Safety in the Trailer – Use a Little Horse Sense

Loading and unloading horses in a trailer is where a high percentage of injuries to the horse and to the handler happen.  Most of the injuries to horses that happen in a trailer include scratches and gouges from sharp objects and corners, so one of the first things to do when getting ready to go to a horse show or trail ride is to inspect the trailer for sharp objects.  If there is one to be found, the horse will find it, so look closely.  Make any needed repairs to make the trip safer for you and your horse.  When moving down the road, keep in mind that the horse is not a thrill seeker on a roller coaster – keep acceleration and deceleration smooth and slow.   Take it easy when going around corners.  Drive to make it easier for the horse(s) to keep their balance.  If you have a two-horse trailer or any trailer with partitions between the horses, make sure the partition does not go all the way to the floor.  This limits the ability of the horse to spread its feet to maintain balance.

Many serious injuries to the handler happen while loading or unloading.  Cuts and bruises tend to be deeper, bones get broken, and other serious consequences can happen, especially when the handler gets into the trailer with a frightened horse.  Remember, the horse likely weighs at least five times more than a 200 pound person and is much more powerful.  If we can train the horse to load easily and remain calm, we’re ahead of the game.  It also keeps the handler out of the trailer most of the time, reducing the risk of injury.

Many horse trainers state that the time to teach a horse to load is before the horse ever sees a trailer.  Get the horse used to being on a lead line and responding to commands to go forward and to back up calmly.  Put a 4X8 sheet of ¾” plywood down and lead the horse over it – forward and backward.  Let the horse take its time to investigate the new surface, but don’t let it turn away.  Stay calm, sooth the horse, reward good behavior, and soon the horse will take the change in surface and footing in stride.  Make the horse back up over the board, to simulate backing out of the trailer.  As the horse progresses, start to incline the plywood to imitate a ramp into a trailer, or begin to raise the edge of the board to simulate getting into a step trailer.  Be sure that the board is supported and simulates a trailer bed.  Put the board in the entrance to a stall to get the horse used to walking over it going into a narrower, darker place.  Back the horse out of the stall now and then, again simulating backing out of the trailer.  Some folks even say to eventually stick a post under the plywood to create a teeter-totter effect, simulating how the bed of a trailer will move while loading. 

Eventually, the trailer will become the centerpiece of the training, depending on how fast the horse learns, and that is when the earlier work will pay off.  Once the horse gets into the trailer calmly, first close the gate, then tie the lead rope.  Let the horse stand in the trailer for a few minutes, then unload and tie to the side of the trailer.  Repeat the process, throwing in a few variables now and then as the horse gains confidence.  After working on this for a while, take a short trip around the barnyard and then unload, tie out, and repeat so the horse keeps learning and gaining confidence that it is OK to go into a trailer, ride around for a while, and then get out calmly.  A horse that stays calm and loads and unloads readily and easily gets both horse and handler off to a good start at the horse show, trail ride, or other equine event.

A big key in training a horse to load into a trailer is for the trainer to remain calm, yet be firm.  Sooth and praise the horse when desired behaviors are exhibited.  Don’t rush into things but allow the horse to inspect new things and decide they are OK, and give a reward for completing a task well.  This all helps keep the horse in the right frame of mind for learning and mastering new skills.  Keeping the “flight or fight” mode out of the picture makes learning go a lot faster, and will prove the old adage “fast is slow and slow is fast” true once again.

There is a lot more involved in trailer safety than making sure the truck and trailer are road worthy, and don’t have sharp objects to injure either horse or handler.  Since most injuries occur while loading and unloading horses, taking the time to ensure that a horse loads easily and stays calm during the process greatly reduces the risk of injury.  The time spent training before the big event of actually going somewhere will make the entire day a lot more pleasant.