I regularly travel out to work with reluctant loaders. There are many reasons a horse won’t load into a trailer or horse box. Some horses may not have been loaded before. Others may have had a bad experience that causes anxiety. Some may have learnt some tricks to avoid loading and are able to “take over” on the ground. Whatever the case, the principles of loading are the same!
How to Settle a Horse that Panics on a Horsebox
I also come across a lot of issues with horses getting very unsettled, or panicking, on a trailer or horse box. This can be very disconcerting and cause harm to the horse, the handler, and the box! It can also lead to the horse not traveling well, if they do not feel comfortable in that space. As horses are naturally claustrophobic animals, this can be a very difficult problem to solve.
In the full length video, I go through my 6 Steps to Loading and Settling a Horse on a Horsebox. Whilst there are other videos such as within Your Horsemanship that show examples of reluctant loaders this video gives you tips and techniques to truly settle your horse on the box.
My 6 Steps:
1: Preparation. Get your horse box or trailer in the correct position and have the right equipment at hand.
2: Understand the principles of the groundwork required for successful loading
3: Loading!
4: Increase the horse’s desire to stay on the box and not rush off
5: Teaching your horse to stand in the correct position
6: Closing the partition
This demonstration will be available within Your Horsemanship along with a number of other loading videos such as “Groundwork for Loading”, “Preventing a Horse from Rushing of a Trailer”, “Loading a Foal for the First Time”, “Loading a Horse that Plants at the Ramp”, and “Loading a Pony that Takes off on the Ground”. With all this information and help at hand, loading and traveling issues will be a thing of the past!