Training Your Horse to Trailer Load
September 30, 2008
Trailer loading doesn’t have to be a battle.
By trainer and former America’s Horse columnist Joe Wolter
Loading into a trailer is one of the most important things a horse learns. There are few horses today that won’t, at some time in their lives, be faced with getting into a trailer.
Years ago I had to deliver a filly to a ranch. I was running late, and I put the pressure on this mare and got her in the trailer in about 10 minutes, but I didn’t bother to unload her. It was about a two-hour drive, and when I got there it took me two more hours to get her out. I had made it so difficult for her not to go in, that she went in, but then she found a safe place and didn’t want to come out. I wouldn’t have wanted to come out either. A horse’s attitude can affect both loading and unloading.
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Joe’s Trailer Loading Tips
- If the colt stops at the trailer, I let him stand there as long as he is interested.
- The colt might even drop his head and smell of the trailer floor. I let him stand there as long as he shows interest in getting on the trailer.
- Sometimes a colt might put both front feet in the trailer and still not go in. Even now I don’t pressure the colt to go on in, and I allow him to back out as soon as he loses interest in what we are doing.
- When the colt loads, I still don’t shut the trailer door. I allow him to stand there a few minutes, and then back him out until he feels comfortable with the situation.
Stop struggling to get your horse to load. Learn how patience and a little time can turn a horse of any age into an easy loader. Get AQHA’s Horse Trailer Loading Tips report FREE!
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22 Comments on “Training Your Horse to Trailer Load”
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October 7th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
I tried loading my weanling into a horse trailer to transport him from B.C to Alberta! His first long haul, he was a rock star. I tried everything to get him into the trailer from the above tips to a Craig Cameron trailering technique. Howver, my lil guy responded best to FOOD! of course! I started putting his grain into the horse trailer and he started by eating it with 2 front legs in the trailer, day two was all 4’s but standing right near the edge, by day 3, he was walking into the trailer to eat at the very back (of the angle haul) and day four he was walking in and out. at a young age they really respond well to food as a saftey net….mom= food and she’s safe, so u gotta make it safe and fun for them too without spoiling them…..BALANCE IS THE KEY!
Also, once he loads, buddy him up with a safe riding horse and take him around the block a few times before doing any long hauls, so they get their bearings!
thats all I have to say! Im sure someone will disagree with the food, BUT to this day my 2 year old has not bucked me and we’ve been on some short trail rides, and he gallops into my arms everytime i go visit him in the pasture! So Im doin something right i guess….this tip works for the food motivated horse!
October 8th, 2008 at 9:56 am
UMMMM, yea. That will work UNTIL you ‘friend’ DOESN’T WANT to eat OR get in the trailer.
I had/have a (now 9 year old) QH that I used this method on when he was a mere tot. Yes, he’d load for food – until one day he decided that he didn’t WANT food. We had trailered a couple of hours from our home in CO on a crisp May morning – rode the Pawnee Buttes trails, had a nice long ride (for a 3 year old – at the time). THEN came time to load to go home.
He ABSOLUTELY REFUSED to get in – FOR ANYTHING!! – sooo my husband rides him another 2-3 miles, some at a gentle lope… STILL refused to load. Repeat, repeat,repeat. By the time we FORCED him into the trailer he was lathered up, tired – I’m sure he was thirsty – BUT HE STILL REFUSED TO LOAD!!!
Do yourself a favor – get Clinton Anderson’s ‘Trouble Free Trailering’ and teach your horse to LOAD!!! Without food!! Yes, the above tips WILL WORK, but most people will not take the time to do it this way.
October 8th, 2008 at 10:17 am
I have trained a lot of horses to load, if they are older, it is harder, but always reward them for getting in by feed after i load and shut them in, i go get the feed, i do not bring it first.
I usually teach mine to lunge and with the use of the whip and a long lead they load quite willingly.
Lou Boggs
October 8th, 2008 at 11:05 am
I grew up ‘old school’. You didn’t care what the horse wanted and just expected them to load when you told them to; by any means! You would pull, push, tie a butt strap and force them in. I am now 35 years old and was watching my 14 year old daughter try to load a new to her horse. When I saw her get mad because he refused with every technique and raise her hand to hit him, I realized that this is not the way. With some help from a friend she has taught me & my daughter to take the time to teach every horse we have to move away from pressure. Within 10 minutes we had this same horse loading and unloading with lead rope direction & pressure. Please….please….please take the time to look into Pat Perelli training (natural horsemanship)!!! The only way to go!!!!
October 8th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Any advice on how to get a buddy sour horse to load without his buddy???
October 8th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Sally,
Look into a trainer that knows natural horsemanship. I think you will be happy with the results. I found one and it cost me $30.00/hour and within 10 minutes she had a 14 year old horse with loading issues that had not been loaded in over 3 years loading in and out without problems. Just need your horse to learn to give to pressure and you will be able to send him in whatever direction you want him to go by easy, gentle pressure. Good luck!!!
October 10th, 2008 at 8:11 am
Also consider the type and size of trailer you are asking your horse to get into. All to often the trailer is too small, dark and scary. I have had the easiest time teaching horses to load if the trailer is open, airy and inviting. Open stock and slant loads have been the most inviting. So consider this when you shop for and buy a trailer.
October 10th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
I’ve been transporting horses professionally for over 30 years, & I’ve learned there ain’t no “right way”. I have regular clients whose horses I’ve figured out, & many others for whom trailering is now of little concern to them at all; but new challenges still come along every day. Lou Boggs mentioned older horses can be tougher to teach, that is true in many cases but more often than not I’ve found they’re reacting to something that has happened to them in the past. It takes a dozen or more smooth trips for a horse to get over one bad hauling experience.
By far the best advice I can offer is to be patient. Taking the time to allow your horse to move at his/her own pace will pay off big time in the long run.
October 13th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
I have a six year old mare who has not left the farm and I’m concerned
that if I ever need to take her to the vet …….. oh my…… loading will definitely
be an issue and time might not be on my side. How can I get her started?
I’ve raised her since 4mos. of age and she trusts me, but she’s had a bad
experience with a trainer who just hollered and scared her onto the trailer
over two years ago for her first ride. Thanks,
October 14th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
I have a friend who has a 22yr old horse who will go in a trailer with a ramp. We can not get her in one that is step up. Tried coaxing, rope behind butt not luck. Any ideas ?
October 15th, 2008 at 5:19 am
I leave my trailer with the doors open so my horses get used to it. The colts are so curious they get into it and out of it with their mothers. For some reason the horses like to get into it during the day, out of the sun perhaps. I also will feed them in it so they get very accustomed to being in the trailer.
October 15th, 2008 at 9:30 am
Get three big drunk men, a heavy chain and a thick long rope…. Don’t forget a couple of nagging females, cranky kids – oh…. and dogs…. Fight with horse using biggest man to pull on horse and other two men with the rope around the horse’s rump (as they stumble, cuss, and yell)… Add in the females giving instructions (all different) while trying to keep the kids from making the dogs bark and chase at the horse…. After about 6-8 hours, lots of beer, then the police arriving…. POOF!!!!! The horse goes in??? Of course not!! They all quit. The men get arrested for being drunk in public, the females laugh at them, the kids cool off the horse frazzled by hand grazing, and the dogs go off after the neighbors cat….. HAHAHA – just wanted to add some humor to a not-so-funny subject….
October 25th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
this is about a horse that loads well but once the trailer starts moving,he pens his ears and starts kicking and banging around he will kick the horse next to him or bite even when hauled alone he some times kicks and some times comes out at the end of the ride bleading and skinned up I have tried so called kicking chins and hobles with little succuss he has demolished two trailers kicking the doors and walls , by the way this is a good riding horse that I bought at an auction in wyoming , I like him but am getting tired of rebuilding trailers and paying vet bills he is nine years old and I really need some help, any advice would be appreiciated.
We have loaded this horse in different positions in the slant load trailer and loaded him facing front and backward, with and without horses, all with the same results.
October 26th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Sounds like he regards the trailer as a source of uneasiness that he finds stressfull. He sounds like he’s ok with the support of a human.
1) Teach him to regard the trailer as a place of safety and relaxation. Try working him outside the trailer- hard. Constant flexing, backing in circles, roll backs…anything other than running that he would find grossly unpleasant. Dismount and lead him into the trailer and let him rest, with bridle reins tied up around the saddle horn.. The second he begins aggressive behavior whip him out and repeat the 20 minutes of intense flexing, backing in circles, sidepassing etc. Reload and wait for the aggressive behavior. Repeat several times. You should find that after about 3-5 sessions the dumbest horse catches on. Outside=nasty work, inside-peace and harmony. When you put him back into the barn stall, tie his head around to his side, and later tie him with his head raised above his shoulders. After a few hours, immediately load into a trailer with all panels removed, so he can lower his head and rest. Yes…this takes a very long time commitment on the handler, but it works.
2)You can try to ride in the trailer with him, but highly unlikely a humans presence will help.
This strategy works in that the horse becomes more supple and thereby a more pleasant ride AND becomes a better trailering horse.
October 26th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Oh..and if he stands quielty in a stopped trailer…drive around the pasture and wait for the aggressive behavior.
October 31st, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Thanks for your reply, we really apprecitate any input at this time, we are at our wits end… and it’s really hard to stop the trailer and work him when the only time he does this is in route, and you just can’t stop on the highway. But you have given us some useful input.
Ron
November 7th, 2008 at 9:18 am
What do you do with a horse that rushes out of a staight load horse trailer. We have gotten our 10 year old Trakaner to get into the trailer but when we try to back him out slowly he yaks out of our hands and rushes backward.
December 6th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
In regards to the Nancy lady that totally burned my advice…F.Y.I ITS JUST A SUGGESTION THAT WORKED FOR ME! No need to cut it up! I thought this was a webiste to share ideas, so if you arnt interested in suggestions then I suggest you just dont read other peoples input:) It worked for me and my wonderful horse that I spend alot of time with because I make the time to!
December 6th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Also, if people are haveing atrocious times trying every tip and getting no results, I suggest calling in an actual horse trainer! They have a way of understanding a horses mind and they arnt emotionally attatched to the project! In the long run its a safe and productive choice
January 26th, 2009 at 7:05 am
very intresting………
November 26th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
I would love to volunteer to teach Sue to trailer. This could be fun. Go with your instincts and tell these abusive “know it alls” to get a stuffed toy and not (please) be parents to animals or humans. There are many good qualified therapists, myself included(for HER issues). I have seen so many “experts” who get “results” that have no business owning, never mind training horses. Please find qualified help.
August 10th, 2010 at 4:03 am
[...] Transportation: All trainers charge a per-mile fee for transporting your horse. On average, the charge is 50 to 55 cents per mile, and some trainers might require a minimum fee of $100. The mileage expense is charged per horse and is not split among clients. Any expenses on the road such as toll fees are split among clients, however. [...]