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RE: [RC] [RC] Trailer loading - Jim HollandKathy, it's good to hear that Ramsy still remembers! <grin> Actually, I don't lounge to teach loading. However, that works as well. Clinton Anderson has a pretty good video where he lounges the horse BY the trailer across the ramp and at some point just diverts the horse into the trailer. I just teach "go forward" away from the trailer by tapping with a lounge whip high on the hip until he understands what I want. That is, when I stand beside him in the "trailer loading" position and point toward his hip, he will step off. When he does that, I know he understands what I want and we can move to the trailer. I then ask him to "go forward" toward the trailer, stopping a couple of feet from the door. No feed in the trailer. If he wants to sniff the trailer, paw it, etc., that's OK...as long as he is concentrating on the trailer I just stand quietly. When he looks away, I ask for a "go forward" by a steady tap on the hip. Where ever he goes, sideways, backward, forward, doesn't matter...steady tapping, keeping his nose pointed at the trailer. Only thing that stops the tapping is a movement forward. If he backs up, I just go with him, still tapping, until he stops and takes at least one step forward. I then stop for a few seconds to reinforce that this is the "right answer". Then start all over again from where he is, always moving toward the trailer. He doesn't have to be aligned with the trailer, just his head pointed at the door. If he tries to push me out of the way and go between me and the trailer that is aggression. I let him do that, but hit him HARD across the cannon bones when he comes by, make a circle, point his nose at the trailer and start over as though nothing happened. Any "attempt" at forward motion or "interest" in getting on, gets a momentary stop from the tapping. One caution...once you commit to this, you MUST finish it or it will be harder next time. On a green loader, you can quit on a positive "effort". If he gets on, and gets right back off, that's great! I just put him on again....more practice. Eventually he will figure out that it's a waste of time to come off and get right back on and he will stay there. My goal is for him to stay on for 3-4 minutes. Then I will "ask" him to come off by tugging on his tail. When he does, I take him for a walk and let him graze for a few minutes, the repeat the whole procedure. Eventually, you lead him to the trailer, raise your arm and point at his hip and he will get on. The goal is that he will stay on without the butt bar and without the door closed until I ASK him to come off. I also practice this when I take him somewhere. If he gets off the minute I open the door and put the butt bar down without being asked, he gets put right back on and left there for 5-10 minutes. They soon get the message that the quickest way to get off is to wait to be ASKED. It's dangerous for a horse to ride the butt bar and rush off the trailer on his own. I don't tie my "experienced" travelers and I NEVER let a horse turn around to get off. It's always a bad idea to force a horse on the trailer or bribe him to get on. In the first case, ropes around the butt and through the trailer are dangerous to you and can seriously injure the horse. In the second case, you may not always have feed. Pressure, properly applied will cause the horse to make a conscious decision that loading (and waiting to be asked to get off) is the best answer to the pressure. With a green loader, the procedure is slightly different, because I want him to put each foot on and off one at a time a number of times before I actually let him get on. Keep in mind that if your horse is pulled at an away vet check, you never know what the ambulance trailer is going to look like. Practice on all kinds of trailers and he won't embarrass you when it happens. If a horse hasn't seen a ramp, this may look dangerous to him. (I had one horse that wanted to leap over it) I built a little platform of 6x6 boards on 4x4's and I teach my guys to step up on it. Then I raise one end a few inches and ask them to climb up it and step down off the high end. When I first started competing Magic, he had never seen a trailer with a ramp, but the first time he did, he walked right on...because it was familiar. It also looks like a wooden bridge, which will help you on the trail. (Will also help you get your horse to stand on the scale if you ride in the SE) :) Jim, Sun of Dimanche+, and Mahada Magic Richard T. "Jim" Holland Three Creeks Farm 175 Hells Hollow Drive Blue Ridge, Ga 30513 (706) 258-2830 www.threecreeksarabians.com Callsign KI4BEN -----Original Message----- From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of kramspott@xxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Tuesday, December 05, 2006 11:27 AM To: Dawn Carrie; Teresa Williams Cc: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: [RC] [RC] Trailer loading This sounds very similar to what Jim Holland did with my gelding and yes, it WORKS!! The best part is so far, my guy hasn't forgotten so he still just walks right on. I've since done it with my mare and it does work. I don't mind waiting a while and giving them time but this is so much better when they just walk right in like its nothing. -- Kathy =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. 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