3 Top Tips For Loading Problem Horses

I often get asked by clients about safely transporting horses or transporting horses who are bad loaders or travellers.

Travelling horses goes hand in hand with owning them. Whether it’s a routine trip to the vets, travelling to a fun ride or heading to a world class event abroad, there are fundamentals to:

1. How a horse should travel
2. The way in which they should travel
3. How to get the best from your horse when you unload at the other end.

I have repeatedly heard horror stories of clients boxes being kicked to bits, horses having accidents in the trailer or horses not even wanting to step foot on the ramp. Some accidents are unavoidable as you are dealing with an animal who has its own mind, however whichever way you look at it, your horse needs to be able to travel well, even if it’s just in case of emergency.

Below are my 3 top tips to successfully loading & travelling your horse.

1. Instil patience into your horse. A horse must learn the value of patience whilst he or she is tied up, it must learn calm. A horse pawing the ground, pulling back, dancing on the spot whilst tethered on a lose ring in the yard is more than lightly to want to do the same when he or she is taken away from friends and asked to travel in a horsebox. A horse that accepts the calm of a tie will accept the need to be patient whilst travelling, being handled and under saddle.
2. Remember to give a ‘good deal’. Like with feeling a contact, you must reward your horse with a good deal when they have done as you asked, this could be a step forward or a leap up on to the ramp. Always remember to give back to your horse when they have moved in the correct direction (which is never backward when loading).
3. If you have a bad loader and you finally get them into the box don’t take that as the win. Unload and go again until the fight has gone & it’s like loading your grandma’s old faithful steed. Travel frequently, calmly & make it a good, rewarding experience.

If you have tried to load your horse but still have unresolved issues then why not take advantage of my loading service. You can find Blondies testimonial here which is a true example of how your trailer loading experience can be turned around within 6 weeks.

For more, drop me an email or head over to my Facebook Page.

Will,

willhuntbreaking@gmail.com