Need HORSE HELP- <<UPDATED - PICS pg 3>>

[needmorechickens!]

Ok, well Tessie is still here. The people from the stable were late to pick her up so I called them. It was getting dark, so I asked if they might be able to wait until tomorrow to come get her (we are going to follow her there and spend some time with her.) They said ok.
15 minutes later she calls back and says their neighbor with the trailer has shown up to pick her up and come get Tessie, so would it be alright if they just came on and got her. I said ok, if she needed to come on tonight, she could.
When we bought Tessie, the previous owner loaded her into the trailer with no problem...a 4 horse trailer....These people showed up with a 2 horse trailer.
Tessie would not go in. We let them try first, because we have never trailered a horse, of course. They couldn't get her in. They pulled on her and hit her backend with a rope. Tessie was soooo scared. My daughter walked her around a for a few minutes then she tried to load her...Tessie got her front feet in, then froze...we coaxed her partway in with a bucket of feed, then she raised her head and hit it on the roof of the trailer and about dragged the lady out of the trailer with her. She stepped on the foot of the guy trying to help.
They tried wrapping a rope around her backend to give her some pressure to go in, and they were pulling on her and swatting her on the rear. By this time my daughter looks like she is going to cry and Tessie looks wild-eyed.
They put her back in her stall and backed the trailer up to the gate and tried to scare her in.
Nothing worked...I feel bad for Tessie. I am not sure what to do now. Did the people from the stable not know what they were doing or was Tessie just freaked out from her new environment?
I have a friend that may have a larger trailer, but now i feel weird about the new place. I'm not sure what to do.
~Rebecca

 

[verthandi]

Honestly? I don't like their methods either. They have been used by many in the past and can get a horse on a trailer, but do not set the horse up for being okay about loading in the future. It sounds like the hauler was in a hurry to get the job done. Can you talk to the former owner and see if this mare has/had any loading/hauling quirks? Some horses don't like stepup trailers, some don't like ramps. Some find the size of some of the smaller quarter horse size older trailers too small. I always think about prey animal being loaded into a small dark hole....it would not be too appealing to me either. That doesn't mean that they can't be turned into horses that load well, it just takes time and patience.

Questions that came to mind as I read your post. This farm does not have it's own trailer and uses someone else to haul for them? I find that a little odd. What if a horse at that stable had a medical emergency that couldn't be treated at the farm and needed to be hauled to a clinic?

Do you have any people that you know that board at this stable and can tell you about the type of care offered there?

 

[MrsCountryChick]

needmorechickens! :

The people from the stable were late to pick her up so I called them. It was getting dark, so I asked if they might be able to wait until tomorrow to come get her

They pulled on her and hit her backend with a rope. Tessie was soooo scared.

......we coaxed her partway in with a bucket of feed, then she raised her head and hit it on the roof of the trailer and about dragged the lady out of the trailer with her. She stepped on the foot of the guy trying to help.

They tried wrapping a rope around her backend to give her some pressure to go in, and they were pulling on her and swatting her on the rear.

They put her back in her stall and backed the trailer up to the gate and tried to scare her in.

That doesn't sound like correct loading that I've ever heard of.

I had a horse that was stubborn to load, but putting a rope around his back legs (like the bottom of his butt basicly), & slowly walking forward with a person on his halter & a person on each side holding the rope he was slowly coaxed to walk further. Full loading, transport & unloading was done during the day (in the afternoon really). So nothing would be scarry for him. Hauling an apprehensive horse onto a new trailer that she hasn't rode in when it was nearing dark & their first moves were to "hit her backend with a rope"? And "Scarring" her is just going to injure your horse or someone else, that's how accidents happen. Them coming at night 'rushing' to pick her up while it was nearing dark is bad enough. Sorry your ordeal sounds aweful.

 

[patandchickens]

What verthandi said. If you are a good enough old-timey-style horseman you can get nearly all horses to go into nearly all trailers by those sorts of methods, and have the horses still willing to go into another trailer later on (albeit generally requiring similar methods from similarly skilled personnel).

Unfortunately the VAST VAST majority of people who use the whup em in the butt, leadrope around the haunches, whoopin' and hollerin' method are NOT good enough old-timey horsemen to get away with it very well. Yer better and luckier grade of people who shouldn't be doing it will, at least, get the horse in that trailer that day; but it then becomes a major project getting him near or into any OTHER trailer in the future.

Worse (worst of everything except the few times when horses get hurt -- people who get hurt trying to yah! horses into trailers pretty much deserve what they get, IMO --) is the scenario you had, where all sorts of smackin' and yankin' and yah!ing goes on and the horse never DOES get trailered

If you have a very good natured horse who basically trailers well and was just put off by the night darkeness, a possibly unfamiliar trailer type, and some yahoo behavior, then you may still be relatively okay in the long run. (You don't really want those same people coming back though).

However, I have to say that my money would somewhat more be on "and now you have an extensive retraining project on your hands, which you are not in any respect equipped to take on yourself," (among other things you don't even have a trailer to school with) "and had better look around for a good trainer".

The big problem is that the people with the trailer GAVE UP. (Well ok, actually, given their apparent judgement it may be just as well, since installing a strong mental block against trailering is still better than the horse getting hurt or massively terrified by an accident). Contessa has now learned an interesting and, to her, probably very important lesson: if you pitch enough of a sit-down fit, you don't have to do the unfamiliar and worrisome thing they were asking you to do. (She has also learned that her initial fears about that trailer were relatively well-founded).

My suggestion at this point would be as follows. Ask around A WHOLE LOT to get peoples' suggestions for a good trainer who will get the horse on a trailer (in a gentle and educational way) and then take it for a month (even just 2 wks, if you can find someone who'd do that, but most work in blocks of a month) to do some trailering work with it and also give you and the horse lessons *together*, both groundwork lessons and riding lessons. While the horse is at the trainer's for a month you can put up fences and finish the shed. The important thing is that you want someone who will take their time and does not get mad or frustrated or impatient with horses.

There are an awful lot of things with horses, just like this turn of events, where sure, many times you CAN get away with the quickie not-quite-such-a-good-idea could-easily-go-wrong version of things... many unwilling horses have been successfully loaded in the dark, into unfamiliar trailers, by yah!ing people throughout history... it's just that the odds of it going wrong are substantial and when it DOES go wrong, suddenly you have a much larger level of complication on your hands. Just the way horses are. Good thing to learn up front. Hopefully increases your caution and dotting-of-I's-crossing-ofT's later on.

GOod luck,

Pat

 

[katrinag]

I do not like what they did. I have loaded many trouble horses in a hauler. And hever once hit.
They rope on the back end was fine. We have done that many times. We try to walk them around and around then lead them in. If that does not work we go at it again.

You can try carrots and leading her in. I know you said you tried grain but that is food. Try treats, carrots, apples, peppermints, etc.....

How far way is the stable that you are moving her to?

We had a mare that we took to a show and she would not load to save her soul.
We started ridding her back home. After 2 miles we had the trailer come and tried to laod her again. Still did not work. After ridding her 5 miles she load with out a problem.

When she come back to live with you, I would see if you can use someone trailer and just pratice loading her.

 

[rjv_piper]

wait... I'm confused... where is she going?
Sometimes you can use their method, if your horse is like some of ours and really doesn't care, but I wouldn't recomend it... We have a few horses that try to hurt you if you do that...

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
LOL, that is too funny. And quite smart

Pat

 

[rjv_piper]

Quote:
nevermind. lol I found where you said a bording shelter.

 

[PineBurrowPeeps]

Yeah I don't like this at all.
You'll get more with honey than Vinegar with horses, everytime.

 

[Florida chick]

It sadly sounds like these people are uneducated and frustrated. This is EXACTLY the reason everyone was saying getting this mare was a very VERY bad idea.