Trailer Training the Horses

We got Nobel back in September, and she was not trailer broken when we got her. We spent about 2 hours getting her in the trailer when we first got her. It was a disaster!

So, yesterday we began working on the trailer issues.

How I like to do it is pretty simple. I like to free-work the horses meaning no ropes or anything. The horses decide when they want to load and when they want to exit. One of my horses, Heisenberg, has a fear of being tied. It has been there since we got him. Because of this, him knowing he can leave goes a long way. The last thing you want is for your horse to pull back and pop the lead, or even worse slip!

What I do is load up the trailer with hay, then back it into the field. You can also use a small pen. Then, I climb up in the front with a bag of cookies and hang out. You may want to bring a book. Every time the horses come into the trailer, they get a cookie. Eventually, I start weaning them off the cookies. For example, they go from just getting their front feet in, to getting a 3rd hoof, then all the way in. They usually pick up on things pretty fast and once they get their feet in it's all down hill from there!

I have done this with my other horses and it works great!

They key is patience and time. If they start learning that the trailer is good, then they will be much easier for hauling.