Teaching horses to load

Hallowe’en has been and gone for another year and hopefully our animals have survived all the bangs and flashes associated with fireworks. Fireworks are actually illegal in the Republic of Ireland but authorities turn a blind eye to the displays around the countryside at the end of October. One of my horses hates the noise so much that he won’t eat his dinner but stands stiff, looking over his stable door,waiting for the world to end! The dog is also a total wimp when it comes to bangers.

We’ve had a great response to our launch on Facebook and, to date, have about 2,344 friends on our page. Thank you to all who helped with suggestions when others posted problems or queries. One such enquiry was for tips about loading horses.

Train to load long before you need to go anywhere – The main thing to remember when teaching a horse or loading a difficult one is to take your time and not get angry. If loading a young one for the first time, start weeks before you need to go anywhere. Lead the horse up the ramp while you look forwards and don’t turn to look back at the horse as he may find it intimidating. If you have a front ramp, open this and walk the horse through several times before you close the ramps. Always try to park the horse trailer in a gateway where there is no escape route on either side, or put a safe barrier, such as bales of hay or straw, on each side. Some people suggested feeding the horse in the box or giving him his breakfast in it each day. Try to make it a pleasurable experience because horses are flight animals and are not used to going into tight spaces. It’s also a good idea to take out a partition if loading for the first time to allow him more space. If there is no partition in the box, be sure to tie the horse with two ropes, one on either side, to prevent him turning around.

If the horse won’t go into the trailer – Try clipping a lunge rope (line) onto one side of the trailer and (you need two people for this) bring it slowly around behind him. This will prevent him moving backwards and should encourage him to walk up the ramp. The lunge rein will act as a barrier, and can be wrapped round the rump of the horse to encourage it to move forward. Try to be as calm and quiet as possible, do not look the horse in the eye as this is threatening to them. If you have a bucket of feed, gently coax the horse in by shaking it. Each step that it takes up the ramp, praise him/her and reward with a little food. Parelli often encourages people to open up back and front ramps and to practise walking through with the horse, until he/she feels more comfortable with it.
Take your time and don’t get frustrated and angry. Terrible battles loading horses cause accidents as horses rear or plunge about so be calm and patient.

If all else fails, put a pony or a quiet horse in the trailer – This acts as encouragement for the other horse to load. Go on a short journey the first time and don’t drive too fast, especially when going round a corner as this can unbalance the horse and even throw him off his feet. Keep to the speed limit for towing a trailer (about 50 mph) and don’t frighten your horse. A horse or pony who has had a bad experience in a horse trailer will always remember it.

I read on Facebook yesterday that Monty Roberts was in Southhampton in the UK last week and someone rode a horse 18 miles so that Monty could teach him to load! There’s desperation for you… read more here