Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

I have a two-horse slant w/o rear tack open stock type bumper pull.  I leave the rope halters on, and through the lead rope over their backs or into the manger.  They generally unload pretty quietly.  Most of the time I let them turn around, step out and then I catch them without a problem.

 

Drako, however, gets amped up sometimes so I have to school him about coming out calmly.  He's the only one that I require for him to back out because one time he tried to turn around in a narrower slant load, hit himself and panicked.  Normally, he only does this when we arrive at a new place, or a place where he remembers being amped up at, like Graham Hill Fairgrounds.  He normally gets the front stall.  I open the back door, talk to him a minute.  If he's anxiuos I wait for his feet to stop, and then I open the latch slowly and if he tries to rush out, I bump him with the stall door until he quits trying to rush.  Then I inch it open a bit and normally he comes out backwards slowly.  The caveat is that this is a horse that I'm constantly schooling to understand release from pressure.  If he starts bolting out past me, I dont' fight him coming out, but he has to go back in right away and get schooled on coming out slowly. Normally once he's out of the trailer, he is easy to catch. Trick is to know when to take a stand and know when to get out of the way. 

 

K.

 

 

 

 

On Tue, Oct 21, 2008 at 2:19 PM, Elizabeth Walker <bwalker2@xxxxxxx> wrote:

Well, I'll jump in here.  :)

I've done both - tied and not tied.  Sometimes it depends on the horse.  If a horse normally rides quietly, I tend not to tie in the trailer, since I've been known to once or twice forget to untie the head before opening up the back - guaranteed to cause a horse to panic a bit.

I have a straight load, so until I unhook the butt bar, the horse isn't going to come flying out.  However, whether I tie or don't tie, my routine is (from the outside) to go to the horses head, untie if needed, and loop the rope over the neck.  Then go to the back, open the doors and undo the butt bar.

BTW - the halter stays on.  If I don't tie, I still loop the rope through the tie ring so that it won't come loose.  I've tried throwing the rope over the horses back, but most of the time it ends up on the floor where the horse can step on it.

If I have more than one horse in the trailer, I will tie.  I don't need any squealing and fighting back there, and I sure don't need horse A biting horse B on the back (and yes, some short-backed, rubber-necked gumbies can do that).

I'd be interested in hearing from anyone that trailers in a box stall configuration, where the horse has room to move around.  Does that cause any problems?

On Oct 21, 2008, at 1:41 PM, Kitley, Carrie E Civ USAF AFSPC 30 MDSS/SGSLF wrote:

Hi Kathy -
I'm just curious -- what is your reasoning behind leaving your horses
untied in the trailer?  I'm not criticizing, just wondering.  I know if
I were a horse I wouldn't want to be tied in on a long trip, but being a
human, I worry about my horse not being tied in while traveling.  And
don't they come flying out before you're ready when you open the gate?
I don't know if I could get the halter on fast enough before my mare's
ready to back out.  Lol
Thanks, Kathy
Carrie

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp
Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp

Ride Long and Ride Safe!!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=