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I have been there and done that too.
If this were my horse, I would very quietly put her back in the trailer
each time she hurried out. Set it up so you have the time to do so for a
while. I had a four horse trailer after a two horse trailer. The hurrying
out of the longer trailer is normal. Give that some time. Don't try to
hold her, as this will raise her head and she will bump the top. No one is
strong enough to hold them in. Use a head bumper made of leather to avoid
the stitches. The neoprene ones are good for just bumps, but if they hit
something with an edge to it, the neoprene tends to cut, allowing the horse
to be cut also.
I presume you were unloading from a slant load. Let her back out until she
settles some before you start turning her around in the trailer. Then, use
caution when you do this as they tend to hurry when they turn. It is
another one of those claustrophobic things. They get over it as soon as
they realize there is no problem. In otherwords, repeat, repeat, repeat.
I believe in horses being allowed to be horses and live in pastures, not
stalls, but it sounds like some stall time for this horse on a regular
basis would be good for her. I would stable her for short periods of time
each day. Probably for feeding would be enough. I have a mare that spends
the day in the stall and nights out on pasture. (She gets too fat.) Use
what is handy for you. I think some stall time would help your trailering
problems as it sounds like she is not used to the close quarters of either.
Good luck to you, and be patient.
Bonnie in western Washington
At 10:37 AM 9/9/97 -0400, you wrote:
>My horse is usually pretty smart. Learns things after the first try, but
>I am having a problem with trailers. She LOADS like a dream.......travels
>as well as you can expect, normal stamping, etc, but UNLOADING has become
>a nightmare. She RUNS of backwards as if terribly spooked. The first few
>times I did not think much of it, but this last time we were on a longer
>trailer, so when she threw her head, she was not clear of the trailer and
>suffered a nice wound needing about 10 stitches. My thought is that she
>is used to shorter trailers and expected a ramp to be there as soon as
>she stepped back. This trailer is long enough to back up and turn around
>so that the horses can unload forward, but we never go the chance. As
>soon as the butt bar is removed and you grab the lead, she rushes
>backward (and there is no holding her if you like your life) She is
>relatively new to my care and I know NOTHING of her previous history.
>Normally she is VERY calm and relaxed, except for this. (She is also
>terrified of stalls, thus I do not keep her in one at anytime. Any
>suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated.
>
>Karolyn and Sage
>
>
>
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