I Really need YOUR advice!!!!!!

[appychick]

Ok, well I have a horse that is 15 and about 4 years ago with her previous owners she had a bad accident with a trailer. she panic's when she get's in.:eek: She will get in but she is really scared and sometimes will sweat a little. Also sometimes she will pull back. its stressful because i dont know when she is going to pull back. I absolutely love this horse and this is her only issue. So can ANYONE please help me. Im only 16 and my parents dont know much about horses so i am on my own with loading her and i get really scared sometimes.
If you know what i can do to help her not be so scared and keep from pulling back I would Be SOOOOO happy.
Thank you.
:):)

[MegLovesOpie]

Hey AppyChick!

You sound a lot like me a few years ago. I was 16 with a 3 y.o. filly that I was training, and she absolutely hated trailers--her only vice too. Only she wouldn't even go near them, so the fact that your mare gets in is great!

I'm just running these ideas off the top of my head, so I'll try to get back to you with more tips, but here goes:

It sounds like your mare is clearly frightened, but she trusts you enough to get on. What you could work on is just letting her know the trailer can be enjoyable, and is not anything to be frightened off on or off. I recommend letting her get on, eat her dinner (grain, hay, treats, w/e), and then immediately after she's done, take her off. Repeat this several times, then gradually take her for slow trips, like 5, 10, 15 min. increments, all the while letting her munch on hay. Once she realizes that she can be rewarded and relaxed in the trailer, and that it's really just a funky metal moving stall, she can take a breath and chill.

Again, it's great that she gets on for you; clearly she loves you. I would simply practice the approach/retreat thing with rewards. Now, I'm not big on bribery, but I think this approach allows her to partake in the one thing all horses share in common: a love of food. When a horse willingly will eat and relax their guard, they're truly relaxed then. You can gauge how comfortable she is by how eager she is to eat.

This will probably take time, b/c as you know, horses remember everything, good and bad, and it sticks with them for a lifetime. Sadly you can't undo the damage done to her at one time, but she will also remember the good times she had on the trailer and soon she will see that they can be enjoyable. Take your time and be patient with her. Undoing 4 yrs + of damage can take several months. It may seem frustrating at first, but reward every little bit of positivity that you get from her.

Good luck! And as for the parents not getting horses...yeah, I know that one too! They know which end eats and which one doesn't, and that's about it! lol

Take care, and please let me know how she does!

Meg and Opie

[MegLovesOpie]

Oh! One more thing:

It sounds like your mare gets claustrophobic, and when she pulls back on the rope, she panics, and this can get dangerous. She might have even flipped back at one time--truly a very scary thing for a horse!

I would let her get on the trailer, eat dinner, all without being tied. You can very loosely tie her when you actually go places, but by then, she should be more relaxed anyway. If you will just load her, let her eat, and loop the leadrope around her neck, she will think she is tied, but she won't feel any restraint, and should immediately relax. That eliminates any pulling back problems.

For expert help, I encourage you to check out Pat Parelli Natural Horsemanship. I have trained several abused horses with his methods, and I have had immediate positive responses. He is awesome with trailer problems.

K, I think that's all of my 2 cents!

[LucyLou]

It sounds like your problem in very fixable. Problems like this may be solved with maybe just a bit more time spent in a trailer. Load your horse more often, even if you are not going anywhere. Your horse may anticipate a moving trailer, due to her accident, so the more time spent in the trailer, the better off you two will be. Load and unload several times each time you put her in the trailer, and if she pulls away, lunge for a few minutes. After the horse gets a few minutes of exercise he may decide that its easier to stand quietly than pull away.