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[RC] belaying horses...was a loading thread - Lynn White

I just don’t feel very comfortable going in any trailer with any horse 
(except perhaps a mini)  Things can go wrong so fast.  If you are alone you can 
get yourself squished like a bug and nobody will be there to help you.   It's 
always a good idea to be able to do everything ALONE because one never knows 
who is going to be around during an emergency.

My mare would not load in my straight load.  It took three people and 45 
minutes to get her in there.  Then one day I was watching some adventure show 
about technical rock climbing.  The light went on.  I’ll just belay my mare 
into and out of the trailer!  I got on the REI website and ordered a figure 
eight and some high strength carabeeners.  The 25-feet of nylon rope was 
purchased at the local farm store.  I had some rock climbing guru show me how 
to loop the rope through the trailer tie and around the figure eight so that I 
could stop the rope from sliding.  This way if my mare panicked half way 
through the loading/unloading I could give it slack  and she could get herself 
in a safe place WITHOUT getting totally away from the trailer.  One could use 
the same device to SLOW down a horse by having tension on the rope.  Anyway, it 
worked with me and it’s relatively safe for us both.  Most the time my mare 
just hops right in the straight load although
sometimes she’ll test me (she’s a Morab so go figure).  All I have to do 
is pull out the bucket with the belaying equipment and she’ll go right in.  I 
don’t even need to use the figure eight any more. Always use the high 
strength carabeeners…never use the ones that you can get for $2 at the 
check-out lines.  It cost me about $26 for the nylon rope, figure eight, and 
high strength carabeeners.    That was six years ago so expect to pay more.  
But it’s still way less expensive than another trailer or a session with a 
trainer or a hospital bill.  If and when I do get a nice slant load, I might 
get rid of the belaying gear;  but I have kids in college now so it will be a 
while yet.

The bottom line is to learn your horse and be creative on how to get something 
done effectively and safely.

Lynn

"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people"

-W.C. Fields




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