Keep the horse! Our (now sweet) Lyric refused to
load and at Cuyamaca one summer and it took 5 big guys to get her in the
trailer for the ride home. I guess she was having too much fun, but that
is a Lyric story for another day.
What worked for us was to feed her in the trailer for
several weeks. Did I say Lyric was/is stubborn? I had an older
straight load that I rigged up pipe corral to so she had room to move. The
first few days I took out the divider and had the trailer wide open. Lyric
was really comical running in, grabbing a bite and running out.
After Lyric was comfortable eating in the open trailer,
I put the divider back in and tied it to one side. Again it took
several days for Lyric to calm down and eat in the trailer. But once that
occurred at all the feedings I switched up the sides and tied the divider to the
other side. Next was to feed in one side with the divider in place.
Then the other side. Finally I was able to fed with one back door
closed.
From then on Lyric has been easy to load.
This takes time, space and patience, and is non-traumatic. I remember
how difficult it was working with her and how frustrated both Danielle and I
would get. Hang on, it takes time to get the horse to trust you and be
your partner. I hope this helps!
