Trouble with the two horse trailer.

[Nanook]

Hi there. i know this could be a silly question, however i have only used large trailers since we have quite a few horses. My problem is is that i bought myself a two horse trailer to use for just my small tripps with my two arabs. I took my mare out to practice today and she was quite nervous, but because we do have the trust thing she followed me in. My problem is she won't back out and it freaks me out since its so small and i could get squished and she is nervous in there as well. I know it takes practice but pointers on how to make it easier on her would be awesome since i need to start practicing with my two year old colt who's never been in one.

thank you.

[virtuallyhorses]

With most horses people are so intent on getting the horse in that they forget to teach the horse how to back out! :)

With both your horses you need to practice going on the ramp a couple of steps, stop and praise then back off, stop and praise. Walk around a little and repeat. This will help the horse be confident about backing when it can still see the ramp and what's going on. When she seems comfortable with a couple of steps - go up the top of the ramp - front feet in the float and back off again.

Praise slow backups and let her chill for a few moments. If she starts to reverse too quickly send her straight back on again and repeat until you get a nice stop at the top when asked for and a nice slow descent. If she stands calmly and quietly at the top and reverses nicely - plenty of praise and perhaps even a piece of carrot to confirm that this is a good place.

Then go to the next step - halfway in the float and then back down the ramp. At this stage you can still have the centre partition wide open and be beside her without getting in the way or making it all too cramped. You can also practice sending her forward in front of you - reward any attempts to go all the way in. Let the lead rope run through your fingers and stand in the entrance to let her pass by.

By the time you ask her to fully load she will be confident that she knows how to backup calmly and straight. You should then work on her standing quietly in there on her own without being tied. This is important if you are loading on your own. NEVER rush to put up the butt bars or run around to tie as soon as the horse is loaded. This simply makes the horse think there is something rushing at it to trap it and instinct makes it want to get outta there!

When she walks in lightly drape the lead rope over her neck as she goes past and then simply stand where you are a little while. Rub her bum if she likes that and generally have some chill out time with her. If she backs out, don't make a big deal, let her do it calmly. Gently (and as slowly as possible) get the lead rope back as she goes past and ask her to go back in.

Get your mare self-loading and really calm about hanging about in there before trying to load your youngster. I'd then tie him somewhere nearby and let her practice loading and unloading. This lets him hear the noises and see that an older horse is no sweat about the whole thing. Do this over multiple days or even weeks obviously. Let him have a sniff around the float and then start the same procedure with him while your mare snacks on a hay net nearby. She should help him stay calm. Take it slow but steady and you should have two self loading (unloading) horses in no time. :)

[Nanook]

wow thanks so much! :D hehe i felt so silly i was like yeah she should go in just fine. than half way in I was like oh oh... can she get out? lol we had some trouble but nothing that really freaked her out. kept her as calm as possible and we did ok but she ended up turning around! thats bad since there isn't enough room! neither us us got hurt though. so i decided to get help before doing it again! I'm in no big rush and i've seen disasters happen trying to force a horse to do somthing, and i don't really wish to try it ;) but thanks so much! i'll let you know how it goes!

[Kanuma]

get a front ramp!