I still remember when we took our maiden voyage with our new slant load,
several years ago. My first mistake was to attach the trailer tie before
the door was closed. Our trailer has no butt bar. So, the horse in the
last stall decided to back out, but the tie was too short, and he was
dancing on the rubber bumper, not quite out, not quite in... If I cut
him loose, I was afraid he'd bang his head, and/ or get his back legs
underneath the trailer. Thankfully, he agreed to get back into the
trailer.
So, Lesson #1: Get the last horse in, shut the door, *then* snap on the
trailer tie.
Our routine is as follows:
Load:
Drop the feed doors, drape the lead rope over the horse's back, walk him
to the rear of the trailer, tell him to load, follow him in, close and
latch the divider. Continue until all horses are in. Close the Door and
latch it, then attach halters to the trailer ties (which stay in the
trailer), remove lead ropes and place in the truck (in a handy spot for
emergencies), close the feed doors and away we go.
Unload:
(And here is where I learned Lesson #2...) In our trailer, the last horse
in *must* back out, however, all others have room to turn around. My
horse thought that was cool...until we trailered with a friend whose
trailer is more narrow. When he tried to turn around, he got wedged. As
I think back on it, it was pretty funny, because of the look on his face
and the way he was rocking to free himself...but at the time, I was
pretty concerned. Thank God he's an extremely short backed horse. So,
Lesson # 2 is: teach them to back out slowly, not turn around.
Our routine for unload is:
Drop the feed doors, un-hook trailer ties, attach lead rope and drape
across the back. Go to the rear, open the door, and ask for a back. Out
he comes with lead rope waiting for me to grab. Next horse out, same
thing, but I open the divider, latch it to the other wall, then ask for
the back...If necessary, I'll have someone hold the horse at the feed
door while I exit, then ask for the back.
It only took about two 15 minute sessions to get the horses used to the
routine. I used a little grain, a few carrots, and a lot of praise. The
hardest part was teaching the horse in the last stall to make the turn
when backing out. At first, he'd back into the side of the trailer and
get confused, then he learned to make the turn.
I love my slant load!
Kathy Seibolt
Kseibolt@conc.tdsnet.com
Diane E. Nelson wrote:
>
> We took our maiden voyage with our new slant load GN. The trailer is 7'
> wide. Horses hopped right in, were a little confused about going
> sideways but no big deal. Getting them off was another story. The first
> horse has to back off because we have a feed bin taking up front space.
> When we go in to hook up the lead rope, it's pretty tight in there if
> they step toward you. The next horse could turn around but still wants
> to hop out backwards. Again it's pretty dicey in there
> when unhooking/hooking up lines.
>
> I'm going to have Collin-Arndt put in a butt-bar to discourage the yahoo
> exits when we open the back door.
>
> Any suggestions as how to handle transfers of lead ropes, etc? I'm sure
> the guys will settle in once they are used to the new rig. Not a one of
> us (horse or human) has had any experience with step-up/slant-load
> situations.
>
> Diane @ Safe Haven
> yes, we rode; yes, it was warm; life is good-but it'll be better once I
> figure out the rig!