If you have horses, at some point you are going to have to move them from point A to point B. It would be ideal if you were able to buy horses that were already horse trailer-trained- but that is not usually what happens.
If you’ve never personally moved your guys or gals before, you may be in for a surprise: your usually sweet, cooperative lovelies may suddenly turn into crusty critters. What’s more, it can actually be more dangerous than you think to get your horses into the horse trailer. It does require a little forethought.
What’s the big deal? Well for one thing, if you hadn’t already noticed, most horses are easily spooked. They are also very large and muscular, with sharp hooves and big teeth. A livestock trailer, like as not, has a metal floor that echoes alarmingly in a skittish horse’s ears, and moves under their feet. This makes the equine very nervous, because what they like to have is a nice, quiet, stable environment. Get it? “Stable”? Ha! Moving on…
Really, It wouldn’t kill you to read this great article about Equine behavior- it goes over not just the mindset of horses in general, but also how to recognize horse body language (opens in new window.)
Make sure you have at least 2 hours to spend loading, and have a LOT of treats in your pocket. This should be a 2 person operation. Too many people, and you’ll make the horse nervous (NO KIDS, EVER); one person, and it gets dangerous. You will also need 2 ropes.
First rule of loading a horse trailer- have the horses themselves prepared. Be sure they’re fed and watered, curried and comfy. Don’t have them saddled, and do not have any tack hanging on the inside walls – things hanging on walls tend to spook horses. Having a bridle with a bit on the horse will make things easier, but use a regular face bridle if you’re going a long way.
Be sure the ramp is down and secure. Lead the horse to the loading area. Attach a rope to the bridle- just long enough that it would stretch out into the front of the stable area. This will give enough room for the horse to enter the trailer, yet keep the horse from getting too far should it decide to bolt. Give the horse a favorite treat, conspicuously leave another treat just inside the trailer and walk away for a while. Attach another rope (at least 10 feet longer than the other rope) to the horse’s bridle. Walk nonchalantly into the trailer with the other end of the rope and arrange this end in such a way that you can pull it into a relatively straight line. This is the rope you’re going to use to pull the horse in.
Do NOT be tempted to get into the horse trailer yourself and pull the horse in. This can end in a trip to the hospital. If your horse trailer has a protected area in front of the stall area where you can pull the horse in by rope and bridle, do try that, but wear some gloves and be ready to let go if the horse gives a strong, violent pull- or you could wind up being slammed against the barrier.
Calmly pull the longer rope and coax the animal into the trailer. Be prepared for the horse to walk halfway in and then back out. Let her do that- several times if need be. Do not yell, jerk the rope, or make sudden movements. Keep trying, but don’t lose patience. Monitor the horse’s ear position and if the ears are pinned back, back off for a while. If there is a way to tempt the horse into the trailer with a treat, do so.
As a last resort, have another person stand to the side rear of the horse (NOT directly behind) with a branch with some leaves on the end of it. As you pull the long rope, leading the horse into the trailer, have the other person tap the horse’s behind with the branch, quickly closing the gate behind her. That will usually do it, but only if all else fails. You don’t want your horse to associate the trailer with fear, or you will have even more trouble next time.
If you are in need of a pre-owned horse trailer, be sure to visit ALLUSEDtrailers.com . Click here for nationwide listing of both horse & cattle trailers!