# Horse sweating in trailer...



## sempre_cantando (May 9, 2008)

hmmm we don't float our horses very often at all... but when we have, they haven't gotten sweaty.

How long are your journeys? Perhaps they're too long with out a break? Otherwise, is she worried about traveling and stresses out in the trailer which makes her sweaty?


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## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

It's a sign of stress. Horses sweat like this when they get worked up. If you don't have problems with loading her, continuing to trailer should get her used to it more and calm her down


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## Gangsta (Jul 20, 2008)

My2Geldings said:


> It's a sign of stress. Horses sweat like this when they get worked up. If you don't have problems with loading her, continuing to trailer should get her used to it more and calm her down


exactly. the more you trailer, the calmer the horse should get. It's not going to be an overnight fix. When I first bought Gangsta, he wouldn't load, and when he finally did, he'd come off the trailer drenched in sweat and lather. Now, he self-loads onto anything and everything, and doesn't break a sweat at all. I've also just gotten in a new one, Jasmine...who paws and kicks and sweats, and I've taken to giving her a trailer ride around the neighborhood (about 10 min) once a week. She's calming down more and more with each ride.


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

Yes, I completely agree it's stress thing (although it's been pretty humid too lately). I drove her around the neighborhood for week (for very little) and she was so-so. Now I started driving her to the park (20-25 mins one way) and she's running all sweaty (of course I don't ride her, just walk her around). Well we'll see how it'll go... 

She's also screaming all the time while on road.


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## Pinto Pony (Jul 28, 2008)

My pony used to cry out in the trailer too! So embarrassing when we had to go down the main street to get to riding club and he was acting like he was being tortured in there! So you are not alone there. Does she have a window she can see out of?

No new advice unfortunately but keep on practicing and she will eventually learn that she doesn't need to stress out in the trailer. Good luck!


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

She is in stock trailer meaning there are openings all around.  I'm actually not embarrassed when she screams, but I'm concerned she's running sweaty. She also turns back and forth in trailer a lot (I do NOT tie her, because she may freak out and try to rear).


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

Kitten, you've gotten good advise. The sweat is most likely caused by stress and will eventually subside with experience.

The not tyeing your horse in a stock trailer concerns me. I find that my horses do much better when tied facing to the rear. I don't want them wondering around because of several reasons. 

1ST is that their movement changes the weight distribution of the trailer and can easily cause a wreck if you had to panic stop. 

2ND is the panic stop itself - your horse may be totally off balance if he is moving around.

3RD is that you have more control of your horse when you take him off because he is tied to that one place and your lead line is attached. He can't bolt past you.

If you are concerned that he may rear if tied then that is a problem that you need to deal with separately. No horse should rear in the trailer and to compensate for it by allowing him to wonder free is not correcting the problem.


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## Pinto Pony (Jul 28, 2008)

Agreed with above there. I think having her loose in the trailer can be a problem in itself. I would tie her facing the rear and if you have partitions use them too so she can feel snug in them and steady herself. If she is loose and can move as much to turn herself around she is probably creating her own problems. Have you ever tried to stand in a trailer as it moves around corners and accelerates with nothing to hold onto? Horses may have two extra legs but they will move around and loose their balance just like we would. 

Also is there another horse you can trust to take with her a couple times? You can build her trust and confidence by having another horse to set a good example.


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

iridehorses said:


> The not tyeing your horse in a stock trailer concerns me. I find that my horses do much better when tied facing to the rear. I don't want them wondering around because of several reasons.


I think it depends on horse a lot. My qh HATES to be tied in trailer (tried it couple times in other people trailers and she either was able to untie herself or was knocking NON-STOP in wall of the trailer). She's fine being loose - she just stands there almost not moving. With paint I'm just trying different things. I tried to tie her facing side (like in slant), but she manages to turn her butt left and right a lot. I may try to tie her to the rear and see what will happen, however my concern is she can panic if truck pass by and start to pull like crazy.


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## KANSAS_TWISTER (Feb 23, 2007)

is there any way that you can borrow a 2 horse trailer?, when ou vet sold us our 2 horse he made it clear that when using it that a more experienced horse ( trailer time) loaded up on the left (road side) and the less be loaded up on the right, that might teach her to be a little less stressed out...


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## danastark (Jul 17, 2008)

Have you tried giving her a haybag or something to occupy her? Eating is very soothing for a horse. Our pony is a chronic pawer in the trailer, started before we got him and one thing that calms him down is a treat ball (made of corn/oats/barley and coated with molasses, looks like a big X-mas ornament on a string). He licks and bites at it and forgets to paw!!


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