My horse started doing what yours is doing in that video with the fun addition of climbing up the wall. Started when he was 19 and with a trailer switch to a full divider (previously he’d always trailered with a partial divider.) I tried to deal with it for a year but it got worse each time to the point that he was falling, so I gave up and bought him a brand new trailer that is a foot wider than the previous trailer and with a partial center divider. He still leaned and scrambled in that though not nearly as badly as before. During this time he was always on the right side while his heavier friend was on the left. First time alone, so riding on the left, he didn’t scramble/lean. For some reason he’s fine if he rides on the left side but leans and scrambles right, so he’s only on the left now. Have you tried putting her on the other side to see if it helps? My horse is now 23 and we trailer out weekly, he’s been on that left side for 2 years without issue.
That’s similar to what my QH did, except after being unbalanced and shifting to lean on the other side he would lift his front feet and scrape them down the wall or divider post in an attempt to widen his stance. He was always leaning on one side or the other, though he preferred to lean on the solid wall rather than the divider.
Can you round up a friend or two with different trailers to go for a short ride?
I am racking my brain to see if I can come up with anyone nearby - the problem is most of my horse friends have moved away (some a few hours, some all the way to the coast). I’m going to see if I could even rent a stock trailer, just to see if no divider helps (or even riding backwards as an EquiTrek would).
I tried an experiment last week and used Treks with Cavallo ice studs on my horse’s front feet for the trailer ride. The studs are quite small and I hoped would provide a little grip on the bare trailer mat. They worked very well and my horse wasn’t braced against the back of the trailer when we arrived.
At the end of the first ride he had a bit of a standing on a box stance with his front legs angled back under his body (which is how he usually ended up before) but in the middle of the stall instead of at the back. We trailered out three times in the last two weeks and he progressed to standing comfortably upright at the front of the stall, without leaning on the chest bar, on the third occasion.
Second the suggestion of switching sides if you haven’t tried that already! My retiree started doing weird weight-shifting stuff in the trailer when he was 18. I actually started a thread about it that might have some other useful suggestions for you…here: Horse suddenly unstable in trailer. He was definitely not slipping. In his case it was only on right turns and it happened even if I turned painfully, painfully slowly. I ended up trying him on the right side of the trailer instead of the left and that resolved it completely. Now that he’s retired he only ships out maybe once every year or two, but 7 years later he is still fine in the trailer as long as he’s on the right side.
Interestingly, he also has coffin joint issues. His RF looks like Swiss cheese on x-rays and the LF needed annual-ish injections in his last few years of work even though it x-rays better. Last year at age 25 he also started struggling to stand for the farrier. She could trim his hind feet no problem but when she worked on his fronts he would lean, pull his foot away, try to sit down, etc. This is a very kind horse who had never been difficult for shoeing before. We started having to do him in the corner of the stall so he could lean on the wall, and even that was a struggle. I worried about EPM, Lyme, cervical arthritis, etc, but my farrier said she’d had a similar horse who improved dramatically after being nerved. One day the vet happened to be out so I had her do front PD blocks and sure enough, he stood perfectly in the aisle for shoeing. I wonder if the weird trailer issue was an early precursor to the farrier issue, and if he could stand well on the left side of the trailer with PD blocks too.
I also second switching sides. My mare used to trailer on the “correct” side, she slipped once and after that started scrambling. We tried a number of things, including giving her the full stall (which I wanted to avoid if possible because it would be a real nuisance to never be able to take two horses!). What worked immediately was putting her on the other side. No idea why, but she’s happy there and hasn’t scrambled since…which I think is about 8 years! She’s slightly neuro these days but is still ok in the trailer. My centre divider does not go all the way to the floor so she can always spread out a bit if she needs to.
Unless you are sharing this video from somewhere that driving occurs on the left side of the road, your horse is on the wrong side of the trailer. A single horse in a straight stall should be on the driver’s side - nearest the crown of the road.
2nd add a net of the most delicious hay you can find.
3rd - this might sound odd, but when you first load and are ready to go - back up a ways before stopping and pulling forward. Do it a few times. Make the first motion in the trailer backwards for a few trips if the first time helped. Had one that would go so apeshit as to go over the breast bar. Backing up right after loading him cured him. If you are good at backing a straight line, have plenty of room, and circumstances are safe, go a little faster in reverse than you normally would - try to gently “shock” the horse into finding a new way to balance herself.
Images on backup cameras are often reversed by default so that might be it too.
D’oh! Hope that’s the case!
When my senior gelding started having trouble balancing in the trailer, it ended up being due to arthritis in the neck making it painful to try to maintain his balance. The vet did several injections in his neck and after that I would only haul him with the divider open or with him in the last stall of a slant trailer (because they’re wider). He needed more space to spread his legs to balance when traveling.
I’d have a vet check neuro, arthritis, and have a look at the coffin issue some more, it may be causing more pain than originally thought.
Image is flipped - she is on the drivers side (left) there!
We have been dealing with the most ridiculous heat wave (aren’t we all?) so I haven’t tested some variables in the trailer yet. I’m wanting to try: other side of the trailer, with the divider pulled over, with no boots, maybe with her Soft Rides instead, and without shavings. I also want to ride in the back myself and see if anything note worthy comes up. I did trailer the other horse on the one day it was in the 80s and put the camera on her. She was better than the mare in this thread but I notice she too was swaying/ scrambling/ leaning on some turns (again, not to the extent of this mare but it was noticeable where before when she’s been in the trailer she hasn’t done it). That makes me think it may be related to either the new floor OR the new (as of December) tow vehicle. Those are the only things, that I can think of, that would effect both horses. Obviously, I still need to investigate more with this mare since she is worse, but the fact they are both doing it to a degree has me looking at the truck and trailer.
I have not taken the time to read all the posts- I had a mare who did this until I cut away the bottom of the petition so she didn’t have anything to brace her feet against. Also a good driver can help restore confidence
Typical shoulder stay apparatus injury. Talk to your vet about rehab.
We took the trailer to the shop this weekend for a bunch of small items (install fans, new camera system, saddle boss saddle rack, wash and wax, and custom fabricating a one piece butt bar so I can remove the divider if needed) and noticed on the way there that the trailer was rocking/ bouncing side to side. It was NOT swaying, it tracked completely straight behind the tow vehicle. It was like the right side would pop up / left side dipped, and vice versa. It wasn’t extreme (maybe “popping up” an inch or two) but out of the ordinary for the trailer. The shop is checking the shocks as they think they are likely the culprit of the side to side rocking/ bouncing/ whatever. I can see how if the shocks are bad, that could make it difficult for them to balance on turns. The shop is also checking over everything else (bearings, tires, brakes, etc) just in case. I’m hoping to pick it up on Friday and will try to update if we are able to identify the cause of the rocking/ bouncing.
One a semi related note - I’ve been looking into getting some super soft mats to go on top of the rumber for 1. A change in surface / hopefully additional grip and 2. Some added comfort for my older, coffin bone horse. I am likely ordering a set of Mayo Mattress mats for the trailer (and her stall) and will post an update on those when they come.
We picked up the trailer this past weekend and it was (is) a whole thing. Many items that were to be addressed were missing (such as the brakes needing adjustment which wasn’t done) but the shocks were done. The old shocks were so worn I could compress them by hand pretty easily (and my upper body strength is lacking). I also took the time to ride in the back once we got home. I was shocked at how smooth the ride was (I didn’t need to brace or hold onto anything for balance on our short trip to the park and back). I did notice the butt bars and divider rattle more than I would have expected so am going to try either vet wrap or bed liner spray on those (not that that would be related to the scrambling issues). Unfortunately since the brakes weren’t done it has to go back again (3+ hours one way) before I can see if the shocks helped. I am happy with the camera though and think that will make these “trial runs” with the different variables easier to record (not literally recording). My hope is that with the shocks and the brake adjustment that’s all that we need to get them both comfortable and stable in the trailer.
Update: we are still scrambling/ failing to hold ourselves up in the trailer.
I have tried:
- Replacing trailer shocks
- Replacing trailer tires
- Riding on the right side (that was WAY WORSE)
- Riding untied (slight, slight improvement)
- She is now in composite shoes instead of the Cavallo boots
- She had a full lameness exam 30 days ago and had both stifles and her left hock injected
She has started back in work but is certainly not fit yet.
We ran through some neuro tests at home and she seems normal (maybe, MAYBE a 1 out of 5) on those but I can’t think of any other reason for it to be happening. She still happily gets on and off the trailer without issue and my other mare (a different one from the one previously mentioned in this thread) does not have the same issues. This mare is worse when I make left turns, she seems to not even try to hold herself up and just collapses into the trailer wall for support. She is finally sound and I had some riding goals this year that included trailering to shows, but even outside of showing it is extremely concerning to me to not be able to trailer her places for vet work. Any new ideas?
I don’t see if you ever tried the divider swung over or removed completely. I knew one horse that needed the divider removed as she still scrambled with it swung over.
The horse I knew that did this was a 0 out of 5 on neuro tests, but had a crazy high EPM titer and improved significantly after treatment.
I have not tried without the divider yet, you are correct. I have a Brenderup Baron which is meant to be towed with the butt bars up as they give the trailer structural integrity (from my understanding) and thus can’t be used without the bars. They do make a full length butt bar but they are very hard to find (I spent all summer trying to have one made or looking for one to buy without luck).
@joiedevie99 (Kinda) Glad to hear of a similar experience with subsequent improvement!
