Plastic bag rattles?!? WTF! Well, that was a quick absolute loss of respect of a trainer. Do NOT under any circumstances drive the mare towards the trailer with anything spooky.

The method 4H&H suggested is the way to do it, but I am going to modify and clarify a few points because you say you are new. She says you can stop at any point. She means after any of the goals being met is an OK time to stop. Don't stop if your mare gives you an absolute "no" answer.

It is really best if nobody else is around. You want the mare to not get conflicting signals. I usually start trailer loading training without the trailer. Stand anywhere you want, it doesn't need to be in an arena or anything. Do you have a Dressage whip? I use a dressage whip as an extension of my hand and NOT as a weapon. You will NOT strike the mare with the whip.

Stand next to the mare on her left side, you about 2' away from her shoulder and facing backwards. In your right hand extend the Dressage whip and tap her on her hind quarter. As soon as she thinks about moving forward STOP tapping. If she walks off that is good. You can walk with her or stay in place. Set yourself up again and tap again. If your horse is sensitive think of it more like a tickle. You can cluck to her at first if she doesn't move off from the tap, but our goal is to teach her to move forward just with the whip. If she doesn't move off at all, you can increase the tempo of the tap. At some point she will move forward because the tap is annoying. Your job is to STOP the tap as soon as she thinks about moving off.

When you are getting a very solid forward movement from pointing the whip at her hind quarter you can move on to the next step. I'll either walk the horse over a pole on the ground or I'll go in the barn and "load" the horse in a stall. Walk up to a pole or a doorway and stop before you go over or through. Ask your mare to go forward with the cue you just taught her and you stay standing outside the door. When she listens to you every time it is OK to walk towards the trailer.

It may have taken you five minutes to get to this point or several days if you broke up the lessons. It is OK if your mare is relaxed and happy moving forward to the cue every time. Walk her towards the trailer (if she is really traumatized by her recent upset you don't even need to open the back door.) Walk until she stops. You stop too. Just stand there doing nothing until the mare relaxes. She will chew or lower her head or lose the worried look in her eye horses are different.

When she relaxes, praise her and you start walking towards the trailer again. She may follow a little further. If she plants her feet set yourself up to give her the cue to move forward. This may take a while or she may just trust you and go forward faster, horses are different. When she moves forward stay with her until she stops and let her relax every time. If she leaps forward, that is OK too. Let her circle and let her stop facing the trailer. Let her relax and then ask her to go forward again.

I usually break the loading into sessions. In each session I keep the horse pointed at the trailer until the end. I would inch the horse forward, keeping her relaxed until I get tired of putting pressure on and then we walk away. Your first session may be 20 or 30 times tapping the mare forward and pausing. Or if she is really listening your first session would end if she walks straight up to and puts her nose in the trailer. That is a great goal for a big reward, so walking around or letting her do something else for a while is good for her mind (and yours.) You can do lots of sessions in one day.

Through the entire loading training your mare isn't going to ever be in trouble. Anyone watching you should think it is the most boring training session they have ever seen.

If you are using a minimal amount of pressure on her to move forward, she won't lose her cool because there is nothing to fight against. I tend to go a lot faster than I am describing and put more pressure on so I get bigger reactions. The horse might lock up or go backwards and I swish the whip at the same level as I would tap, but a foot or more away from the horse. They are never in trouble to back up to where the session started. If they want to back up all the way back to the barn I will swish the whip, get them moving forward and kind of longe them back to where the session started, with minimal pressure. When they get there I drop all aggression and just stand there doing nothing until they relax.

Once she gets up to the door of the trailer with her head inside it will get a little more exciting. During each session your job is to keep her nose pointed at/inside the trailer. She may or may not step forward at her cue. It is OK. Give the cue, tapping her with the whip until she thinks about going forward. It might be just a lean, it might be her nose sniffing the trailer. If her attention is on the trailer, you do nothing, just stand there. If she looks around or away, tap.

This is the point where she may choose to exit over the top of you if you put too much pressure on. If at all possible, stand your ground. Use the whip as a shield if you have to, sometimes that will pause a horse. Or flap your hands in her face anything to be a barrier so she doesn't just keep running you over.

Your sessions from this point on will be as 4H&H described. Any body part in the trailer is a goal fulfilled and you can quit at any time if she unloads without rushing or let her pause with her head still in and ask her to go forward again. I usually have fresh hay in the front of the trailer. Grain treats are OK between sessions, but I usually don't use a bait for loading.

The longest it has ever taken me is 6 hours. (From a basket case to a calm, happy horse who would self load) That was a TB mare off the track who would flip herself over backwards as soon as you took the slack out of her leadrope. Most balky horses take 30 minutes to an hour total for me.

I also NEVER put a horse in a trailer unless it is correctly hooked to a vehicle.

Last Edited By: Fetlock Up Mar 14 08 10:44 PM. Edited 4 times.