KBR Horse Training Information

Exercising Body AND Mind

Trailering Made Easy
The idea of loading a horse in a trailer is troublesome to many humans, as it is also no doubt troublesome to many horses. In such cases, the prospect of teaching a horse to load properly in a trailer is downright terrifying!

In reality, teaching a horse to trailer is no big deal. It can be done safely and painlessly. A horse who has been "trailer raped" (forced into the trailer through pain and pressure) may take more patience, but the same fundamental principles apply.

In this section we will take the mystery out of trailer loading. We will load in a ramp as well as a step-up. The subject is "Stormy," a colt that is just about 6 months old. This is his first attempt at getting into this trailer and his first time being trailered without his mom being inside.

Please note! There are many aspects to trailer loading and different horses have different issues with respect to trailers. In this presentation we'll take the mystery out of trailer loading but please review all the material before attempting to load a green or troublesome horse, and use those approaches that make the most sense in your particular situation!

  SETTING UP THE "CLASSROOM"

Before we start, we want everything to be logically arranged to facilitate the learning process. The trailer is appropriate for the horse. By this I mean that we have a trailer which will accommodate the size of the horse, and it is parked so as to make loading easy. The trailer is level and the height of the step into the trailer is reasonable for the youngster to deal with without slipping and sliding.

On either side of the trailer is plenty of room to work. I have prepared Stormy for this exercise by longeing him on a 12 ft. lead line for a couple of days. He knows how to longe both directions and reverse on the line without getting confused. This ability is of utmost importance for the trailering lesson.

  BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES

We want the horse to load on his own by walking up a ramp and by stepping up into a "step-up" trailer. He will do this off of our cue to move forward. We are not going to "pull" the horse into the trailer. We are going to avoid triggering any "fight or flight" instincts. We want the horse to think about what he is doing, his situation and his responses to our cues. By the end of the session, we should be able to throw the leadrope over his withers as he steps into the trailer and "loads himself". We can accomplish this goal, horse after horse and here's how we do it.

  PUTTING THEORY INTO PRACTICE

We started out the session by doing some basic longe work in the proximity of the trailer, but not so close to it that it affected our work. We did not run in mindless circles, but conducted a good longe line workout. The intent here is not to "wear down" the horse, but rather to get him into "learning mode" using an activity which is both familiar to him and which will facilitate getting him to load. (For effective longe position tips, see Round Corral Logic.)

We worked both directions. We also let the circle drift around a bit so that Stormy had opportunities to observe the trailer from different angles as we worked. As we "drifted" we, eased off a little bit when we moved a little closer to the trailer so that he could scope it out, but we also kept his mind occupied with transitions, reverses, etc. As we got real close to the trailer, we gave him opportunities to actually stop and investigate it by letting up on the pressure as he approached it, but we kept on longeing him any time he chose to pass on by it.

In this photo we have let Stormy investigate the trailer. We set this up by longing near the left rear corner of the trailer and letting our energy go slack just as Stormy was trotting directly toward the ramp. This takes a little practice to get right, but if he passed it up or ducked off the other way, no problem. We'd just go with it and keep him working. Eventually he figured out that the trailer is a pretty cool place to stop and rest.

After a brief, relaxing sniff of the ramp, we sent him forward. We didn't expect him to just go straight into the trailer (which he didn't), and so we were prepared to continue longeing.

Now that he has approached the trailer, it's time for us to narrow down the choices. By changing my body position, he almost has to come up to the ramp. If he stops at the ramp, he can rest. If he goes past it, or steps away from it when I twirl the rope and send him forward, we simply resume the longe lesson. Each time he stops, I want him to move lust a little bit more foreward before I let off the pressure. In each case, he can decide whether to advance slightly more up the ramp before he stops or to continue longeing.

Most horses will duck away from the trailer as an avoidance so it's no problem to send them out to longe. Others will figure out that it's easier to get in real close to you and stall out. In these cases you will need to send the horse off which is darn near impossible in longing position; the end product being that the horse often ends up longeing the handler. We wave the horse off with our hands and then continue it by shaking the rope and walking toward him, or twirling the rope end toward his nose, or both. We have changed to a completely different lesson now. We want to teach the horse to move off when we ask and reward good movement by inviting him back in for some nice rubs and scratches. Pressure-reward, pressure-reward. Pretty soon he has the picture and we can send him out on the longe without a struggle.

Continue to: "Loading Up!"

Press Back to return to the page which brought you here

Return to KBR Training Section

Return to KBR World of Wild Horses & Burros

Go to other Wild Horse Links

Go To KBR Horse Net

Important Note: If you take on the project of developing an untrained horse, everybody will want to give you advice. Don't act on any advice, including the ideas offered in this site, unless it makes sense to you and fits your individual situation. Your abilities and the sensitivities of your horse(s) may differ from the examples given. Be alert and rational with your actions so neither you nor your horse will get hurt. This information is offered as illustrations of what we do and the reader must apply common sense since he or she is solely responsible for his or her actions.

Happy trails!

KBR Horse Training Information, © 1997 Lamm's Kickin' Back Ranch and Willis & Sharon Lamm. All rights reserved. Duplication of any of this material for commercial use is prohibited without express written permission. This prohibition is not intended to extend to personal non-commercial use, including sharing with others for safety and learning purposes, provided this copyright notice is attached.
Email us to submit comments or request reproduction permission.