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HorseAdvice.com » Training, Behavior, & Conditioning Horses » Behavior and Training » Trailer Loading a Horse » Unloading Questions » |
Discussion on Unloading problem | |
Author | Message |
New Member: Ankona |
Posted on Monday, Oct 27, 2003 - 6:44 pm: hi I have almost the same problem with my new three year old AQHA mare. She loads fine into trailers but when it comes to backing there is no convincing her that she is not going ot fall off the Grand Caynon. I have a three horse slant step up. We have tried every time to back out but we end up giving up because she becomes frustrated and becomes scared}. We do not want to loose her ability to load into trailers by scaring her while backing out. I have never hit her but we do not know what her last owner did to her. Do you have any advice on what i should do? |
Member: Beasley |
Posted on Monday, Oct 27, 2003 - 7:34 pm: Hi Kathleen. For what it will be worth, I can share my recent experience. I bought a young AQHA last year and he had had a good start on training. He backed fine. However, when I got him at my stable the first time off the trailer, he put one foot down and came back up and he did not want to try again. He was obviously afraid, so I turned him and led him out. I continued to let him come out frontwards while I worked on the ground to back up on cue and trust me. After several months of this (I am patient), he backed off the trailer perfectly when asked. However, even now, if the situtation is "off" he may refuse to back off and step down. I do not make an issue....just ground work backing and asking on another time. I think the young horses just need lots of backing in easy situations, time and patience to be perfect off a trailer. |
Member: Lilo |
Posted on Monday, Oct 27, 2003 - 9:56 pm: Hi,When I got my young Rocky Mountain Gelding, I loaded him in my two horse slant load and took him to a Parelli clinic. The instructor, knowing that the horse was not experienced at loading and unloading, made me back up to a slight hill. That way, there was not such a big step down. I did that for the first two or three times. He would still prefer to turn around (I guess that is just natural, they want to see where they are going), but I let him back out. Another option is to load the horse one foot at a time. One foot in, back out. Two feet in - back out. Finally three feet - then four. That is what John Lyons advocates. Keep in mind that different horses have different temperaments. My 1/2 arab mare backs out very fast - I had better be out of the way when I move the divider. Lilo |
Member: Westks |
Posted on Tuesday, Oct 28, 2003 - 8:54 am: Most of the slants I have seen even big horses can turn around if you hold slant gates firm against wall. My question is why do they have to back out, with this type of trailer? Let them turn around. On straight load its just going to take time and repeated loadings and unloadings, to convince horses that there is not a cliff there.Again just my opinion. |
Member: Alden |
Posted on Tuesday, Oct 28, 2003 - 12:24 pm: Janette,The fires here in S. California should provide you the answer to your question. You never know when your horse may HAVE to load/unload from ANY type of trailer; on short notice. Kathleen, Set your horse up to succeed on the ground. Practice backing everywhere, over poles lying on the ground, through gates, backing up onto a wooden bridge and backing off the bridge, backing through corners. I could go on and on about different places you can practice backing, just let your imagination run amuck ! You get your horse to back with a one finger touch of the halter and trailers should be a cake walk. This applies in the saddle also; ask for a step back when stopping. I like my horses to stop and immediately and voluntarily settle back one step, I want them thinking backup all the time (really helps build a stop in a horse also). Good luck, Alden |
Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Tuesday, Oct 28, 2003 - 5:13 pm: I like the learning to back on que on the ground first. As he gets better also back down unlevel surfaces and curbs so that he will also learn it is OK if at first he does not feel the ground.DrO |