Read About Transporting Your New Horse

Transporting your new horse can be stressful, both for you and your horse. If you are unaccustomed to getting a horse into a trailer, the stress can be intensified by your own lack of experience. If you are already experienced with loading and unloading horses, it is still important to remember that this is horse is different from any other horse you have dealt with, and you must both learn to work with one another.

If you are transporting your new horse home to his new stable and the horse won’t load, try to identify the reason. If you have purchased the horse from a dealer, ask her about the horse’s background and find out if she has any advice for dealing with this particular horse. If you have bought the horse at an auction, you may only have a limited amount of information and will need to try to identify the problem on your own. Perhaps the horse had a traumatic experience (or more than one) involving transport in the past. Perhaps he has a fear of enclosed places. Or perhaps he simply doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about and really isn’t interested in getting in. You need to be sure you are making trailer loading a pleasant experience for the horse, so it will be behavior he will want to repeat. Be patient but firm with your horse.

Some horse owners, especially new owners, resort to bribing their horses with food to get them into the trailer. One serious drawback to this is that the horse is more likely to be pushy about getting back out of the trailer and will be difficult to control. Another problem could be a situation in which you need to get the horse trailered but do not have any food that interests him. Although it may be tempting (and perhaps almost necessary) to try to use food to load your new horse the first few times, try to find other forms of motivation to use in the long term. Remember that you are doing more than simply transporting your new horse, you are setting the foundation for your relationship with this animal.

Positive reinforcement and gradual training are likely to be the most effective means of painlessly transporting your new horse. Give yourself and the horse plenty of time to get used to the trailer and remember that small steps will pay off in the end. Start by simply showing your horse the trailer. Open all the doors and let her look around and check things out. Gradually work until you are able to longe her at the trailer door, working with her to back up, stop, and change directions. Praise and reward her for her progress. Eventually you will work up to being able to drive her into the trailer, then continue to have her stand in the trailer for increasing longer amounts of time. Remember that this is a long-term training program for you and your new horse. By taking slow, gradual steps and lavishing your horse with praise for her desired behavior, you will have few problems transporting your new horse.