trailer loading

Question
Hello I have a 4 yr old QH mare she is broke to ride, has great ground manners, ties great, you can do about anything with her, but I have a problem with her this year. Shes been hauld to shows and to a trainer last year and was fine nothing happened out of the ordinary. Now she gets in the trailer fine but when you tie her and get out she barrels backwards and even has dented the door (its a stock trailer)She does this with or without other horses in it. So we send her in the trailer without one of us and when you tie her up she freaks out. We have tried her in first but you can barely get another horse in there without her pulling back, we have tried a nother horse first still no luck.So we have been tying her out side the trailer and shes just fine even for half an hour to an hour. I really don't know how to handle this. We have had show quarter horses for 40+ years. Shes on 24 hour turnout 7 days a week, ridden 4-5 times per week for 30-45 minutes, fed a little oats and alfalfa at feeding times (morning and night) she lives with 3 other geldings. If you have any suggestions on how to stop her running out backwards and loading other horses in with you please help!!!

Answer
Hi Sp

Ok this is quite a common problem really............ its amazing how many horses suddenly develope  an 'allergy' to being tied in the trailer!  Mine included, she hates the trailer  with a passion, but once in there and on the road  she is quite happy to munch a haynet and not a care in the world!

Theres no easy  fix for this  but patience and a little time being invested.

First of all  ( and I know this is going to be really basic stuff) lead her in and out of the trailer.  If you have one  with a back  ramp and a front ramp this is easy....... otherwise  you are  going to have to take her in and back her straight out again.  Do this  for a couple of days  nothing elser  just leading her in a straight out again.  then take to  feeding her a little treat in the trailer...... again repeat  for a few days......... then tie  her up and feed her, now if she starts to pull away and tries to get out then just untie the  rope and let  her back out again.  Once  you have the feeding and tieing up sorted out then  try  just turning over the car engine, don;t attempt to travel her at this stage.  If she is fine with that then try a little  pull away  only a few yards  and see how she behaves.  If she  goes to try and get free at any stage just repeat the stages step by step.  Once she is happy to stand and be fed and travel a little way then just a short journey  may be possible, once that is done then  stretch the travelling time, but always slowly and gently. Plenty of patience and praise, no shouting at her or smacking (as if you would anyway)

Another thing to consider  is that  she might be  scared of enclosed spaces, some horses have developed a form of claustraphobia, one of my friends horses has this and travelling her is a nightmare........ she has  to be  sedated with a very mild sedative, but  this is only incase of everything else has failed.

Hope this is of some help.

Christine xx