I have a 10 year old gelding who spent his life at a busy barn. He was shocked to be ridden alone when I got him! I didn’t realize he would freak out when trailered alone until I picked him up after a vet clinic stay without someone to ride with him. He damaged the trailer on the 15 minute drive home, and scared me badly.
I want to teach him to ride alone. He loads fine, and rides well with a horse or human with him. (He won’t eat on the trailer.)
Any ideas? Thanks in advance.
That being alone at all is a problem is the first thing to work on. Get him comfortable being in places where he can’t see any other horses, and can be ridden or tied or whatever.
Do you have access to a trailer that you can just load and unload him into with no trip? I think that kind of acclimation is so helpful. We get on the trailer, we stand, we get brushed, we munch on treats, then we get off. No travel.
TRT Method has some good groundwork, and clicker training can be helpful too. Both are helpful because they overlay new habits and new memories on old painful scary ones. Both will have some very specific suggestions for a horse with separation anxiety, which may be the bigger issue than the trailer.
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A mirror can really help in a situation like this. Try a locker mirror, something plastic that doesn’t shatter. Work on having him alone, both away from his stall and eventually on the trailer alone.
Thanks. I should have mentioned that I use Tristan’s methods a lot, which is why he loads well. When I got him, we did the whole walk on, walk on, walk on, walk off thing. I was thinking that I might just load, pull up a little, unload. Then go half way up the driveway, then a little longer.
It doesn’t help that all three horses scream like fools when you load one of them up!
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My horse Bob had anxiety issues when I first acquired him Nov. 2023. He loaded fine, but pawed, sweated, chewed, head tossed non-stop in the trailer. He would unload covered in a white foamy sweat. Asked everyone I knew about what to do. The best advice came from my farrier and my trainer (two different people). They both said, “He’ll get over it.”
And he has. I don’t think he was hauled much in the 7 years before I had him (I bought him as an 8 year old). His previous owner hauled him only once in a giant slant load with other horses. I have a two horse straight load and generally just haul him. (Merhow).
I hauled him a lot --probably 200 times in the first year I owned him, and probably more subsequently.
Bob hauls quietly now. No more pawing bracelets and no more sweating in the trailer.
One bit of wisdom that I hold dear was from my trainer’s boss. He said: “Clearly he doesn’t like riding in a trailer. That he gets into your trailer at all shows how much he trusts and respects you.”
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What did he damage in the trailer?
ie - how committed was he to losing his gourd?
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Mouse, thanks for the mirror suggestion!
Truer words were never spoken!
What specifically did he damage in the trailer? If he’s at risk for injuring himself, then you may need to talk to your vet about a mild sedative to use for a trip or two in the beginning of his training process.
