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Post by alison on Jun 2, 2006 22:28:17 GMT
???ok has Anyone got any great tips on how to get a stuborn shetland into a trailer ?? She isnt scared as she travels fine but its the getting in thats the problem and it seems to be getting worse I think our recrd is 1hr and nine people . I have tried at home and taken the partition out to make it more inviting and she will just run up the ramp but am not happy to travel her without a partition.
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Post by katie on Jun 3, 2006 8:00:57 GMT
Pick her up and put her in! Thats what we usually end up doing with our stubborn shetland . Have you tried a good quality rope halter as I have found that with practice it is the best thing for difficult loaders as we have had three over the years and every time we try everything and always end up going back to a rope halter.
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Post by Emma! on Jun 3, 2006 16:35:22 GMT
I know a shetland like this. Get two strong people, hook a lungerope on either side of the trailer, round his bum and pull. Works with the shetland, works with the dales and works with my tb too.
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Post by Bedrockshetlands on Jun 3, 2006 18:42:30 GMT
My wee Dolan is the same - his reasons for not loading seem irrational as I know he has never had a bad experience. He is improving with work in a pressure halter, the problem is him planting himself and losing concentration. No amount of fussing around him with food/lunge reins etcetc seems to make a difference.
I have a spare small pony pressure halter if you want to borrow it?
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Post by bangle on Jun 4, 2006 11:35:26 GMT
I have a wee trick with a long rope.... It needs to have an eye on the end and you put in on like a rope halter. walk pony up to the ramp and you carry on walking letting out the rope, you then stand in the back of the trailer and work it like a pressure halter if they step forward release the pressure, if the back up apply pressure. Dosent work with pressure of someone behind them you need to be on your own, nice and quiet it can take hours to get them in the first time or minutes, but patience is the key, then its just practice with the rope till they just walk straight in. allways take the rope with you when you load, you can progress to a rope halter as katie says when they get the message, it works for me
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Post by Emma! on Jun 4, 2006 19:32:40 GMT
I tried that bangle, but I found the pressure made her rear. Annie definatly goes in quicker with pressure from behind, not infront.
But thats horses, different things for different horses.
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Post by katie on Jun 8, 2006 10:57:53 GMT
Emma, you normall y find they rear up then walk in. Rearing is usually there last ditch attempt not to go in. And all three of our dodgey loaders do that then wonder in like nothing is up.
I do wish though that they would make trailers with solid partitions again, as I find that the floating ones in the newer ifor williams make it harder for tham to balance themselves properly, and ebony always has rubbed bits on her travel boots where she leans. Whereas solid partitions make it easier for them to splay their legs.
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Post by Emma! on Jun 8, 2006 16:34:24 GMT
I much prefer the ones with the rubber. My old pony Gem once fell in the trailer and was amazinglym unscathed, but I have no doubt that she would have been stuck and unable to get back up had the partition been solid.
Not for me, Annie rears, and darts off round the side, though recently she;s veen much better and we havn't had a hind legs episode for a while. Right now she gets five minutes of gentle encouragement to walk in of her own accord, and if she dosn't its simply lungeropes and in you go. These days as soon as the lungeropes get pulled up to make a corridor she walks in (touchwood).
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Post by babyseamus on Jun 9, 2006 6:58:30 GMT
Lunge rope works best for us too. Seamus loaded fine teh first few times then decided that if he just stood then he maybe wouldnt need to go in at all.. but lunge rope round the bum and in he goes!
in the early days we used to also have a bucket of water and sprinkle water at the back legs and they popped in - but used to that too easily me thinks!
Fingers crossed Seamus goes in the box ok on saturday, its going to be too warm for carry on!! :0
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Post by alison on Jun 9, 2006 23:01:54 GMT
I have a spare small pony pressure halter if you want to borrow it? That would be good !
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Post by fred2 on Jun 12, 2006 8:00:53 GMT
Fern isn't too good yet at loading - I give my self plenty of time and just stand with a bucket of feed - if that ever fails I am a beliver in tapping them on the hocks with a lunge whip (well get some one else to do it) they end up getting fed up of the tapping and walk up the ramp I have also in the past had to use lunge line for my pony if it wasn't hooked up she wouldn't go in - you didn't need to pick it up so long as she knew it was there in she went and Fred's mum needed the chain under her chin again no problem if she had it on - if she didn't she would rear and charge off!! practice and try different things untill you find one that works - may take ages to get them in but don't give up or next time they are 100 times worse! good luck
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Post by lenny on Jun 12, 2006 8:48:07 GMT
they end up getting fed up of the tapping and walk up the ramp thats sounds a bit like chinese torture no wonder they go in ;D When i got Lenny he had never been in a lorry/trailer except for ghillies lorry to come up here. He had a tantrum initially (as they do as yearlings ) so we put the pressure halter on and et voila up the ramp he went and hes never refusd to load into lorry or trailer since. Even then first time into the trailer he walked straight in after a sniff. If you have loading problems its finding a method that works thats the key. Practice at home as much as possible and dont necessecarily go anywhere when you get them in. Take them out and do it again til the horse is comfortable and eager to go in. Yesterday at the show there was so many horses refusing to load and people standing behind them with lunge lines, whips and even walking sticks It was obvious they werent going to go in using these methods after an hour and some loose horses running round with lunge lines wrapped round them
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Post by fred2 on Jun 12, 2006 14:28:18 GMT
the tapping with a stick - not hitting them hard has worked for a few that I have helped with - it isnt torture - if anything it is less torture than tapping them with a schooling whip when ridden as you don't hit them hard just a tickle and it bugs them so they move away from it. if you use lunge lines correctly they also work nad it isn't cruel - but I still think practice at home and feed in the lorry/trailer they get used to it and it isn't a threat to them. sorry if my tapping with a stick has offended anyone but it HAS worked for me in the past and just passing on info.
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Post by lenny on Jun 12, 2006 14:55:19 GMT
Fred. i wasnt implying that it was cruel in the slightest and cant really see how you would think that from my comment I was merely making a joke if it is a method that has worked then great, maybe more people should try it, sounds better than fighting with a horse for hours. As for lunge lines they also work if used properly but my point was that they were not being used properly yesterday and therefore not working!
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Post by ponyplanet on Jun 12, 2006 15:12:01 GMT
Chinese torture rules!! the "annoying " method rather than "bullying" always works for me to! When loading Banjo for the first time & after 30 mins of pressure release & getting no where (always worked for me in the past) my OH took over. He put a line of pony nuts along the ground & all the way up the ramp and the bloody horse hoovered them all the way up and loaded!!!! This is my experience has never worked before!!!! not sure if it would work again! but he seems to load fine now!
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