Ideas to stop horse from kicking/pawing in the trailer!!!

[LPG]

My guy is a very seasoned hauler and is completely calm in the trailer…until the last 1km before we’re home.

I haul fairly often, at least once a week and he’s absolutely perfect in there. He loads well, stands quietly, doesn’t make a fuss when I drop off my friend’s horse, unloads quietly and seems very content in there. But once I hit the last stretch before we get home, it’s like he knows where we are and he starts kicking and pawing the living bejesus out of the trailer. Like violently!! He’s wrapped and wears bells boots on all 4, so I’ve been lucky he hasn’t hurt himself doing this. But he’s destroying the rubber-lined walls and I’m concerned he’ll injure himself in the process too.

I’ve tried tapping the brakes to make him keep his feet on the floor but it does nothing to stop him.

Any ideas of what I can do to stop him from doing this?

[kande04]

Can you drop him off first and then go back and drop off the other horse?

Hobbles, but just don’t forget to take them off before you unload him! Start long and easy-to-break and shorten gradually. I haven’t tried it, but wondered if hobble training might be safer if I used velcro?

A chain around the pastern might work, too. I like to start with a short one and then add on if necessary.

[Bluey]

Could you get someone to help, maybe bring a second horse for you to ride and stop right before he starts acting up and safely lead him home that last bit?
That may puzzle and change his mind, not knowing what will happen next when close to home.

Decades ago, we were driving down a dirt road and this cowboy came leading a horse from the pickup window, trailer empty.
When we asked if he needed help, something wrong with the trailer, he said “this idjit horse won’t quit acting up in the trailer, so if he doesn’t want to ride, he can walk!”

A few days later, horse was in the trailer and when asked, cowboy said with a big smile “it worked!”

[SuzieQNutter]

Tapping the brakes is not a solution except causing anxiety and stopping him to load.

I would say don’t unload when you get home. Go out again.
.
That and don’t unload immediately getting home.

[pluvinel]

@SuzieQNutter

Tapping the brakes is not a solution except causing anxiety and stopping him to load.

I would say don’t unload when you get home. Go out again.
.
That and don’t unload immediately getting home.

Haul out…haul back…haul out…haul back…haul out…haul back…do not unload until he quits pawing on the ride home.

Plan on a long day for this…

[DinkyDonk]

I know someone who pulls over to the right enough that the tires on the right side of the trailer are on the “rumble strips” and swears it works for one of her horses.

[Monica67]

Does he have hay on the trailer? I have a friend who has one who paws, he is a jerk, I put a kicking chain on one of his front legs and it seems to stop him.

[Foxglove]

Despite the fact that William Tell was hauled twice yearly from NY to AZ, with his owner before me, he pawed in my trailer --his last owner said Will never pawed in his SLANT load trailer --so it must have been my STRAIGHT load that made Will nervous. Whatever. I bought Will pawing bracelets. With his bracelets on, he might paw once or twice, but then he stops. I called the number on the website to ask if I could have my money back if the pawing bracelets didn’t stop the pawing. The man said, “Yes, Ma’am.” I like being called ma’am. So I bought a pair --red-- and Will wears them when he hauls alone --he doesn’t paw in the trailer any more. https://pawingbracelet.com/

[Equkelly]

He’s pawing and carrying on because he’s excited he’s about to get home where it’s safe and comfy and relax and eat some hay. If I were you, I would change what you do when you get home. I’d pull him off the trailer and put him on the lunge line and make him work a little. Then put him back on and let him rest. If he carries on he can go back to work. Soon enough he’ll be in no rush to get home.

[clanter]

when I worked with saddlehorses we also had a standard bred mare road horse…she would kick the wall of the trailer if we got below 35 MPH… this horse wanted to go

[TB2trk]

Agree with those that say change your routine and basically, don’t reward bad behavior. Instead of driving straight home, mix it up, go the looong way. When you do unload him, put him to work. Sometimes you have to pack a lunch and be ready to go the distance. You might have to load him again and go for another jaunt. Don’t let him have what he wants until he is a polite gentleman in the trailer.

[LPG]

Thanks for the ideas! I will switch up the routine, my neighbours might think I’ve lost it going up and down the road over and over…:lol:

@Monica67 he does have hay in the trailer. I’ve never seen kicking chains in use. Can they injure themselves with these?

[Abbie.S]

I would be hesitant to utilize hobbles on a horse in a moving trailer. God forbid anything were to actually happen, you’ve essentially take his feet away from him.

I have seen a quick braking work for horses who get fussy in the trailer, but I also hesitate to recommend that to anyone whose horse I don’t know personally and thus cannot assess if there is potentially some other reason for the pawing or kicking. Used incorrectly, it can do exactly as someone said and make the horse sour to riding in the trailer.

Kicking chains, etc could potentially act like a bandaid in this scenario because they do not address the fact the he likely paws because he anticipates being home and becomes impatient. So were it me, I’d do exactly as some others have suggested - take the long way home, or drive right by your barn and keep going. Or go home but do not unload him until he’s quiet. Or do unload him but immediately put him to work, when he quiets put him back on the trailer and go for another little spin. You might need to mix n’ match some of these to get the desired message across.

[Bluey]

The OP said horse starts acting up about one mile from home and is rather violent.

Maybe better to keep going before wherever the horse may start acting up, so as not to give it time to practice the wrong behavior or getting hurt doing that, as the OP said is bad enough for that.

I wonder, does he act up if there is another horse in the trailer?

[Suspiria]

Personally I’d quit using protection on his legs also. Maybe if kicking and banging stings a bit, he will decide it’s not so much fun.

[PossumHorse]

No solution for you but you are not alone. I’ve got one that paws on the way home once he sees a familiar landmark. It might be 10 miles from home or just one mile. After a super long trip (8hrs), it was as we pulled into the barn drive.

He’s retired now, but I never did anything about his pawing as it was just noise and no damage; although sometimes a lot of sweat and lather.

[arbeegirl]

My now retired 20 year old gelding was boarded at two different barns during his showing years. It did not matter which direction we returned, once we were within a mile of the barn, he would start to paw. He did it while on my trailer or any other trailer. It was just something he did. You never heard a peep out of him until that last mile. I think he just wanted everyone to know he was on his way home😂

[LPG]

@arbeegirl :lol:I think my guy must be the same…he’s saying “I’m hoooooommme everyonnnnnne!!!”

[TheJenners]

My ex had a mare who developed a super fun habit of jumping into the solid manger of the trailer when it would come to stop, whether it be at the destination or at a longish traffic light. After carefully extricating her several times, he realized it was no longer a “freak accident” but an intentional act she was doing for some reason. It was dangerous for her and us. He tied her head to her back leg a few times, the first time you could tell when she went to give it a go and there was a bit of shaking and carrying on in the trailer. She stopped. Ideal? Heck no. But her injuring herself or us, not to mention tearing up the brand new $60k horse trailer, was also not ideal. I’ve seen other options for hobbling, not just the front legs to each other but front legs to back legs for pawers and kickers. My WB would kick the snot out of the same horse trailer above in the first ohhhh five minutes of the drive and anytime he objected to the road conditions, to the point that someone traveling behind me once called in a panic because the whole side of the trailer was bowing out and dimpling, she said it looked like an alien trying to come thru. He has never done it in the straight load I have now, but did jump over the chest bar once and get stuck. Some horses are assholes.