Solution for horses who are afraid to travel alone in a trailer or truck.
OK, we have another solution for this problem, but we have a 4 horses truck available, and our old 24 year old schoolmaster loves to travel and play travelguide;)
http://www.horsesciencenews.com/143/simple-trick-soothes-horses#more-143
Has anyone priced that size safety mirror recently? I hope they have gone down in price because they used to be EXPENSIVE years ago.
âExpensiveâ is relative⌠How about vet bills and trailer damage?
Interesting, definitely.
Did they mention where the mirror is placed in the trailer?
There are cheaper alternatives that could be used if the horse canât contact the mirror itself. Still unbreakable, of course.
NJR
TheoâŚI can imagine your older guy nowâŚâAnd, coming up on your left, we have the grounds where I outclassed some of the great dressage horses of our time. You young pups may not know this, but in MY dayâŚâ
The acrylic safety mirrors for stall/trailer use are not expensive. When I imported my mare, she had not ever seen mirrors in an arena, so I put one of those mirrors in her stall to get her used to it. They have holes drilled for mounting and if your trailer is insulated, you can use self tapping screws, or you can glue them up as they are not heavy. I actually bought a second one for the trailer, but ended up not needing it. I think I bought two of them for about $50. I hope itâs ok to post a link to the person who sells them, as there is a picture of them there: http://theruninshed.yuku.com/topic/1536 If not, moderator please delete the link.
I also would like to know where to place the mirror.I would imagine on the side of the empty bay.It would be a great trick when transporting a young horse on its own.
Also available here, $24 for 24" by 24" (but the shipping almost doubles the price for me!)
http://www.interstateplastics.com/detail.aspx?ID=acrylicmirror-SCl013
This is pretty old stuff and has been done for years. Lincoln University in th UK did a study on the use of mirrors some time ago. http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2002/oct/14/highereducation.uk1
http://www3.vet.upenn.edu/labs/equinebehavior//hvnwkshp/hv02/mills.htm
i know a person in shipment that uses a full size model horse rugged head collar leadrope plus haynet and protective gear as in travel boots and poll guard works a treat be it a bit wooden dont nieght a lot but there you go haha
I have a mirror in their stalls. They love horse in mirror, so much that they have been scratching horse in mirror with their teeth, it hardly looks like a mirror at all anymore :lol:
Haha, gls, I like the idea of a horse model. I hope itâs a light model as I canât see how one carries a wooden horse in the trailer easily.
OMG, new marketing opportunity. Inflatable âhorse-buddyâ traveling companions. Now I only need to find a bite-proof plastic material to make them from.
Well in summer I put a horse buddy bopper in my pasture and my boys are all over the new interactive friend eventhough to them it certainly doesnât look like horse.
The material holds up pretty well. Mine have been chewing it, kicking it, jumping on it etc.
http://www.horsebuddybopper.com/
Only downside of the thing is the interior structure that keeps it bouncing back upright is a sanddonut and thatâs not too sturdy. Last time I spoke to the lady, she said they were trying to find a different solution.
My sand donut broke twice and then I replace it by just a sandbag, but that takes the bouncing properties away.
When it was fully functional my horses were having an absolute blast with this thing.
So to Anselcat, this is the type of material you need for your horse-buddy travel companion ;).
Weâve used the acrylic mirror in a stall for a horse with separation anxiety (it worked) and for a mare who always travels alone. Works for her too. She has the mirror hung in front
of her. She loves its and doesnât get nervous in the trailer anymore.
Recently trailered my horse alone for the first time. He was miserable. He pawed the whole way there and back. Should I just continue to trailer him alone in hopes that heâll learn to be content? Should I let him have his way and put another horse with him? (Id even go so far as getting him a âcompanion horse/ponyâ so heâd always have a buddy, even for being tied when we get there) I donât want him to be miserable and uncomfortable but I want to be able to trailer him alone. Any help/advice is helpful. My horse ripped down his hay net so I donât want him to have a mirror.
Following this (old) thread. Got a mirror for my guy and it didnât help. Been trailering weekly with buddies but a recent short trip alone and he wasnât happy. Need more ideas!
For my more buddy sour dudes, I make them travel alone. A buddy just seems to make them worse. Neither one of my horses are dead heads and donât particularly care for riding alone. My one horse will get diarrhea and dance like crazy being buddy sour to me where ever we go.
Some things that have helped us is feeding them in to trailer but not traveling.
Putting them in the trailer going a couple of miles but coming back home instead of to a new place.
I use tummy/ anti diarrheal meds/ probiotics along with
Confidence EQ, a calming pheromone for horses. Lavender helps I think ( I mix my own lavender fly spray).
I do not care for the calming herbal/ minerals pastes. They have never worked for me.
Have you found that the Confidence EQ stuff is effective?
Yes I do like it. For my more needy horse who has been known to pitch a fit if I leave him tied up alone, it has helped wonders. He also more relaxed and focused and in less of a bad mood when entering the ring. Once he works himself up, his day is usually ruined. But if I use this and start off right, he is so much more manageable and happier.
Ok. I guess Iâll just keep trailering him alone and let him get comfortable with it. We donât go far anyway. I just wanted to make sure it wasnât bad to do that in case it put too much stress on him. Thank you!
My horse doesnât paw or dance around in the trailer, but even a 5-minute trip leaves him soaked in sweat. âËšï¸Â
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