Teaching: Trailering

If your horse will not go in a trailer it is the approach and retreat method along with the release of pressure concept that will get him walking into it without a second though every time you ask him to load. Never attempt to pull him or push him into the trailer, he will win that fight unless you have lots of man/woman power.

Do not get impatient while you are teaching your horse that a trailer is not a horse dragon that is going to eat him alive. He is afraid and very claustrophobic; you are asking him to do something that he would never dream of doing on his own. So instead of getting upset with his reluctance, understand it and work with him. He will come around to your way of thinking.

 Use a whip, which will reach from where you are standing to reach back to his rear, after leading him as close as he will come to the door let him stand and feel at ease. Then start tapping him on his rear just hard enough to be unpleasant.

 As soon of the horse starts to move forward stop the taping, praise him, rub on him, and start again. Walk him away from the trailer and back around to it, let him pass the door several times as close as you can, you can do this by lunging him on a short rope around where he has to pass between you and the trailer.

Then direct his path so that he is lined up with the entrance of the trailer, and ask him to go in, if he comes further then he did be for let him stand and look. Talk to him, sooth him, and then move up your rope until you are standing next to him. Start you taping on his rear again, holding tight the lead rope to make his retreat difficult, but if he retreats so strongly you cannot hold him near the trailer just go with him, but continue taping his rear. Do not stop tapping his rear until he moves forward, and then release the pressure. Pet him, talk to him, and then ask him to go forward again with your taping. Continue this until he steps up in the trailer.

The first time he steps on the trailer the noise of his hoof will frighten him, and he will jump back.

 Just hold him close to the trailer with lots of kind words and rubbing, and then ask him to do it again. When he puts his foot on the bed of the trailer just let him stand their a few seconds then ask him to back away. Repeat this, let him put that first foot in the trailer, let him paw it then ask his to back away. After sever times of his putting one foot on the trailer, ask for the second foot by taping his rear. If he back away just continue with your taping as before until he starts forward again then stop the taping let him rest, rub on him, then ask him to go on in with the taping.

 After a bit of this he gets it in his head that he is going to have to step up on that trailer and will put both feet on the bed. When he does just let him stand there as you tell him what a good job he is doing, and then ask him to back out. After repeating this several times, start asking him to go deeper into the trailer. Soon he will go all the way in except for maybe his rear feet. Just let him stands in this position for a short while, then ask him to back out of the trailer. Bring him to this point five or six time, asking him to back out each time without putting his rear feet in the trailer. If her starts to back out before you ask him resume your taping with the whip and continue taping until he move forward, even if you have to follow him away from the trailer.

 I never enter into the trailer at this point; rather I stand to his side and allow the lead rope to slip through my hand as he walks into the trailer. When the horse is consistently walking up to his rear feet into the trailer I will start asking him to lift his rear feet into the trailer by shifting my taping from his rump to the back of the foot I wish for him to lift. I will continue this taping until he either lift it, at which point I stop the taping, or he back up upon which a shift my taping back to his rump until he go forward.

I will let him back out as much as he wishes, but will immediately ask him to go back in.

As soon as I get the horse to put a rear foot on the bed I will talk nicely to him tell him what a good boy he is, and then ask him to back out of the trailer. I do this several times before I start asking for the last foot. As I was doing this I was not particular about which foot I wanted him to pick up. I would pick one to tap on but if he lifted the other I would stop the taping. When the horse loads all the way do not slam the door on him, or lock him in with the butt bar. Let him stand there for just a bit, then ask him to back out. Do this a number of times, increasing the amount of time that you ask him to stay in the trailer each time. When he will stand in the trailer for five minutes without trying to get out the session is over. I will then close the door and let him stand loaded for an hour, and then let him back in the pasture.

 For the next week or two I will load him ever day and let him have a little grain while he is loaded. After that I will load him once a week for a month or two. Then I only load him when I need to haul him. Some horses pick this up faster than other horses, I have only taught about fifty or so to load, so I know that my sample is small and they may be an exception out there, but I have never worked with one that the horse was not loaded for the first time in three hours or less after I worked out this method.