Trailer-Loading Techniques

by Cowgirl on December 7, 2011 · 1 comment

Training A Horse to Trailer LoadI had our weanling colt on the lead line the other day, working on halter training a little bit more, and I thought it would be a good time to introduce him to the horse trailer.  I wasn’t there when my husband went to pick him up, when we first purchased him, but I heard that he was hard to load, and wouldn’t follow his mother into the trailer.  They had to use portable corral panels to box him into a small space behind the trailer and then adjust them smaller until he was forced to jump in.  So I knew that trailer loading was an area we needed to work on with him. 

He followed along happily out to where the trailer was parked.  We have a gooseneck stock trailer that is nice and open and roomy, which is quite an upgrade from the rusty mustard yellow bumper-pull we started out with.  So when I opened the door and stepped inside, the little guy bravely sniffed the trailer floor and then followed me in.  We stood there a moment, as I patted him and told him, “Good boy!”  And then turned around and walked back out.  He handled it like a pro, and will most likely load easily the rest of his life, because there was no trouble.  But some horses are not so trusting, and you can find yourself in the middle of a huge battle before you even realize it.

When I was a kid, no one ever worked on trailer loading.  Then we would find ourselves in a huge hurry loading up to go out and work cattle, and one of the horses would just absolutely refuse to load.  My dad wasn’t the sort to patiently coax anyone to do anything, much less waste time on a stubborn horse.  So he usually took out a coiled lariat or whip and made being outside of the trailer more scary for the horse than getting inside of the trailer, so the horse jumped in and away we’d go.  It wasn’t the right way to train a horse to load, and that horse would balk every time from then on.

 When I was training my own little mare, Beauty, the only trailer I had access to was a borrowed two-horse that was barely big enough to squeeze into.  She was fine with standing near the open door of the horse trailer, but didn’t quite know what to do when I asked her to get in it.  So I carefully picked up one of her front feet and set it inside the trailer.  Then I clucked to her, signalling her to move forward.  She eventually got in, but then couldn’t get out, afraid to back up in such a tiny space.  So I did one of the more stupid things in my long list of horse experiences:  I got into the other side of the trailer, climbed over the divider in front of my Beauty’s nose, and fairly lifted her whole front end as I pushed her backwards out of the trailer.  She was a very brave and obedient little horse, and loaded fine in a bigger trailer, but that little one scared her.

When I was in high school, our church youth group had a few horse training seminars (yes, I grew up in the Nebraska Sandhills, where every kid had a horse) with a horse trainer who was also my Sunday School teacher.  He demonstrated with a young horse who was not used to the trailer, and taught us some simple steps that resulted in him being able to sit nonchalantly on the wheel well of the side of the trailer, and motion for the horse, on a loose lead line, to go get in all by himself.  I will share the method I learned from that horse trainer, Kevin Wescott, for training a horse to trailer-load, and making that first experience a good one, so that the horse will load happily the rest of his life.

Loading A Horse in the TrailerHorses are flighty creatures, with strong instincts to protect themselves.  A horse who has never seen a trailer before will most likely view it as a horrific trap, to be avoided at all cost.  It takes time and patient handling to train a horse to be comfortable loading into a trailer.  The best scenario is to practice loading when you have enough time to do a thorough job of it. Don’t wait until you have to get somewhere in a hurry and expect your horse to jump right in. It’s something you have to practice, and you need time so that you can do it patiently and correctly, without losing your cool and damaging your horse’s sensitivity.

One important step that can really work in your favor is to prepare the trailer in advance. If it is a small trailer with a removable divider, take the divider out to make it appear as safe and unspooky as possible. If it is a step-up trailer, get it parked so that the step isn’t very high, such as backed up to a slight hill, so the ground is only a few inches from the floor of the trailer.  Have the trailer in a spot that is safe and comfortable for the horse, so that there are no distractions or scary objects to add to the problem. 

Put a halter with a long lead rope on your horse. Lead him up to the open door of the trailer. Your horse will probably stop and balk at the door, which is fine, and is to be expected and allowed.  Leave the halter rope as slack as possible to let him sniff and breathe and lower his head to “check out” the trailer floor.  He needs to test it to see if it is safe.  Pet him and give him a chance to look around the trailer and get used to the idea of standing near it.  Being comfortable near to the trailer, in a good position for loading, is your first goal for your horse.  Work to accomplish that before proceeding.

Then, standing at his side, (don’t stand behind him or in front of him; you are not pulling him or driving him into the trailer), give a vocal command such as “ck-ck-ck” to move forward.  If this cue is ignored, use the last two feet of the lead rope in your hand to swing in an arc and make a light swat on his back, between withers and croup.  If he moves forward, lower the rope and reward him instantly, petting him and letting him stand and relax before asking for more forward movement.  If he does not move, pop him with the lead rope consistently in an even timing until you get a response from him (you may have to pop a little harder for a desensitized horse; a sensitive horse, you will hardly need to even touch with the rope and they will jump forward, so read your horse’s sensitivity beforehand, and adjust accordingly–some horses only need a vocal cue).

How To Load A Horse in A Horse TrailerIf the horse pulls back, tries to back up, or tries to go around the trailer door, ask him to lunge briskly in a circle for a minute or two, and then ask him to stop at the trailer door, rest, and relax and then think about stepping in again. Make sure you get him up to the door of the trailer again, before you let him stand perfectly still and relax.  If he is still wanting to avoid the trailer or pull back from it, lunge him in a half circle again, and halt in front of the trailer door.  Then reward him for going to the trailer by letting him stand and relax a minute before asking him to step into it.

The main idea here is to make the trailer the “safe” place for the horse to be. Start with the “safe” place being the open door.  (Later, the “safe” place will be inside the trailer.)  Your goal is to get the horse to want to stand at the door, then encourage him to take a step forward.  What you must do to accomplish this is reward him for ANY forward movement to the trailer.  This includes just barely inching one foot forward.  The second he lifts a foot to move forward, your consistent “popping” with the halter rope should stop IMMEDIATELY and you should praise the horse, pet him, talk to him, and let him stand a moment.  Then, ask him to take one more step by giving the vocal command and starting the popping again.  This is how you move his “safe” place forward into the trailer. 

Any backward or sideways movement should result in him having to longe again in circles near the back of the trailer, and he will look for a place to stop and rest….that’s how you get him thinking the best place to be is the trailer.  He should learn that it’s more work to avoid getting in the trailer than it would be to just go in and get to relax and rest.  Use his natural instincts to get your desired result: him standing comfortably in the trailer.

If you get him right to the trailer door and he won’t step up, you can pick up a front hoof and place it in the trailer.  He may take it back down, but continue the popping, then.  Eventually he will learn to step in.  At first, only let him put his front feet in, and then stop him and after a moment ask him to step back out.  You can pet him, praise him, and then ask for forward movement again.  Remember to always reward his forward movement.  Once he is completely inside the trailer, try to back him out again.  It is scary for a horse to get out, and you don’t want him to “freeze up” once he gets inside. Repeat the whole process a few times, and only when he is loading smoothly should you give him any treats or grain inside the trailer.  Let him stand for awhile, just petting him and standing near him in the trailer.

The more often you can repeat this, the next day, and the day after that, the better your horse will get.  Remember, you are not pulling or driving the horse into the trailer.  Your desired result is that he sees the open gate of the trailer, and thinks “that’s my comfortable safe place…I’m going in there.”  The horse should walk right in on his own.

If you have a spooky horse, you might have a little more trouble, and need to do more groundwork before you try loading him.  But in time I think this method will work for you, and it really is the best way to train a horse to load in a trailer.  The other methods (coaxing in with treats, or putting a rope on his hind end, or hitting the horse to drive it in to the trailer) aren’t as good for you or your horse.  This way may take longer initially, but it will set a precedent for the future, and help your horse make it a habit to load easily every time.

{ 1 comment }

Margaret December 8, 2011 at 10:14 pm

Yes, a tricky thing, trailer loading. My little QH “self-loaded” into a slant 4 horse trailer quite well. I tried to load him into a small two horse “traditional” trailer and well, it wasn’t pretty. I hadn’t considered the difference in size and style of trailer. I read all this and will tuck it away. My trainer has patiently worked with my horse over a period of time, and I think everything will be OK. Sure wish I had the $ to buy my own slant load. Maybe some day!

Thanks for this post.

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