Hobbles for horse kicking trailer?

[mickelljji4]

Hi everyone,

Love the COTH forums and how responsive and helpful the answers are

My eight-year-old OTTB gelding recently started kicking the back door of the trailer so hard that he is bending the metal of the lever that locks the door. This has happened maybe the last three times we have trailered. We only take short trips, about 20 minutes, to the local hunt club for lessons or trail rides. He has always been pretty free with his heels when he is frustrated or irritated but it would be an isolated kick here or there. Now he seems to be kicking with purpose—maybe he can feel the metal give and he feels like he’s making more room for himself.

I don’t own my own truck or trailer and depend on the generosity of my fellow boarders at the barn for rides, and I don’t want him to wreck my friend’s trailer (or worse, kick her horse who rides quietly alongside mine in the two-horse tag-along).

My horse gets a hay net of alfalfa to eat on the trailer but he usually doesn’t want food or treats when he is on there. He loads quietly and quickly (after five years of practicing). I don’t think he has had a bad experience on the trailer since I have had him, and there is a metal divider between the two horses’ heads, so I don’t think they are arguing during rides. My guess is that he feels a little confined (he is only 16.1 and narrow and this two-horse tag-along is plenty big for him and his similarly sized companion).

My friend who owns the trailer suggested kick chains but I honestly wonder if they might make him kick more, and I don’t want to do anything to make the trailer more unpleasant for him after it took so many years to get him to load willingly. My barn manager said she used to have a warmblood boarder who kicked his stall badly and they were able to stop it by hobbling his hind feet, but I don’t know if I could load my horse wearing hobbles, if he would even tolerate them, and it would be difficult/dangerous to put them on him after loading.

I was wondering about breeding hobbles, which I have never used. Could they be adjusted short enough to be effective in this situation? Does anyone here have any suggestions or experience with preventing a horse from kicking a trailer? I plan to figure out a way to make him happier in the trailer (fresher alfalfa, maybe) to reduce the kicking behavior, but I want to keep him from kicking the trailer to pieces while we experiment.

Thanks in advance!

[Simkie]

As someone who used to have a horse that did this, I empathize.

He’s trying to communicate something. Taking away his ability to communicate doesn’t solve anything. Interfering with his ability to balance in the trailer, or punishing him for trying to balance, runs the risk of very negative repercussions.

My trailer kicker needed to be hauled loose, in a box stall type set up. It wasn’t terribly convenient but it’s what he needed. I encourage you to think farther than better hay. Consider what the horse is actually trying to tell you.

[cayuse]

I’d be afraid the hobbles would mess up his ability to balance and he’d panic.

[endlessclimb]

I’d put pawing bracelets on his hinds. That stops my Old Man horse, who only needs them when there’s another horse in the trailer. He hauls absolutely silent when he’s alone, and will also haul silent if you take away hay. It’s close-quarter food possessiveness, in his case.

Speaking of which, have you tried hauling him solo, as an experiment? Some horses greatly dislike another horse that close.

[Larbear]

Is he wearing shipping boots? My late ottb used to kick in the trailer but once I stopped using the boots (and any wraps) he stopped.

[ClassyJumper]

I don’t really have any advice only that you are VERY lucky to have people still willing to trailer this horse. I would never tow a kicker, it is 100% not worth the property damage. I would bend over backwards to figure out a solution before trailering out again.

[2DogsFarm]

That’s some great friend you have.
I wouldn’t trailer your horse a 2nd time if he kicked hard enough to compromise the latch holding the door shut.
Unless you’re willing to pay for that repair, pls don’t ask friend to haul your horse until.you solve the kicking issue.

[endlessclimb]

For me, it’s putting “my” horse next to a known kicker. Not only is my horse at physical risk, they have to listen to that racket in an already stressful situation. No thank you!

[trubandloki]

@endlessclimb

Speaking of which, have you tried hauling him solo, as an experiment? Some horses greatly dislike another horse that close.

This is a good place to start.

At this point I think you need to figure out the issue before you start punishing the horse.

I will repeat what others have said, you are very lucky friend this still willing to truck your horse. It would be a no from me after your horse did this to my trailer once.
Have you offered to fix the friend’s trailer?

[mickelljji4]

No, we don’t put shipping boots on my horse, but since he started this, we have started putting hind shipping boots on his companion, to protect him somewhat from my horse kicking him (he has not kicked the other horse yet).

[mickelljji4]

I have offered to pay for repairs to the trailer, and if I can’t ride with her or other boarders, it will mean that we don’t get to go anywhere.

We could try trailering him alone as an experiment to see if it makes a difference, but when it comes to actually going places, he is going to have to share a trailer as I don’t have my own.

[tabula_rashah]

Honestly I would not go anywhere until you get this figured out- just too much risk to the trailer, your horse and the horse being trailered with you

[mickelljji4]

I am very lucky, and I have offered to pay for the repair, but as my friend pointed out, there isn’t much point in repairing it if my horse is going to continue kicking and bend the bar again. I am trying to figure out a solution before we trailer him in company again. I might add that my horse doesn’t wear hind shoes–can you imagine if he did!

[trubandloki]

@mickelljji4

I have offered to pay for repairs to the trailer, and if I can’t ride with her or other boarders, it will mean that we don’t get to go anywhere.

We could try trailering him alone as an experiment to see if it makes a difference, but when it comes to actually going places, he is going to have to share a trailer as I don’t have my own.

It would make the difference that you would know what is causing him the stress, so you can figure out how to deal with it.

Like was said above, maybe he worries that the other horse is going to eat his food or maybe he does not like being that close.
Racing blinkers might make him be less stressed about the horse next to him (if that was found to be the issue).

Have you tried him on the other side?

Put a camera in the trailer so you know when he is kicking.

You are trying to fix his reaction with out knowing what the problem is.

[endlessclimb]

I’ve fixed stall kickers by hanging feed bags on the walls. They don’t expect a crunch sound, and it startles them into rethinking the idea.

I wonder if it would work in a trailer. I’ve not tried it.

[2DogsFarm]

So friend is okay with a bent door latch?
Do you both realize if that latch is all that’s holding that door closed you’re unsafe hauling?
IIWM, you’d pay for the repair/replacement & Kicker would not be welcome as a passenger.

[Lusoluv]

That’s very upstanding of you to offer to pay for repairs. Hopefully you’ll figure out the reason for your horse kicking and can stop it. In the meantime I would take pictures of the damage, show it to a trailer repair place and get a cost estimate. Then I would write a check to trailer owner. Whether they get it fixed or not, you’ll know you did the right thing and hopefully have future transport on good terms.

[Live_Wire]

I wouldn’t hobble. In theory I understand why you’d consider doing so, but i feel like hobbles could create an even bigger problem and could be very dangerous.

I’ve had trailer kickers. A lot of them now that I’m thinking of it. All to varying degrees. Do you have a trailer camera you could use to watch him? Observing their behavior can be very helpful.

A few things to try:

It sounds like you’re hauling in a straight? Try him on the other side. Try a slant. Try him backwards. Try him loose.

Put hoof boots on him or pack his feet

Try ear plugs

I had one who could not be tied in the trailer

Tie up his tail

Put a scrim or blanket on him

I do have one who paws obnoxiously, she gets kick chains. Leather, not nylon. Always leather in a trailer.

[mickelljji4]

Update: we were able to straighten out the bent bar at home—it turned out to be a minor repair. Thank you everyone for the helpful suggestions. We will experiment to try to stop the kicking and I will post an update if we find a solution. In the meantime, my horse will not ride in a trailer with another horse.

[paintedpony]

I would start with going for a ride in the trailer travelling the typical route you might take. Pay attention to sounds, trailer sway, rough ride, whistling windows and so on. Check floor stability and crawl under the trailer to check the frame. How is the wiring? Is he getting tingled/shocked? If you fail to unearth any issues, load and ride around in the trailer with him. Load him on the other side and repeat. What is going on when he is kicking, or is there no kicking until second horse is loaded?