“Hello, my name is Emily. I have just got a new seven-year-old gelding. He has big problems loading onto the trailer. We have tried a lot of things, but is there any advice you could give to help me? Thanks.”

H&C’s expert Jenny Rudall replies: “Hi Emily, it’s not uncommon to have problems with loading. These can stem from a horse having a bad experience in a lorry or trailer, or simply the horse knowing he can get the better of you and refusing.  Either way, when getting a horse into a trailer you must be calm, assertive and if the latter is the problem, make it very clear that you are not afraid or get a more experienced person to help you load.

Bad experiences

It is important that the horse does not associate the trailer with bad experiences and you need to take time to practise even when you are not going anywhere.  The moment you HAVE to load to get there it puts pressure on you and the horse and also you can be nervous before a show and the horse can sense this.

To start, just lead your horse to the box then away. Then maybe place some feed on the ramp for him  to eat putting it higher each day. You can do this each day, maybe getting a couple of feet on then leading him away again with no pressure of putting him in.

Best friend

Then if he has a best friend or a sensible horse who is easy to load then use them. With a trailer put down the front ramp as well and lead the friend straight through and see if your horse will follow and practise this taking your time.

With a box, put the friend on first to encourage your horse to go on and take them on and off bit by bit till they go on easily.

Short periods

When they are on just do the ramp up and take it down so they learn that they are not always on there for a long time.

For the first couple of journeys, take them somewhere to hack so that going in the box or trailer doesn't always mean a stressful show.   There is no quick fix, but if in doubt get someone to help you and most of all TAKE YOUR TIME.

 Good Luck and I hope this helps.

 Jenny.”