# Loading stubborn mare by myself. It's just not working!



## aerie (Jul 19, 2010)

I had this same problem a while back with a gelding I was working with for a friend with a trainer. It seemed like no matter what I tried he just stopped and stared at me like "Heh you're funny kid if you think I'm crawling on this metal death trap." I got really frustrated and almost gave up. One day I was drooling over Stacy Westfall and watching some old videos when these two videos about trailering popped up:












They really helped me understand a bit better what to do and after using what she suggested I was able to get that gelding up into the trailer without fuss over and over again. 

Now I am no expert and still have a whole lot to learn and I am sure that there are tons of much more qualified people out there to help you with this, but this is what helped me so take what you want from it and leave the rest. 

Good Luck!!!


----------



## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

LOL, I feel your pain, I am also on my own teaching my guys to load, and it has been a struggle, mainly because once a horse has your number it is very difficult to change their minds, as you say she cocks a leg and looks at you and says "really" because you have tried and quit and now she has learned that if she holds out, you will give up. Don't worry I was in that place as well, and it is going to be a battle but you can turn it around again, but you must set aside a whole day if needed so you can work on it until you win.

Those videos that aerie posted are totally excellent, and definitely start with them. I started with getting my mare to move away from the tapping properly, and sending her in and out of a door way before even trying it at the trailer, one mare, this worked like a charm, and I always load her this way. 

For Ben it worked a couple of times, then he learned to swing his butt away from me and resist, he is also so tall that he was making my arm ache keeping tapping him on the butt, so I progressed to a butt rope 










That allowed me to control his back end, while still tapping, or I would get on the trailer and use the halter and the butt rope to bring him on after me.

Then that stopped working and a very nice cowboy took him off of me at the arena one day and did the whole lunging and sending on thing, it took him an hour, but it worked, and it continues to work again and again. I wasn't a believer before, but now I am!


----------



## BeachinIt (Apr 17, 2012)

Thank you both! Those videos were great. I will try that tomorrow. I have a feeling, though, that she will just swing her butt away instead of walking forward, which is my fault. In my quest to make her yield to pressure, she's gotten too good at it and now always wants to be facing me. But maybe if I'm persistent enough, it will work. I'm leery of trying a butt rope because with her, there's the possibility that she will blow up and I don't want any negativity or force associated with the trailer. Golden Horse, was Ben okay with having the rope behind him from the start?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## aerie (Jul 19, 2010)

Glad I could help!


----------



## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

This is similar to CA's Lunging for Respect. We had some trouble a few years ago with my 16'3hh gelding not loading well. We closed off all but the last stall in our 4-horse slant load step up (no ramp) trailer, and got him to "rest" in the trailer. After that I have NO trouble getting him to load by myself, when I take them all to the farrier, one hour's drive away.
ALSO, when I back my horses out, which you should always do, I watch their back feet first and I say, "and...down" when they are taking the step down. I repeat for the other three feet. I thought I was the only one who did this, then I found out that Lynn Palm also does this for her horses.
Any extra ropes like in the picture above can easily get caught on metal or chains in your trailer. Even my heavily traveled and excellent at trailering (15yo) mare panicked when she tried to turn around and get caught. Please don't use the butt rope.


----------



## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

No Ben never panicked with the butt rope, but then I am a first class uncoordinated klutz, so anyone joining our happy home quickly gets used to having ropes draped over under and around them, I don't want the first time they get tangled in a line to be when we are working and have a wreck.

I get everyone used to being lunged with two lines, so the feeling of pressure on the butt is not new to them, but it being used as a leading aid is. I have to say that the risk of getting caught with the butt rope is negligible, seeing as it isn't tied off anywhere, as long as a horse is used to ropes, you wont have any issue, and it is a great tool, definitely and positively keeping it in my box of tricks. Just to be clear though, it has to bee a proper lasso, and you just sling the noose part over their rear end, I have trimmed an old lariat to the right length, (read previous klutz comment) so it is the same length as my lead rope when I am up in front. You are not using it to pull a horse on, but to connect both ends together, and for Willow it was to keep her butt straight while I was tapping, as she would swing away.


----------



## Thrill Ride (Feb 18, 2013)

I have to load a 16hh stubborn Thoroughbred on my own half the time. 

There are 2 ways you could do it. 

#1- Take a lunge line and loop it around something and bring it back to the end of the trailer. Get her as close as you can to the edge. Pull on it, whilegiving a que. I commonly use the 'snake sound', make like a hissing snake sound or a stern Yup-Yup. I do either. If she doesn't go, I would take a dressage whip and just start tapping her on the hindquarters while pulling her head forward. Just lightly tapping, not whipping. If she takes a step. Stop and praise like she just won the derby. And continue with each step. But make her stand in the trainer for a while. Don't let her just come out right away. Rub her down, give her hay, etc.. Make the trailer the greatest thing that ever existed!

#2- Run the lunge line through again, but also tie another one to the side of the trailer. Bring the one tied on the side right around her hindquarters, but don't let it get to low or she will start kicking. Do a come-and-release type of thing. Pull the line through the trailer and the butt rope at the same time with equal pressure and hold it. If she steps forward stop and praise. If she tries to resist and back up, release pressure on the line going in the front but keep some pressure on the butt rope. Doing it this way will also prevent or help with her if she decided to run backwards out of the trailer. 

We do the 2nd method a lot with our stud. We get someone in the trailer keeping his head straight and then hook one of the side of the stock trailer. The feeling of it once it touches his hindquarters and he walks like a pro in. If we don't have it, we have a major rearing fit.


----------



## TheLastUnicorn (Jun 11, 2010)

When training a horse to trailer, or working with those I already know don't load well... I set up my rig, take a mug of coffee, sometimes a book - and get the horse lined up, ask them to face the open doors/ramp and keep them facing it... And wait. 

If the horse tries to leave or look elsewhere I will remind them to keep looking at the trailer by asking them to step forward or just increase pressure until they do... Then relax when they are once again staring into the "dark, metal horse eating death trap". It usually doesn't take too long before they come to the understanding that the "correct" way to respond is to enter the trailer... And will at least TRY. (To which they get rewarded by going for a short walk break, and then back up to the trailer to see if we can either get loaded or if they did get on, then do it faster. We have had tremendous luck with doing it this way and getting horses which are happy and comfortable loading and standing in the trailer. (Nothing worse than getting loaded only to realize the horse is nothing but tense in there and ready to blow apart) 

I will use food rewards IN the trailer for some horses, but not always, and it actually seems to have little to do with how quicky they grasp the concept... Every one of the ones we have worked with have just decided that it is FAR more boring to stand there looking at the trailer than it is worth.


----------



## BeachinIt (Apr 17, 2012)

Thanks everyone! Unicorn, this is basically what I was doing today but I didn't have enough time to devote to her. I'll be sure to try again tomorrow when I've got alll day! 

If I DO ever want to try a rope, it will be aways down the road since I wouldl need to spend time getting her used to have ropes back there. 

Corporal, I love your suggestion about letting them know when they're stepping down. I think that may help her as she doesn't seem to like backing out of a step-down. 

Excuse the typos...darn phone doesn't let me backspace!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Sereno (Apr 21, 2013)

Lot's of ideas and different ways to load a horse. Days of feeding in the trailer and moving the grain in a little more each day. He quickly learned that he could rush in, get a mouthful and back out before I could hook him up and being that I'm in an awkward position, no way could I hold him. My problem with him, and my other two horses, was that they would back out. SOOO.... 

I used a longer lead and fed my end through my center divider at the lower point in the front. Lower since the horse would rear some and hit his head and found that the head tie down hook was to high. I then kinda wrapped the lead under the divider that gave me enough leverage that the horse could not back out. Horse relaxes and I take in more line until the horse is in and now easy to hook up. After a few times doing this, my horses know that they can not back out and it takes me less then 30 seconds to load them. And they know that hay and grain are waiting for them.


----------



## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

One thing to remember that no one has mentioned yet: When you are working with your horse, your end goal should NOT be to get her in the trailer. 

Sounds strange, right?

I purchased clinton anderson's trailer loading DVD and it is awesome (highly recommend it). But if your horse doesn't want to put their whole body in the trailer, then you need to start small and gain *respect. *

This is more than just lunging your horse endlessly in circles. You should be able to move any part of your horse's body (shoulders or hindquarters, forward or backward) while you horse is on the end of the line, without you moving one step. THAT'S control and respect. So make sure you can do that first, before you bring the trailer into the mix. 

work on this every single day for 10 to 15 minutes. Maybe the first day you will get her to load and unload one front foot. Great!!! Quit. Go do something else. 

The next day, try to get both front feet to go in and out of the trailer. Great!! Quit. Go do something else. 

And so forth. By asking/retreating over and over again, it becomes no big deal to the horse.


----------

