Hi All, I’m going to be shipping by myself to trainer 1-2 x per week and will not have a butt bar person, at least at my place.
What is your process? This is a pony who has, in the past, gone over the breast bar when left alone for a few mins. This was years ago and she hasn’t done it since but I’m a worrier.
Straight load, two horse with a ramp and she is a medium and her length doesn’t come close to the butt bar she stands basically in the middle of the stall. She’ll have a hay net and will be by herself.
So, load the pony;
•Tie? Then quickly go around and put up butt bar and ramp?
•Don’t tie? And quickly go to back and put up butt bar and ramp and go back and tie?
•Run a lunge line from pony (with the chest bar up of course) out the escape door and keep her from backing out while I put up butt bar and ramp then go back to tie?
•Something else?
Any advice is welcomed.
Thanks a bunch!
Never never tie when the butt bar is down. A horse that goes backwards can easily break any halter and can flip out the back and kill itself.
My horse self loads. I lead her up to the ramp, toss the rope over her back, she walks in, I do up the butt bar. Then I go around and do up the halter tie through the escape door. I like to open up the swinging center divider to make the trailer more inviting but it isn’t necessary.
I don’t try to load horses alone unless they self load.
You get to this stage by calm repeated successful loads. If you are nervous you really should try to have a butt bar helper on hand the first few times.
Do not tie the horse when rge butt bar is down, either loading or unloading.
Everything @Scribbler said.
Give yourself All.The.Time.
Better to arrive early, than not allow sufficient time to load a horse.
I load solo 99.9% of the time & learned the above with my quirky TB.
9 out of 10 times he self-loaded.
That 10th time meant I needed to allow plenty of StandOnTheRamp&Think time.
None of the tricks people use - line around his butt (sat on it), circle back to the ramp (he’d circle 4Ever 
, step onthe ramp…), Etc. - worked.
What did work was letting him stand quietly at the ramp until he went on.
Then I could put up the buttbar, close the trailer, walk around & tie him from the escape door.
Now I have a step-up stock trailer & only tie the mini (after he jumps on 
) on a lead long enough for him to lower his head, not long enough to get a leg over. Horse travels loose when I take him.
Horse loads himself, I remove the lead as he steps on, close trailer once he’s onboard.
To add to the above, I’d make sure whatever is in the haynet is sufficiently delicious to keep pony occupied while you run round to do up the butt bar, then tie.
I am confused by your line about the pony going over the breast bar when left alone. That problem will be there at any time while in the trailer that someone is not standing at their head. Like, when you are driving down the road, etc.
I have a horse that does not self load, but I still manage to truck by myself all the time. I have tried all kinds of things to teach this horse to self load, but it seems to be one of those things that is just never going to happen with this horse.
I walk the horse up the ramp and into the trailer. I go out the escape door, while still holding the lead line. I use a long lead line and I keep a hold of the end as I walk back to put up the butt bar. I put up the butt bar and then go back to the head and remove the lead after hooking the trailer tie.
This is our compromise on the whole self loading thing. It works fine for us. Every other horse I have owned has done the whole self loading thing after a little bit of training. Oh well. Like all things horse, we sometimes have to be creative.
I agree 100% that you never tie the horse when the butt bar is down. That is a good way to make the horse not want to load again.
I have a slant, but I walk my horses on - run the lead through the tie ring and hold it while I close the slant. That way they aren’t fast tied, but I still have some control if they decide to panic.
If I was worried and had a straight load, I might use a lunge line or a very long lead rope out the window the first few times just as a precaution.
Good luck!
So, what is your solution to this?
Never ship the pony?
Only ship with someone riding with her in the trailer?
What’s your solution to this?
It happened once and it hasn’t happened since.
The lunge line is what I had been thinking I would do.
The other’s weren’t what I was inclined to do.
I have no solution other than what has been offered (hay bag being totally wonderous).
I am just not sure how it would come into play when load training. That is all. At some point the pony will be alone with no header, once loaded.
The pony has been places by herself. I’ve just never loaded with no one to put up the butt bar and ramp before.
Lunge line out the escape door works like a charm. It’s also a great tool to teach them to self load. I have had much success letting the horse stand at the back of the trailer while I walk in and pull the lunge line out the escape door and back to the ramp. Then I take a dressage whip in one hand to encourage the horse to step on the trailer, while keeping light pressure on the lunge line which keeps them lined up and encourages them to step on. Once they walk on, you’re already right there to attach the butt bar.
I have one mare that used to fly off the trailer before I could attach the butt bar, and this method has completely eliminated the issue. Now she self loads.
Didn’t read the replies.
A simple trick, if you have open slots, door or windows, is to use a really long lead. Put it through the window, door, slot and run it around to the back of the trailer. Hold the outside end in one hand, the inside end clips to horse. Lead horse in, pulling the outside end in with you. Then, when walking out, only hold the outside end. This will hold the horse, but let you control him if he starts to freak out and not break anything.
I either clip them, hop out, close door and then unclip them. Or, I just tell them to hop in by their halter and close the door.
To let them out, I’ll reach in to clip a lead on, through the sliding door or the side slots. At home, I just open the door.
I’ve only had my own trailer for a couple of years and my loading method changes as they make more trips.
In the spring I lead them on and let them back out if they feel the need. I keep pressure on the lead until they stop backing, then release, stand a moment and go in again. When they’re okay I will either toss the lead over their back so the tail end is in the middle of the trailer or just drop it in front of the chest bar after stepping out of the trailer. If they choose to back out I catch the trailing rope and begin again, otherwise I can do up the butt bar and go back to tie them.
When they’re following me in without hesitation I swing the divider over and stand just inside the trailer and divider, lead the horse up and send them to the front of the stall before stepping onto the ramp and doing up the butt bar. When that’s without hesitation I send them in without swinging the divider.
By the end of the summer they’re willing to go in without me leading them of we’ve been out enough times.
I have the same issue!
With lunge line out the escape door, be careful that the door doesn’t swing closed and trap the line, which feels the same as being tied and can cause the same panic pull back.
Also be careful that the escape door doesn’t look like a big inviting exit! Does it have a breast bar across it and perhaps a screen on the top? That’s what I did. (One of the Professionals Choice screens that just velcro’s in place on fasteners.)
I have a stock trailer with a 2-horse setup, so the lunge line goes through the lower opening, through the U-shaped tie ring, then to the halter. It will slide freely. I also cut the donut off of an old lunge line so if he pulls it all the way through it will not get stuck on the tie ring.
My three year old loads fairly well. (I admit to cheating with a handful of pellets in a bucket hung up front!). It is unloading that is dicey. I am very glad I have a ramp over full back doors. But I realllly wish I had a front ramp to walk off forward.
I’ve used Tristan Tucker’s method for self loading. Get one of those stiff carrot stick things and take the rope at the end off. The horse is required to face the trailer and not turn and look out at other things. You then tap the side, towards the back until the horse takes a step up on to the ramp. When they step forward, they get to rest. If they step back, then you move them through a pattern so they are working and bending through the body. Then another attempt at going into the trailer. You just stand at the side of the ramp near the trailer opening and tap until they take steps in, praise, let the horse rest, and then you start working on controlling the feet so you decide how far in the horse goes, and when it’s time to back out. Eventually they go in all the way and you use the carrot stick with little taps on the butt if they start thinking of charging out backwards.
My young horse is 17 hands and can be pretty obstinate, and this has worked well for her. We still often have a discussion for a minute or two before she goes in. However, she LIVES for but scratches, so she is learning that she gets a good butt scratch for staying in the trailer while I do up the butt bar.
I’ve also used the lunge line to the front of the trailer technique, but I’ll say that I’ve used it with an old lariat with a quick release. The stiffer rope is less likely to get kinked or hung up on anything unlike a flat lunge line, and the quick release is good insurance if something happens where you need to release the line when it is under tension. I used this a lot with teaching my gelding not to come flying backwards out of the trailer.
That’s what I was thinking of doing, a handful of pellets in a feed bucket hanging in front of chest bar. 
Yes, this is how I load her and she does reliably stand still i just usually have someone put up everything for me.
You will need to teach to self load.
To do this, set aside a time (preferably around grain time) a few times a week to work on this, but do not go anywhere after. Make sure the trailer is hooked to the truck for safety (never load into an unhooked trailer).
If you have a helper, that’s better.
Open up the trailer, and put the grain bucket where the pony can reach it once she loads. Hook it to where the hay net hooks up, or if you have mangers, put it in there.
Load up the pony. If you have a helper present, they can do the buttbar while you walk on. If not, put the rope over the pony’s neck, and lead halfway up the ramp. Try to encourage the pony to keep walking up the ramp by clicking your tongue or even poking. You can use a lunge line, but I really prefer not to - I’ve seen horses flip backwards over them.
As soon as you get the pony up, just put up the buttbar and let her snack a bit.
Then unload, and do again.
If she is trailer sour, it’s best to only do one or two repetitions a night. Always best to do it when the horse is hungry so that grain is extra appealing. I’m never above bribing a horse to go somewhere it doesn’t want to go with food.
The goal is for the pony to eventually associate being at the front of the trailer with a delicious treat. So always make sure there is something there for her, and she will be much more willing.
Been there. Done that. Horse loaded like a champ but when I went around to put the butt bar up she unloaded. Not all the way down the ramp - just a few steps back. When I tried to push her fat a$$ in she would back out. She was easy peasy with two people because she would stand with me at her head all day. I always had some yummy alfalfa in the hay net but she would grab a mouthful and chew it half way out of the trailer. This was a HUGE problem because I do not have help here and I missed a few vet appointments because of this issue.
So I taught her to self load. I keep doing refresher courses too. Tieing with the butt bar down is a no no. I was so desperate once I did that even though I know it is stupid and she proved that it was stupid. I decided I did not want to pull her in with a lunge line looped around - I just needed to get off my butt and train her to self load. So I did. Since she already loaded easily it was not that hard. Better to train in the long run than to jerry rig for the short run.
Then I am confused about what you are asking. Horse self loads, you are standing next the the butt bar, put it up then go around and tie. Why would someone else need to do it?
