suggestions for horse that doesn't travel well?

[Marlene Moss]

Hi,

We are moving 10 hours away and I have a horse that has never traveled more than an hour or two and breaks out into a dripping sweat. She loads willingly, stands well, but you can see her heart beating and she literally drips sweat within minutes. She is a wonderful horse otherwise and I can’t find the right person for her here, so she has to come with us. I have a month to figure this out. My biggest fear is that she dehydrates or freezes solid going over the mountains.

 

The only plan I’ve come up with is to load her every couple days, starting with just letting her stand and eat (right now she doesn’t even want to eat), expanding to some shorter trips and hope she gets better.

 

Any other suggestions? I’m not a big fan of drugging, but would Ace help? Or be stupid? I have hauled her a short distance with a gelding that all horses get along with and that didn’t make a difference.

Thanks,

Marlene

[Sheri Devouassoux]

I have owned horses that did not travel well.  The way I fixed that was for the horse to spend time in the trailer.  I hauled them every chance I had:  to the grocery store, to a trailhead that I could easily ride to, etc.  I tried to make it as positive of an experience as possible each and every time.  I drove cautiously and considered that I had a large animal back there that had no idea when I was going to stop or turn a corner.  I slowly lengthened the time they spent in the trailer as they could handle it.  

Last year I bought a tiny two horse straight load trailer.  I had been out of horses for a few years and that was all I could afford.  My relatively new-to-me gelding had never been in a straight load (always in a stock trailer) and was pretty traumatized by just standing in the tiny trailer.  He would not eat in the trailer.  Not even carrots.  I spent lots of time loading and unloading him.  I started out just hauling him about a mile down the road, turning around and coming back.  I did that a few times.  He got better every time.  Then I hauled him to a place to ride on some trails about 45 minutes away.  That was a big treat for him, since my barn had no trails.  He enjoyed the trails very much.  The next time I led him toward the trailer he literally pulled the leadrope out of my hand and jumped right in the trailer himself!  

I continued to haul him out about once a week for the next month or so.  He self loaded every time.  Then was the Big Test:  I hauled him from Illinois to Virginia.  I did the move over the course of 2.5 days, so he did not have to spend so many hours in the trailer at one time.  I unloaded him to pee every couple of hours and stopped to rest him every night.  He eagerly hopped in the trailer every time, looking for the next adventure.  

I wish you the best of luck with your mare.  With exposure and training (and positive experiences!) I am sure everything will work out just fine.

Sheri Devouassoux

Fairfax County, VA  

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[Kathy Mayeda]

I have hauled Beau for day long trips, and he still is occasionally nervous and sweats with anxiety whenever he's trailered.  He willingly goes into the trailer fine and unloads calmly and is not a behaviour problem.  I think Sheri's ideas are a great way to start in solving your problems.  For me, Beau's anxiety was always duly noted, but it didn't stop me from long trailering plans, and he was fine after 10 hour hauls.  He would not eat or drink the whole time either, which caused me some anxiety too, but we completed a few days of a multiday just fine after thoswe hauls.

K.

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[enduranc...@gmail.com]

I agree with Sheri and Kathy's methods and have had similar experiences. My trailer is such that we can feed a bowl of the horse's favorite treat in the hay bag/bucket. We'd fill that up and just go for a few miles ride "around the block" and back home. Put a buddy in too if one is available. We'd also let her just hang out in the trailer on a nice day with the side doors open, either in our driveway, or better yet in a supermarket parking lot as she liked to people watch. For my particular horse who is very sensitive (and maybe this sounds like overkill) we put a rubber pad under all the tie rings and anything that clanged and clattered while traveling, as noise can be stressful. I don't have a good way to hang a water bucket so I water her whenever we stop for gas on longer trips. Hopefully you'll notice your horse handling things a little better every trip. I personally would not consider drugging my horse other than as a last resort, ie need to get to the vet and horse won't load, or the horse is in danger of injuring himself in the trailer. 

My GUESS is that when you hear of horses severely dehydrating in the trailer it's situations where they were not provided water. If he doesn't take the water at first just try again in a couple hours. Or wet down his hay or feed a mash. Wet hay can hold quite a bit of water.

Sent from my iPod

[nancy zukewich]

I agree with the practice-makes-perfect approach. I had no trouble with my mare when she travelled with other horses. The fun started when we she started travelling alone in the trailer - difficulty loading and not eating/drinking on the trailer and basically looking unimpressed with the whole deal.  Lots of short trips really helped. She now eats on the trailer :) No drinking yet though. I have plans to rig up my trailer in the spring to be able to provide wet sloppy feed in a haybag while we are travelling.

 

Have a safe trip!  

 

Nancy

 

http://grayhorseyoga.blogspot.ca/2012/10/coffee-machine-stretch.html

[Karen Standefer]

Have you tried hauling her with friends?  All the ones that I've ever had that react like that are fine with friends.  I'm just the opposite of Sheri.  I think if you can put them in the trailer with friends for a day-long haul, they relax to trailering pretty quickly.  I have had two that just didn't ever like to haul alone though.  They would always get nervous when alone.

Karen

[roit...@yahoo.com]

Hi Marlene,

Not sure if this will work for you but it's another idea; 

if you have a roundpen or a drylot and can get your trailer into it, you could try the following:

put your trailer inside the enclosed space, place lots of hay for the horse to eat inside the trailer but nowhere else, put the horse into the enclosure and leave the horse alone.

if she wants to eat, she will have to walk herself into the trailer, relax and eat. 

Keep your horse with this arrangement until you are certain she walks in and out and spends time inside munching away. 

May take a while but you've got a month and eventually she will be hungry enough to go inside :).

She will associate the trailer with food, comfort and relaxation.

You could add water inside the trailer as well....

Good luck,

Romina

[Linda K]

Using an acid suppressor  before trailering will help prevent ulcers from the stress and make the horse more comfortable.  I administer a dose one hour before loading.  It is especially good if the horse won't eat while traveling since they continue to make acid no matter what.

Linda in Leona Valley

On Wednesday, January 23, 2013 3:06:15 PM UTC-8, wri...@marlenemoss.com wrote:

[Lee]

Using an acid suppressor  before trailering will help prevent ulcers from the stress and make the horse more comfortable.  I administer a dose one hour before loading.  It is especially good if the horse won't eat while traveling since they continue to make acid no matter what.

I was just getting ready to say this :).  Also have used the leave a trailer with food routine and it worked well too but word of caution, do not unhook (especially a bumper pull) as the trailer may be unstable and tip/move/???

Lee

[Rae Callaway]

Also, don't use a nice trailer as the horse may decide to eat it.

Rae

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[jazena]

This reminds me of my now passed on Arabian mare, Razzi.  I purchased her when she was twenty years old for my grandkids to ride.  After bringing her home I could never get her to load again.  Per suggestions, I put her hay in the back of a trailer, (near the outer edge) which was inside her large corral.  Each feeding I moved the hay a few inches farther into the trailer.  When the hay got out of her reach, she still would not go into the trailer.  Finally she figured out she could pull the rubber floor mat out of the trailer and get the hay.  Even though I removed the mat, she would not get into the trailer and frankly I didn't have the heart to withhold her food after her not eating anything for two meals.  So I gave up and never trailered her again until the day I sold her when she was 28 years old.  I had to use a twitch and double halters and two leadropes and three of us finally got her into the trailer and she was never trailered again.  She remained at that home until she died at 35.  Of course I must admit I have never claimed to be a horse trainer, just a rider and lover of horses.  Good luck and maybe it would be a good idea to hire a trainer to teach her to load.

Lindak

[Kathy Mayeda]

Wasn't sure the issue was loading, but rather nervousness in the trailer...

Anyway, the best $50 I ever spent was for a professional to work with my problem loading mare, and then work with me to resolve our mutual trailer loading mental blocks...

The funniest thing is that when I first brought Drako from my ex's in Loomis, he had very little trailer loading experience.  I had spent a few weekends just getting him used to human handling, then my ex and I unceremoniously just stuffed him in the trailer one day, I drove him around for 15 minutes, unloaded and put him away and drove back to the Bay Area.  The next weekend we again uncermoniously stuffed him into the trailer and I drove him down to the stable in San Jose.  After getting him under saddle and riding around the ranch for a few months, I just walked him into the trailer and we started doing a trails.  Years later and many other emotional issues ensued, and I find myself at a Parelli instructional camp with Drako blowing up when the instructor was trying to load him the Parelli way.  Instructor was incredulous that I could get him into the trailer at all.  I just said "I just walk him in..."  Then she goes off muttering that she hates Arabs...  Guess they're too smart for her.

Incidently, the $50 professional was a high ranked Parelli student but didn't use Parelli methods with my mare.  I'm not against Parelli trailer loading method at all, and Drako was eventually taught to load that way... But I guess I am too impatient and that's how my mare and I got into trailer loading war in the first place.

K.

[tar...@juno.com]

Hi Marlene,

 

First off, I would always load another horse before her in the trailer. This will take a lot of the anxiety away. (every little bit helps) After a ride,( you riding the horse I mean) load her up (with the other horse already in the trailer) and go somewhere....make sure there is hay hanging inside the trailer for them. go out to eat or something...might be a good idea to eat outside where you can watch them the first couple of times just in case you need to(.just don't make her stand in the trailer at home) They will get fidgety and have anxiety at home doing this. She will learn that after a good ride, (works off some nerves) she gets fed and is "done". When you get to your destination and are ready to un load the horses, make sure you un load her first. Very important. Believe me...this helps. That way she will get used to the routine( horses are a creature of routine) Do it this way every time...she will eventually get better. But it will take time. And remember...the least amount of people around when loading and un-loading her the better. If she wants to come flying out when un-loading......Don't yell at her to whoa. I see and hear soooooo many people do this. It drives me crazy! You will make the horse more nervous doing this. Just keep everything quiet.

Good luck and be patient......and whatever you do, don't be in a hurry. Horses feed off our energy. If you are in a hurry.... it is better off just left alone.

On Wednesday, January 23, 2013 3:06:15 PM UTC-8, wri...@marlenemoss.com wrote:

[tar...@juno.com]

I agree with the other posts about making the experience as positive and fun for the horse as possible. My horses love to go on trail rides. They learned real quick that the trailer was going out to the trails. I always have food in the trailer on the return home. Another thing is to make sure you turn and change lanes slowly. The take off and slowing down must be done "quietly" as well. I have a friend who has issues with her horse loading. Well....I found out why the day she picked me and my mare up to go for a trail ride. She was scaring me! Turns way to fast and taking off way too fast and stopping too soon. And this is somebody who has trailered for years.

On Wednesday, January 23, 2013 3:06:15 PM UTC-8, wri...@marlenemoss.com wrote:

[Marlene Moss]

Thanks for all the ideas guys!

 

I’d tried having her travel with another horse, a really calm gelding that most others look to as a leader and that didn’t make a difference. She was like this when I got her, then got over it fairly well when I was doing a lot with her several years ago. She’s had a long break – first a baby, then a friend kept her for a couple years with no travel.

 

I don’t remember how long it took for her to get over before and I wasn’t sure if a month would be enough, so hence asking for additional ideas. I’ve been putting her in every day or two and giving her some sloppy beet pulp, hanging out with her and my husband’s been shaking the trailer like it’s on the road. Yesterday, her heart rate was still up and she got warm, but no drippy sweat, so great progress.

 

She hasn’t eaten any hay yet, but if she’ll do the beet pulp that will help. I’m glad someone mentioned the acid depressor, I think that will help a lot.

Marlene

[Sandy Howland]

Sorry about the sloppiness of the reply, I am trying to get otu the door but wanted to write something:

Sherry mentioned my mare:

She would tremor (all large muscle groups spasming violently) when I would load her when I first got her.  She would load ok, but then just start to shake and sweat. 

What I did:

at first - I loaded pony's friend, then her a few times.  They stood on trailer for a few minutes.

then - feed pony and friend on trailer.  Get pony off before she finished dinner so she wasn't fretting (we also has a "rushing out of the trailer" problem")

-then feed pony and friend.  let them hang for a little after finished eating.

-then short trailer trip with friend

-short trailer trips (plural) to "happy" places

-at this point (now) we are good to go 

Also, the shaking- the Magnesium supplement stopped it.  I thought it was maybe just her getting used to trailering so I took her back off.  The trembling came right back.  I would highly recommend trying a Mg supplement.  At least they are cheap.

-Sandy

On Fri, Jan 25, 2013 at 1:45 PM, Sherry Morse <sherry...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Have you tried giving her magnesium (I know, can o'worms) to help with her nervousness?  Vitamin E has also been shown to be helpful in horses traveling long distances.  Usually with something like this you just have to practice, practice, practice; but of course you have a limited time to do that. 

I have a friend (who's also on RC) who has a mare with a similar issue.  With her we've found that the magnesium helped (I think she's on just a 1/2 ounce a day which is a very minimal dose) and taking it away created a noticeable difference.

That mare hadn't been off the farm in 6 years when Sandy got her last August and while she traveled ok getting home (a 2 hour trip) every trip after that she would shake and sweat like a fiend.  She was willing to get on the trailer - although she prefers the slant to the straight load, and eventually willing to eat on it; and most of the time didn't seem overly upset by being in the trailer; but other than the magnesium and lots of short trips we didn't have any good ideas on how to help her (having another horse in the trailer doesn't seem to make a difference for her either). 

She has shown improvement over time, but it's been a few months, not a few weeks :(
Sherry in PA

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From: Marlene Moss <wri...@marlenemoss.com>
To: ride...@endurance.net
Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 6:06 PM
Subject: [RC] suggestions for horse that doesn't travel well?

[Lynn White]

On Wednesday, January 23, 2013 4:06:15 PM UTC-7, wri...@marlenemoss.com wrote:

Hi,

Talk to your vet about using ACE.  It may not work good enough or long enough for your 10-hour trip.  You can syringe ACE right in the mouth as long as there is no food.  I used to do this to my mare before farrier visits.  She had issues about someone messing with her rear left hoof.

 

I had a mare that loaded great but broke out in a sweat while trailered.  She had navicular and arthritic hips so I don't know if the vibration of the trailer caused her pain or if she was just anticipating pain.  You can put shavings in your trailer but use a fly mask to keep particles from getting into eyes.

A neighbor's mare went berserk in my straight-load trailer.  She ended up tearing a lower leg tendon.  I never could figure out what set her off.  I thought perhaps there were wasps in my trailer and she got stung...but never found any small wasp nests.  Personally, after that experience I would medicate a horse if I was afraid of one going nuts in a trailer.

 

But there appears to be something that is making your mare nervous about trailering down the road.  It could be anything.  Have YOU ever ridden in a trailer?  Sometimes the noise is strange:  all kinds of squeeks, thuds, wacks, etc.  Try to identify and dampen noise in your trailer if you can. I'd try with using earplugs.  They are relatively inexpesive, and if they don't work you aren't out much money.  You can find them in catalogues or ask someone who does cowboy mounted shooting.

You will have to just experiment with short rides.  Can you remove a divider so you mare can stand how she wants?   Some horses like to ride backwards. 

You have your work cut out for you.  Good Luck!

 

-Lynn 

 

 

 

[deser...@aol.com]

Lynn said,
"She had issues about someone messing with her rear left hoof."

This statement interests me a lot, because I have four horses and a mule.  Two of the horses and the mule are good with ALL of their other feet, but try to pick up the left hind and they get stubborn about it.  They will refuse to pick it up, then when it's finally off the ground, they either try to set it back down or yank it around so you can't do anything with it.  After a couple of minutes, they'll usually stand okay, but initially, it's a hassle.  They even make a kicking motion when you have the foot--which to me means don't mess with that one, not I'm going to kick you.  They still get the quick "AHHH-AHHH" noise that means they've stepped over the line into unacceptable behavior, but I don't discipline them as if they actually tried to kick, because we both know that was not the intention. 

Does anybody else have a horse that is only funny about the left hind? Or does anybody have an explanation why it would be only that foot?  I've had one since birth, one since 9 months of age, and one since yearling, so different people haave done the initial hoof pick-up training.
jeri

[Karen Standefer]

I have one horse this way.  Farriers I’ve talked to say it’s an Arab thing because of the high/low syndrome of this hooves and most of them are weaker in the right rear.  My horse has had a lot of injury in his right rear and it’s his stronger diagonal, but he does have a lot of weakness on that side.  However, the logic fails at the point that his injuries occurred when he was 9 and he’s ALWAYS been this way with his left rear (I acquired him when he was 4.5). 

 

So, no plausible explanation!

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[Lynn White]

I know, the left rear issue with Agnes was a mystery.  She did not develope her issue until she was  around 14.  She'd hold her foot up there for the farrier and then just go berserk. You could tell in her eyes she was really trying though.   Usually we could make it to nailing the shoe on, but then it got to where the farrier couldn't even pick up her foot.  She'd get very defensive and fearful.   I went to complete sedation and then decided to just go iron-free which worked out quite well.  The really nice thing about using boots and taking on a lot of the hoof care is that I learned a lot about the mechanics of feet.   

 

I finally ended up with a farrier who figured that perhaps she could have some arthritis  with her stiffle.  The farrier ended up holding her left foot as low as possible to trim and rasp.  When I worked with her I'd do a little work on the rear left, do some work on the other feet and then return to the rear left.   I don't know if Agnes just decided to trust that I wasn't going to hold her foot up for a long time.  I still used just enough ACE to take the edge off during farrier trims.  Seemed to work...I really like my farrier. 

[Barbara McCrary]

One can’t help but wonder if these horses have pain in their backs, which makes it difficult to pick up a hind foot.

 

Barbara

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[enduranc...@gmail.com]

We've had this issue with two horses, one is tricky on one back foot, the other was "twitchy" on one whole side. We believe both to be due to past injuries. the horse that had the issues on the entire side got over it. She had some pretty good scars on that side and probably had been stitched up, given needles etc, but had no ongoing symptoms or pain. The other horse, which we just got this summer, we had been had been caught up in a fence as a weanling. With her it seems to be memories of past pain but she also has a slightly misaligned pelvis (likely from the fence) that could still be causing her issues - does not seem like pain but maybe loss of range of motion, as everywhere else she is SUPER flexible. I think it can take a horse longer to get over the psychological effects of injuries/ treatments than the physical. Your case seems a little more mysterious thigh since you've had them since birth/youn and didn't mention injuries. Maybe have a chiropractor check them out for range of motion issues - and/or just keep picking up those feet - if it's due to some past issue you should be able to work them through it but it can take a while.

Sent from my iPod

[SMW]

LOL  After over 35 years of trimming/shoeing I have an answer to that one.

The left is the rear hoof an owner will attempt to pick up. After after a couple of times they give up. So that leg is the one a lot of horses manage to scare the owners with. After giving up on the left they do not teach any bad habits on the right and when someone comes along who can ask comfortably for the hoof the horse never has a problem on the right but has already instilled a bad habit on the left.

  Horses the owners were too scared of to ever go near the hind feet never developed a problem and horses that had a decent horse person never developed a problem. 

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[Laney Humphrey]

I would add that most owners start with the left front & work their way
around the horse so the left rear is the 1st hind they attempt. So it's
the one the horse chooses to make an issue of, hoping to scare the owner
into dropping the whole hoof picking thing.
Laney

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[tar...@juno.com]

I had a gelding who had this issue and years later I started to notice that it was the front part of the hock joint. on the inside and front of the joint not the back (elbow part)

On Wednesday, January 23, 2013 3:06:15 PM UTC-8, wri...@marlenemoss.com wrote:

[tar...@juno.com]

I had a gelding with this issue. It ended up being the hock joint. The front of it and not the elbow point in the rear of the hock.

[K. Lynd]

My gelding had that issue in his right rear.  He could not hold his right rear up as high or for as long.  The farrier would have to give him breaks while working on that foot.  It went on for years.  I finally had a chiropractor work on him, and he is fine now and has been for a while.  He was out in the right hip. 

 

Karen Lynd