LOADING Made Easier Story and Photos By Tom Sheve Undeniably, most all horse owners have struggled loading horses at one time or another. Over many years in the horse trailer business, I’ve seen some strange ways people have tried. Grasping each other’s arms across a horse’s rump to sling-shot them inside. Pushing a horse from behind into the stall. Pulling then on with a lead rope. One fellow even had a winch on the interior front wall of his trailer to pull a horse forward. No way was I sticking around to watch that. Photo 1 A Light and airy trailer
Most of these horse owners have either forgotten or have failed to understand that horses are free-range animals at heart. It goes against their nature to voluntarily walk into a box on wheels. Unless horses are at least willing to give it a try, you are in for a fight and will probably lose. So what on earth makes a horse willing? Trust. Horses, the same as all animals, are intuitive. They sense whom they can trust and whom they can’t. If they trust that you will not put them at risk, they will pretty much do what you ask. But here is the catch. If you violate that trust, your horse may not be as inclined to do what you ask the next time. If you care about your horses, I’m sure you would not purposely put them in harm’s way. However, suppose you do it unintentionally, perhaps not noticing that a wasp nest is in the trailer, or the horse doesn’t fit in it. The trust starts to break down. So before you consider loading your horses, here are the “must dos” before loading. TRAINING. Train your horse to lead correctly. By leading correctly, I do not mean that a horse just happens to follow you on a lead rope. Horses that learn to stop, back, and walk forward on command will clearly understand what to do when you lead them into that strange-looking box.
TRAINING & Showing
TRAILER. Make sure the trailer is free of wasps, bees, and insects before you load. A light and airy trailer will appear less threatening than a dark one. Light color walls and lots of windows will do the trick in the daytime; lots of interior lights at night. Photo 1 A ramp eliminates the possibility of a horse sliding under the trailer when loading or backing out. A low-angle ramp gives the appearance and perception that they are walking straight into the trailer rather than climbing up onto it and dramatically reduces the chance of slipping. Photo 2
The stall size must give horses ample room to stand and balance while also setting boundaries. If the roof is too low, the stall length too short, and the width is too narrow, horses will stress.
Sufficient headroom reduces stress and allows horses to stretch their necks to cough out hay or dust that may get into their respiratory tracts, which reduces the chance of shipping fever over the longer hauls. Photo 3
A lower center divider reduces needed floor space for balancing, so only use it when hauling a mare and a stallion. Tie rings, especially around the head area, should lay flat when not in use to prevent bruises, cuts, and eye damage.
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