Loading in a Trailer

[rodriguezpoultry]

So...Max will be a complete arse tomorrow. That's all there is to it.

We are going to try and get him used to the new straight load 2-horse trailer. Should be tall enough (I was ADAMANT about head room) and is definitely wide enough.

But I have some questions.

We bought 2 stall mats, each measuring 4' x 6' and 3/4" thick. One mat will cover either side, but we will have to cut the second mat to have it fit perfectly.

Which side of the trailer should he ride on? I'd like to load him into the passenger side, but have been reading they have to be loaded onto the driver's side. Is this true, and if so...why?

I have to give him his shots today. He's UTD on Coggins and will be getting health papers written up early tomorrow morning. We're hoping for a nice training session today so that he'll load nice and smooth into the trailer tomorrow morning. (Which he won't...because he's an arse.)

I guess I'm just venting my frustrations and worries about this trip..Should only be for 2 hours where he'll be boarded for a short while.

Any ideas to make this easier? We'll be putting some space between the trailer and the fence so that we can use the fence as a "roundup" should the need arise.

ETA: He'll be getting these vaccines:
5 in one which includes: West Nile, Rhino, Flu, East and West Sleeping Sickness and Tetanus.
Rabies
Strangles

Any others???

And should I give them to him all at once? Should I alternate between sites on him? Rabies on one side of his neck, 5 in one on the other side? The Strangles is through the nose.

 

[Peaches Lee]

It is advised with a straight load trailer to load a single horse on the driver's side due to the road and how it's constructed. The yellow line(s) (middle of road) are higher than the outer sides of the road, putting the horse on the driver's side works better with the laws of physics

Can't help with the vaccines, I always have my vet do it.

Good luck!

 

[danielle82]

he should be on the drivers side

 

[lockedhearts]

Drivers side in straight load and it depends on where he is going as far as vaccines.

If a Show I also do , Rhino, but honestly, I do these every 6 months so that they are covered.

Just saw about boarding , I would still tend to give Rhino as well, since you have no idea what the other horses there have been around.

 

[2DogsFarm]

Unless the laws where you live are different, you cannot do the rabies vaccine yourself.
Vet has to give that one so paperwork verifying can be filed with the State.

From my experience:
1 - Do alternate sides of the neck for vaccines - that way if you get a reaction at least you can narrow down which vaccine caused it.

2 - Stand Back! when you do the intranasal Strangles - it makes them snort hard & you can end up covered in snot.

3 - Rabies vaccine given in the neck gave one of my horses a nasty side effect - he could not lower his head to eat or drink for a day after.
Next time vaccine was given in the hindquarter & produced no reaction.

Agree that driver's side is best for a single horse in a 2H straightload trailer.
Roads are banked for drainage so you want that extra weight on the higher side.

& remember to be PATIENT loading if you haven't done it with this horse before.
If you get frustrated/angry/tense he will pick right up on that.
Allow yourself plenty of time & take as long as you need.
Unless you weigh 1000# you cannot force a horse to load.

 

[arabianequine]

It is called "road crown" and it is put on the road for water/rain to run off and not pool up where traffic will be traveling. If you know how to tow and your truck and trailer have good alignment it should not matter and you should be fine by putting him on either side. Always drive slow and cautious. Remember the weight and trailer are back there and where the horse/animal is.

Truthfully it is the same amount of weight no matter what side the horse/animal is on, the pitch/angle of the road is the same top or bottom, left or right side of your horse trailer.

ETA: Maybe the extra weight of the horse on the left side will hold it down from tipping over.....I really don't think so if it is gonna happen it is gonna happen. Just be careful as always when towing anything and/or driving.

 

[patandchickens]

Any ideas to make this easier? We'll be putting some space between the trailer and the fence so that we can use the fence as a "roundup" should the need arise.

Well, it would be easier if he had been trained to the trailer over a period of a number of days, with no deadline, previously.

OTOH, if you gotta move him now, you gotta move him now, I guess.

My main suggestion is to work on getting him going into AND OUT OF the trailer at each step -- yes, I mean TOMORROW, when you are not trying to train him per se but trying to load him for an actual trip. Get him to step towards it and then away. Get him to step onto the ramp and then back out. Get him to step partway in and then back out. Etc. Rewarding amply at all points in the process (although moreso "in" than "out").

It doesn't take much extra time in the short run, and it pays big dividends in the long run as it tends to head off future trailering problems (in contrast, if you get him in there and then slam the gate real quick before he can scoot back out, the horse often starts disliking trailers *even if* he was perfectly fine to begin with). Also if the horse SHOULD happen to be a bit leery of the trailer tomorrow, the in and out approach tends to defuse that in a nice low-key way.

Personally I would not vaccinate a horse at the same time as I moved him to a new barn unless for some reason it was literally unavoidable. It would be better to have done it a few weeks before. Vaccines are not instantaneous, they take time to have their effects, and furthermore horses are not-infrequently grumpy and "under the weather" and sore for a few days after vaccinating, and may be more susceptible to catching diseases from other horses during that time as well.

It would not be a bad idea IMO to also separate the first IN strangles dose from the other vaccinations by at least a few weeks, last I looked the manufacturers usually recommend to do that because the IN strangle vaccine is an attenuated live virus and can cause abscesses and such if the organism contaminates other injection sites (and if you have ever admininstered the IN thing before, you will know that the stuff goes more or less all over the place LOL)

If you can't delay moving the horse for another couple weeks, it would almost be worth considering not vaccinating him until you've been settled in for a few weeks IMHO, unless they won't let you move in without having vaccinated in which case I guess you'd just have to go ahead and do it (make sure they're ok with owner-given vaccinations, though, if that is the case, as some places require a vet certificate of vacc.)

Rabies won't "count" legally unless a vet gives it, in any state I've ever lived in or heard of... so remember that doing it yourself you are counting on there never being a circumstance where you require proof of it.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat​

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Unfortunately we were just able to get the trailer up here this week. It's been raining nonstop and this has Vern the first "good" day.

Rabies are not required by law to be given by a vet. If he contracts it...the chances of giving it to a human are not great so I'm not worried about legalities, only that he is protected. The 5 in one has Rhino in it.

The strangles I will ask the vet to do or instruct me as I have never done it IN. There's no vaccine requirements at the facility but this is more for a "just in case". I will keep the vaccines in the fridge until next Sunday then give him his shots then. He's still current but I won't be in the same state as him when his vaccines expire so I gotta get it done ASAP. Thanks for all the help and advice!

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Probably I worded that badly. I am not saying it's illegal to give the shot yourself.

I'm saying that if there should ever be any question about his rabies status because of exposure etc, I do not know of ANY states where owner-vaccinated horses are considered vaccinated in the eyes of the law. There are two scenarios where it signficantly matters. One is where the animal bites someone and it's reported to the health department as doctors are legally required to do for some animal bites. This is not as much of an issue for horses as they seldom bite people in ways that end up *getting* reported, but if your dog/cat bites someone and is not DOCUMENTABLY vaccinated for rabies you go into a whole 'nother bracket of seriousness of quarantine. The second scenario, more relevant to horses, is that if your animal is exposed to an animal that ends up testing positive for rabies, you can be legally-required to either euthanize it right then and there, or keep it in very, very strict (no direct human contact) isolation for a number of months. In any state I know of. Again, those things do not happen often but they do *happen*, so it is worth being aware of the deal.

Actually, btw, in the (very rare) case that a horse does contract rabies (there is usually a case or two every year or two in N America, IIRC), human exposure tends to be pretty HIGH, because usually nobody figures out the horse has rabies til a whole lot of people have handled him and vets have stuck their hands in his mouth and so forth and so on. Horse rabies cases usually result in a considerable number of people having to get prophylactic rabies shots (not the vaccine, the thing you get when you've been exposed, the name escapes me at the moment)

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Omg. Worst 4 hours ever. There was bloodshed. Not all of it was mine. But by God at the end of it all, he was loading and unloading like a champ!