Rearing while tied on trailer...

[roxy's_mom]

I have a 10 y/o mare that I bought last spring at the Greencastle, Pa sale. When we had loaded her to bring her home and she started to rear while she was tied to the inside of the trailer. I just left it go figuring it was just her fear of being on a new trailer and going somewhere strange. Well I showed her all last summer and she would rear every time she was on the trailer. She wouldn't do it while the trailer was moving just while it was sitting still. So I figured I would go back to the basics of trailer loading. She gave me difficulty while trying to load so we worked on that and standing quietly while on the trailer. I would reward her every time she would stand quietly and would load quietly. You could read and see the fear on her face everytime you would go to walk out the back of the trailer. When you would walk out of the trailer she would almost panic and would want to rear and I would stop her and stand with and get her quiet again and reward her for being good. Even when there's another horse going with her she still panics and rears. The horse that would go to the shows with her last year is also a mini and even though there is a divider between them that's taller than both of them and that they can't see each other, the other mini learned to rear too and I quickly got that corrected and haven't had any trouble since. My trailer is a 2-horse straight load bumper pull with a drop down ramp.

My question is, what can I do to make my 10 y/o mare feel more comfortable and feel safer being on a trailer? Anyone else have this problem and what did you do to correct it? I have no idea how long she has done this prior to me owning her. Thanks for any help!!

Becky M.

 

[Minimor]

I wonder if she feels too closed in--I never liked hauling the Minis in our two horse trailer, because the windows were so high they couldn't see out at all. when we used to haul our Morgans, they liked to look out the front window. We'd be driving along & look back, and the horses were always looking out the front window--and as they had to position their heads just so to see out the little center window, we knew they were deliberately looking out, it wasn't just the way they happened to be standing.

We're now hauling our Minis in a stock trailer--the openings/windows on the sides come down low enough that if the horses want to see out they just have to raise their heads a little extra and then they can see things--they seem happier this way than they did in the two horse trailer they couldn't see out of.

I would find someone with such a trailer--either a stock trailer the Minis can see out of, or an actual mini trailer with the side windows--and try loading your mare in it, just to see if she is less frightened if she can see out. That is one possibility for her behavior. There are other possibilities, of course, but that's the first thing I would try.

 

[Miniv]

This may sound "short"......pardon the pun. But, if she's in a safe trailer situation, I wouldn't tie her.

 

[normajeanbaker]

I have a 9 year old mare who rears on the trailer and has done it since I got her at 2. We've tried many things to get her to stop. The thing we found that worked the best is to give her a big open slot on the trailer. Have you tried trucking her with no dividers? My mare trucks so much better without them. We've trucked her all summer with no dividers and this has been the best shes trailered. She doesn't feel like she cant move, so she doesn't panic. We truck other horses with her and we just make sure that we have a horse she gets along with next to her with no divider. Have yet to have an issue all show season. I think you said your dividers are taller then she is so she cant see. Can you try putting lower dividers in so she can see the buddy she's trucking with? Maybe if she's just able to see there is another horse there with her, she'll relax.

It really is a pain in the butt and I think it's one of those things that you need to just try different things and see if anything works. My mare has done it her whole life, so I figure I just have to figure out ways to deal with it, because at 9 years old, I dont see her all of the sudden trailering any better then how I have her right now(which is the best she's been since I got her).

GOOD LUCK!

Jen

 

[whitney]

Have you tried hay to keep her occupied?

 

[shelly]

My 5 year old mare Sahara rears when I trailer her too!!! I've only moved her twice and the first time she was not tied in and she tried to jump OUT the back!!!!!!!! I have a two horse, ramp load with no top doors and we removed the divider. So I tied her in and she reared and kicked and reared some more, so my dear friend Joyce rode in the back with her to our destination! On the way home we tied her again and my stepson rode in back with her and she STILL reared and carried on! She is pregnant now so I haven't tried any trailering since as I don't want to stress her out. I don't know if it is fear from when she was rescued or what and I don't know if she can be "cured" of being trailer shy? I HOPE SO as I would really like to show her sometime!!!!!!

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

My SIL was given a young mare that had this problem and what I suggested to her (and what worked) was to park a horse trailer in her pen and feed her in side but leave it open so she could come and go. We took the divider out until she would stand inside calmly even after she finished eating (it was just a shelter from the sun/rain then.

Then we put the divider back in and waited until she was relaxed again and would back out calmly. Once it was old hat to her we started closing her in while she ate and then opening it again once she was done. It was a long slow process but this year they hauled her to some shows and clinics and she was as cool at the end of the trip as the beginning. Oh and we also let her stand tied in a stall in the barn for a short time each day (the stall was made for saddle horses and quite isolating to a mini. The thing to remember is to never take them out of the trailer until they are standing calmly. If they are still pitching a fit they learn (like a toddler ) that throwing a fit is what works.

 

[roxy's_mom]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I have tried the hay but it doesn't work. When I first got her, the trailer she was hauled home in was a stock trailer by herself and she could see out the sides but she still reared. I guess I'll keep trying to find different solutions and see what works with her. Please keep the suggestions coming! Maybe something will work out.

Becky M.