trailer training

Question
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Followup To
Question -
I have a seven year old Arabian who has not been loaded in a trailer for 4 years.  I have just purchased a trailer and I cannot get him to load.
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.
Answer -
Gaile,
What does he do when you try to load? If you can tell me this is will be easier for me to help. Thanks.

Katherine,
When I lead him to the trailer, he walks right up to it and stops.  If I try to lead him in further, he backs up.

Answer
Gaile,
I have had difficult horses to load, and I know that it is frustrating.  Last week we had a horse with simmilar behavior as your horse.  This mare would get to the top of the ramp and then flip her head back and keep going back. We had some more serious problems when she pulled back and hit her head so hard it went all the way to the bone.  Please be sure to take preventative and protective measures when trailering for the horse and for you(head bumper, shipping boots, gloves)  OK, now with that said, try having someone with you to help.  Be sure to make him know that you are determined.  Some times a male can make the difference between the degrees of being agressive. Use a firm voice and reinforcements such as a dressage whip of lunge whip.  All horses react to different situations. Some horses can't be forced.  Another aproach is to use treats to take him step by step into the trailer. In between steps just wait until he is calm and then continue.  One of my friends has done this and I have never, she used a blindfold to cover its eyes so the horse had to rely on the person leading him. Another idea you might try is to feed him in the trailer.  Make sure you hood the trailer up to a trcuk and if he doesn't load he doesn't receive dinner. Flower Essences such as rescue remedy(combination of all) which calms horses in stressful situations can be given, Elm: This Essence helps when you feel overwhelmed, Impatiens: This Essence helps when you get impatient and irritated.
Please remember to wear gloves, it protects you.
I hope this helps, I would love to know how everything goes, a lot of the times I don't think of other solutions until after I have replied so, I will keep brainstorming if these don't work. Good luck.