn't been in a trailer since last summer but I expect that she will load. fingers crossed.
She has terrible head issues. She has a hard time going under low overhangs and into stocks. She sits back when she's tied and feels her head confined. She stands like a dream on a loose rope so I have ignored her tying problem but if I want to trail ride, I'm going to have to address that next. Any ideas?
PaintGirl, its good you were able to find a solution for your horses issue. I have a 4 horse stock trailer with a center gate, I haul horses all the time and often for long distances. I expect them to ride and load and unload with the same calmness and attitude that is expected from any other experience.
It takes time and regulare expereinces in the trailer to get a horse confident. I have found some of the worst things to do is hurrying and trying to limit the horses time in the trailer before they get upset.
The more time the better, I have even hauled horses for no other reason than to go for a ride, or If one horse has an appointemnt somewhere, someone else will go along for the ride.
Riding, standing, waiting and patience(in the trailer) is what I expect from horses I work with and own. it takes time and consistancy.
Your horses and other animals(pets) are beautiful. We enjoy visiting your blog. Mom is still working out how to do some things. We like your music too.
Wags
Ernie & Sasha
Just when I think I am on top of keeping an eye on new entries in my fave blogs, I am the 18th person to leave a comment!
It is so nice to have horses that trailer easily. What a drag it is to spend minutes or hours trying to coax a horse into a trailer! I'll bet a lot of good trail time gets lost that way! I am lucky too that my brumby never seems to mind going into a trailer--even though when I first met her, she had a big scab on her nose from a trailer mishap!
Love that beautiful picture of Fritzy and you in the field!
I am so glad you did this post!! I think it is so important to train a horse in trailer loading!!! Like so many of the other reader's I too have had horses that don't like to load...Most of them have been horses that I have bought from someone else. For example this bay paint that we got from a friend, he had KC out on pasture for 2 yrs when Hubby went to get him and our friend literally would not do anything other than try and bribe him into the trailer...Hubby kept saying lets do this and that etc...but no they had to bribe him with some feed. Well then they stopped at a friends on their way here and our friend took KC out of the trailer and then spent 2 hours bribing him to get him back in!!! Well I am OK with parking a trailer in their area with food in it to get them used to the trailer but flat out not doing anything but bribery...NO!! So eventually after we had him for just a short time he was trailering fine with NO bribery!! We simply worked with him alot, used alot of butt ropes, we broke a few ropes but the key was not giving up while trying the exercise because then HE won...And that is not what you want them to accomplish because then they think they can get away with it every time!!
Any horse we have raised from birth has been introduced to the trailer from the time they are haltered, that way it is always a place of comfort for them!!
You did great in figuring out what Fritzy's issue was!!!
Ahhh-The dreaded trailer loading.
I can honestly say, I am very fortunate that I have never had major trailer loading or hauling issues with a horse. The horses we raise start out loading with experienced horses and don't really ever think too much of getting in the trailer. The one's we have bought have all been easily fixed.
The secret? A lot of it has to do with how people drive when they haul horses. To really experience what horses are feeling when being hauled, you have to get in that trailer and have someone drive around. It really changes your perspective...and how a person drives when hauling live animals.
My very first trailer was a single horse. A tiny little thing. My mare was a bear to get in that thing, at first. My step-dad helped me set up a small pen and we put grain in the trailer. We just kept making the pen smaller and literally pushed her in the trailer and closed the door. She ate her grain and stood quietly for a little while. My step-dad opened the door and it took a while for her to finally back all the way out. We did that every day for a week before we ever tried to load her without the panels. For a long time, I had to place my trailer next to a fence or wall to get her to load...but only when we were leaving home. Whenever it was time to come home, she would hop right in. She wasn't stupid, she knew that 2nd load meant she was going home-LOL.
The one thing that drives me nuts is when people load, unload and re-load their horses like 5 times and the sixth time the horse balks and won't go in. Well duhhhh! The horse has figured out there is really no reason to get in the trailer and there is no "release" so why keep doing it and they quit even trying. If they load fine-why keep doing it over and over? Either quit or get in and go somewhere with them. It's not just about loading, it's about the whole experience of loading and hauling.
Oh, and if your trailer is riding level when your horses are loaded, it doesn't matter that you don't haul Fritzy in the front. It's really more about weight dispersement. The reason you are supposed to put the heavier horses in first is because that pushes down on the front of the trailer and makes it easier for your pickup to control. But if your trailer is riding level and you have trailer brakes(which most trailer do these days), you should not have any problems-and it sounds like you haven't.;)
Whew-sorry, I was pretty long-winded there.:o
You sure know your horses! I love that about you. You really take the time to see what makes your animals tick. Lucky horses you have!
This is the most frustrating of all horse vices...I am lucky that I don't have issues with Jesse but did just find out that Little Lady has the same issue as Fritzy, up against the wall. however it never bothered her in trailer till the very last haul in the desert. 10 minute ride only but she did tear the hell out of the padding and the side wall. Apparently she did it the Spanky's trailer too once but I figured she just didn't like him...she always tries to kick him! LOL Now she hauls in the middle...too expensive to keep getting fixed!
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