A few of my lucky friends have horses who load easily into the horse trailer.  They get right in, stand in the right spot and wait for their human to close the doors then drive on.  My horse is not like that.  My horse, Odin the Mustang, was rounded up from the range and likely driven into a noisy metal stock trailer with a bunch of his terrified herd mates or possibly terrified members of a stranger herd.  Imagine walking with your handler to another clanky metal box and remembering those feelings of terror the last time you were faced with the trailer. It’s easy to understand why he resists getting into the horse trailer.

Domestic horses may also have had an unlucky introduction to trailer loading.  Maybe they were pulled, whipped, or otherwise punished for not getting in right away.  It’s easy to imagine why these horses resist loading.  And humans also have scary or frustrating experiences with trailer loading. No wonder trailer loading is difficult for everyone involved!

How do we leave the property for lessons, clinics, trail riding, being with friends if both horse and handler dread trailer loading?  Make it a fun game for you and your hose to enjoy!  The game has two simple rules: stay safe and have fun (both of you).  What’s this game?  I call it “Good Times in the Horse Trailer” and I try to make it a good time in the horse trailer for Odin.

The steps:

  1. Teach your horse to touch a hand-held target using positive reinforcement. I use a Goodwill lacrosse stick with the head duct taped so that there are no holes in the net.  You can make a safe target on a stick out of a duct-taped water bottle on piece of dowel or broomstick.  You can use a broom.  Whatever you use make sure it’s easy for the horse to see and touch with his nose.  Hold the target in front of him, let him reach his nose to touch it then make a clicking sound (not the go-forward clucking sound) with your tongue and give him a treat.  Repeat until he understands that he gets goodies every time he touches the target and hears the click.  For more resources on positive reinforcement, click here.
  2. Teach your horse to stand on a mat. Steps one and two might take 15 minutes.  Odin figured them out in about 5 minutes but some horses are more distracted and everyone has a different learning rate.  A mat can be an old saddle pad or old towel or old bath mat.  I use brightly colored bath mats and when Odin puts a foot on the mat, he hears the click and receives a treat.  It didn’t take him long to figure out I wanted two feet on the mat and then he was rewarded for staying on the mat for a count of five, ten, long enough for me to walk around him, get something from the tack room.  The mat is his standing spot.
  3. The first two steps are easily taught at liberty. When I want to move these games to the trailer, I use a halter and lead rope mostly to help him focus and not completely abandon the game.  The halter and lead rope are not to pull him in the trailer or punish him in any way.  At this step, simply move your horse’s mat to the trailer, either near it or in it, depending on how comfortable your horse is near the trailer.
  4. Use your hand-held target to move your horse to the mat. Reward him each time he touches the target as you move it closer to the mat.
  5. Show him the mat and ask him to stand on it, then reward. These are fun games that he recognizes and can easily accomplish.  That feels good for both of you.  Success!
  6. Move the mat closer to where you ultimately want the horse to stand. If the mat is in the trailer and the trailer rattles, you may have to reinforce him for standing on that one spot for a while.  If your horse is in the trailer and wants to leave, let him back out nicely, then ask him to target and stand on his mat again.  Giving him a bit of choice in the matter builds his confidence and trust in you.
  7. Keep using the target, mat and rewards to the place where you want your horse to stand patiently.
  8. Once you reach that place, repeatedly ask him to target. I transition from the hand-held target to targeting a flag or handkerchief hanging where his nose goes. Reward for standing nice with you and continuing to play the target game.
  9. Reward him for standing on his mat while you move along his body to close the divider or butt bar.
  10. Close the door and show him the hand-held target from the outside of the trailer. You stand on the outside of the trailer and let him touch the target with his nose 5-10 times.  My horse gets more distracted at this point and ideally I’d like him to touch it 10 times but I’ll let it go if he no longer wants to play that game and instead licks and chews as a sign of release.  Then I open the door, open the divider and stand with him and target again for a moment or two until I’m comfortable that he’ll stay with me for as long as I ask and then I’ll back him out and let him graze before we go ride or go back to his paddock.

As you practice, these steps go quickly and you may be able to skip steps.  Sometimes you have to repeat steps.  Sometimes Odin wants to leave before I’m ready.  I let him leave and ask again, repeat until he waits for me to initiate backing out.

Keep in mind that depending on your previous experience or your horse’s previous experience you both may need to be reassured that this is a fun, safe game and worth practicing!  Take as much time as you need in each step. It’s also important to remember that learning for both of you is not linear and sometimes it’ll feel like you have to go all the way back to step one.  I’ve had this happen when I’ve mistakenly tried to rush Odin and just get on with it darn it!  When will I learn that impatience does not pay? Not soon enough I’m afraid as I’m still learning that lesson. Thankfully horses are forgiving if we are generally kind.  Now I take as much time as necessary in each step and attempt to give Odin good feelings about getting and being in the horse trailer.  When he feels good about it, I feel good about it and those are games worth practicing.