5 YO Hates Trailering Alone - Need Help!

[led18]

My 5 YO gelding has always trailered beautifully. He will load and unload perfectly, stand quietly. That was… until he had to trailer alone. Every time prior he trailered with at least one buddy, but then could stand alone on the trailer if given hay.

I finally had to trailer him alone and he lost his mind. I will need to do this moving forward, too.

I have a 2 horse Balanced Ride gooseneck (they face backwards) that gives him plenty of room and is very bright and airy, but he just would not settle. He was trying to turn around in the stall, cranking his neck and did a little rear getting himself stuck in the hay manger (will no longer use that with him). I had to pull over and get him out of it.

The entire drive was less than 15 minutes, but he was a nervous wreck. Any recommendations on getting him better at trailering alone? Thanks in advance!

[Annie10]

Tranq him the first few times and do it every day. Drive to somewhere you can park, feed him, drive home. Each time make it somewhere a little further away ie make the trips a little longer.
This is something where he just has to suck it up

[LCDR]

I agree with the above completely.

On the off chance that there is something going on in the trailer (noise, rattle, etc.) that may not bother him or he doesn’t notice when he has company I’d give the trailer a quick going over too. Even something like the unused trailer tie banging around.

And also - is he riding in the same space alone that he rides in when he has his friend along? If not his changed view could be playing mind games with him.

[fivestrideline]

I expect I’ll be doing the tiny rides to the grocery store with mine soon.

I bought a shatterproof mirror to put up as well, to maybe help him think he’s got a friend. Earplugs can help too, though my gelding can’t walk with them in because he’s too busy shaking his head

Good luck. Solo travel is tough on them. Maybe just load and eat hay but go nowhere for a bit? Then crank the truck and go down the driveway and back?

[Weezer]

If you can keep the trailer hooked up for awhile, you could feed him his grain in the trailer. Leave the door open, don’t go anywhere. Just feed him, and back him out. Gradually have him stay in a bit longer, and he should learn to settle. You want him totally chill in there alone before you start moving the trailer. I’ve been there, it takes patience. But if you do it slowly, you’ll end up with a rock solid horse. Good luck!

[NaturalSelection]

What Weezer said! Plus, you really want him to the point that he’s comfortable in there with the whole thing closed up, just sitting in the driveway.

I practiced this with my young ISH gelding for an entire summer. It was tedious, but we worked on loading several times/week extending the time in the trailer a little bit each time until by the end of the summer I could load him with some yummy hay, close up the trailer, walk away for about 20 min to pick the drylot, then unload him and he was still calm.

Your horse is probably not super confident in the trailer or being alone. Need to work on getting him more comfortable with both.

[IPEsq]

My young horse was kind of the same. Loads great, does fantastic with a buddy. First time trailering out to a lesson by himself, it was about 30 mins in traffic, and he had stomped off both of his rubber pull-on bell boots by the time we got there. But thankfully no climbing into or onto anything. He also would refuse to drink even water brought from home and didn’t eat much on the first several solo trips. By the end of last summer, I was able to trailer to shows solo including about an hour and a half drive. And he was even able to chill in the trailer and eat and drink (it was nicer than being out in the sun) while we waited quite a while for the dressage test to be ready for pick-up. So long as you can keep him from doing major damage to himself and your trailer (removing hay manger is a good idea), you just have to keep doing it in small doses. Some of the places I trailer out to are only 10-15 mins away.

[Janet]

@LCDR

is he riding in the same space alone that he rides in when he has his friend along?

This can be a big deal.
I had a 14 h 3" Trak x Anglo Arab.
When he travelled with another horse he rode on the right, as he was the smaller. He travelled fine.
But when I took him by himself he was on the left, as he was the only horse in the trailer. Within a few feet he scrambled so badly he ended up on the floor.
After trying several other things, I switched him t the right side, and he was fine.

[led18]

This is a new trailer. He was used to a 2+1 and was always either in the left side (driver side) or box. My new trailer is a 2 horse, but Balanced Ride faces backwards. I have considered making it into a box for him, but don’t want to do that until he calms down.

[LCDR]

Did he travel OK with a companion in your new trailer? Or are both traveling alone and facing the rear brand new things for him?

[led18]

Unfortunately both (trailering alone, facing back) are new to him, so maybe it was too much change at once. But I was moving him to a new barn so didn’t have another option. Sounds like I need to work on just getting him comfortable in the trailer alone and you guys provided some good recommendations!

[sami-joe]

My horse is not a fan of traveling alone.
Two things have helped:

1. lots of short trips
2. mirrors that stick to the trailer wall where he can see himself

The use of a mirror reduces isolation stress in horses being transported by...

[4horses]

Perhaps try sending him to a pasture by himself without other horses. Some horses seem to do better if they learn it’s okay to be by themselves. I have 2 young horses. One is perfectly okay by himself. The other has no confidence by herself and thinks the world is out to eat her. Other horses are an emotional support for her. If they are calm, she’s calm. If they are spooky, she is spooky. She’s a lot more needy. My younger one is needy in a different way, as in I want attention and I want you to interact with me, but he’s not really worried about things.

You can try a box stall. He may pace in circles and settle down. Alternatively, I would try separating from his buddies a couple hours before you leave so you aren’t trigger stacking.

[Bogie]

The first time I trailered my OTTB by himself he loaded fine and then totally freaked out when he realized he was alone! I thought he was going to try to jump out over the chest bar.

What worked for him was to get moving. I had loaded him in preparation for foxhunting and, stupid me, hadn’t finished loading my gear. I had to literally drive around the block and stop for a minute or two at a time until everything was in the trailer.

After hunting, when he was good and tired, he stood on the trailer by himself. For the most part he was fine after that EXCEPT when he saw the mare that he usually trailered with. If he saw her and she didn’t get on the trailer with him, he would get all worked up. I also could not ever trailer someone that needed to be dropped off first at another barn. When that horse got off he would lose his mind. That never changed but I could work around it.