MAY 2022 THE RIDER /27 ^Between The Ears^ Effective Trailer Loading


whip. By the time they got the broom out, it was close to midnight. Frustration lev- els were high and true to form, violence begins where knowledge ends. Now they had a horse that would not go anywhere near the trailer. The horse’s behaviour was now escalating and even dangerous so they decided to call out a veterinarian to sedate the horse. This pro- vided zero results in their quest to load this horse and go home. Now let’s look at this


By Ellie Ross. What works best? Pos-


itive or negative reinforce- ment?


Most of us have been


exposed to bad loaders at one time or another. I recall one time while I was at a horse campground, the folks


were there for two days doing their best to convince their horse to get on the trailer. They tried loading another horse first, they tried load- ing him on his own, they tried the lunge line behind the butt and even got out the dreaded corn broom and


from the horse’s thoughts. He has had a history of bad things associated with the trailer but oh, you might re- mark that grain was used. The grain was of no use as the horse was beyond his threshold and therefore could not be tempted with it. That is one of the most im- portant factors to consider when working with fear or anxiety based behaviours. Essentially, anything


associated with the trailer was bad. Who knows, per- haps even the way the trailer rides was bad? Maybe a loose trailer tie was swing- ing and hitting the metal or the horse. Perhaps it’s a re- ally rough ride. Maybe a trailer companion was able to reach and bite or kick. If it was a slant load, it’s pos- sible the stall length was too short and the horse had its tail pressed up against the wall resulting in pain or, bal- ance was an issue? I have seen so many factors over- looked in trailering that the list can be long. Other variables can


Land Rover Kentucky Continued From Page 25.


Eye moved up the rankings after completing the cross country with a time penalty of 12.8 to move into eighth place. In the final phase, they jumped clear to finish with a score of 44.5 in sixth. The two-time Olympian competing in her third


trip as a rider to the competition said, “Kentucky is always an amazing event to be a part of and I feel lucky every year I am able to compete here.” She said, “the course was very challenging, the coffin at 6 and 4ab was tough but the water jumps were the most fun.” The 39-year-old added, “Goldie is pretty good in all three phases but show jumping is his strongest phase.” The pair is set to compete in Tryon, North Carolina in two weeks. Other notable Canadian performances in the


CCI4*-S include Holly Jacks-Smither of Hillsburgh, ON, and Candy King, who finished 15th overall and Lindsay Traisnel of Maidstone, ON, and Bacyrouge, who placed 23rd in the standings. In the challenging CCI5*-L event, Lisa Marie


Fergusson of Langley, BC, and her own Honor Me, a 16-year-old Welsh Sport Horse gelding sired by Bry- narian Bernin finished in 19th as the highest Canadian followed by Jessica Phoenix of Cannington, ON, and Bogue Sound finishing in 21st and Aldergrove, BC’s Hawley Bennett-Awad and JollyBo placed 27th. For more information on Land Rover Three-Day in Lexington, Kentucky, please visit:


Event https://kentuckythreedayevent.com/


the ramp wobbly? Is the step up too high. Is the footing too slippery? On a step up that can lead to a horses hind legs slipping under the trailer. Is the interior of the trailer dark? Is the entry too narrow for comfort. How many times has a horse whacked its head backing out in a hurry? Has the horse’s head been tied too high or low and he can’t get the proper balance? The list is long. Trailer


loading should be a part of every horse owners training program, especially horses with a high fear response. Unfortunately, many horse owners fail to invest the time and the only time they address these issues is when it’s a time crunch to get on the trailer. Think in terms of ‘let’s have good things hap-


all. The horses in this


study were divided into two groups. One would be the group utilizing positive rein- forcement (PR) utilizing clicker training and reward- ing with apples and carrots. The other group with the negative


reinforcement


(NR) group using halter, lead rope (same as PR group) and also a dressage whip. All horses had a his- tory of being ‘bad loaders’. The horses in the NR group were already trained to give to pressure with the halter and lead. The same trailer was


used for both groups and the sessions ended when either the horse lost focus or the horse responded correctly to the signal . To determine stress and discomfort levels,


showed 4x more discomfort behaviours than the PR group. Avoidance behav- iours were 3x higher in the NR vs PR group. Training times were long with NR


than the owners. The poten- tial stress response remained unchanged in the NR group even up until and including, the last training session. The horses in the PR


group voluntarily engaged in training vs. avoiding it and usually had short ses- sions because the session ended when the horse re- sponded correctly to the sig- nals for loading. Overall, the motivation


pen when loading into a trailer’ and you’ll find over time the horse will change its opinions on loading. I have a yearling filly that self loads quite happily on the trailer because her, its been a super pleasant place to be! Let’s take a look at


some research that was done to study this problem and hopefully


change the also be ramp vs step-up. Is method of loading to benefit


heart rate monitors were used on the horses and ob- servation of widening of the eyes and nostrils, avoidance behaviours and tail swishing were all indicative. Horses in the NR group were tapped with the whip on the shoulder in an effort to get a correct response. The results were re-


markable to say the least. The horses in the NR group


Send us all your news for publication in the next issue of The Rider


Ride More, Worry Less And Enjoy Every Ride! Let’s get you feeling more confident today!


519-940-6050 • anne@confidenthorsemanship.com www.confidenthorsemanship.com


and heart rates were on av- erage 14% higher. A really interesting fact was that the horses in the NR group, had a higher heart rate when the owners themselves, tried to load them vs a handler un- known to the horse. It was concluded that the owners anxiety played a role in this and the fact that the un- known handler had better timing and handling skills


of the horses in the PR group was significantly higher and all would agree that a calmer horse is far less dangerous than a fearful one.


What ever happened to


that horse at the camp- ground that wouldn’t load? 4 big guys literally picked up the horse and carried it on the trailer. The door was slammed shut and they drove away with the horse rocking the whole rig and screaming.


Have an interesting photo from your farm, event or show? Send it to us with a


caption and we might put it in our next issue!


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51