| By :
Josie Amani
Being prey animals horses are fight or flight animals. Years of survival have taught horse to be wary of the slightest of threats and to a horse, a trailer seems like a dark and dangerous place to be. Horses generally escape danger through flight and a cave-like confined space is never a good place for a horse to become trapped in, it's important to understand this when trailer training your horse. Many horses are initially fearful of being led into a trailer so it's best to breakdown the experience in order not to overwhelm the horse. An easy way to achieve this is to walk your horse over a thick sheet of plywood placed on the ground. Allow him to look at the plywood and smell it and don't force him over it. A lot of coaxing helps relax the horse. Try this several times until the horse is comfortable walking over it. In the next step of the exercise try raising the sheet over some 4x4s but make sure it is strong enough to safely bear the weight of the horse otherwise it may break and scare the horse. Place some grain or hay onto the raised plywood to encourage the horse to step onto it and to reinforce the idea that this is a pleasant experience. Enlist the help of some friends to hold plastic sheets in order to fashion a chute or tunnel for the horse to walk through. Making it wider at one end will simulate a trailer. Again, ease the horse calmly and help him through this makeshift. When the horse is comfortable with this exercise, try making a tunnel like structure using a plastic sheet and walk your horse through it. Your helpers can stand on hay bates to reach the desired height. These easy steps should help trailer train the most difficult of horses because you have broken down the process for them making it easier to accept. Breaking down any exercise in this way makes the horse less prone to being overwhelmed by a situation and more accepting. Work at your horse's pace and remember to remain patient and calm at all times. A lot of gentle encouraging goes a long way and patience is definitely a virtue with horses. Once your horse is going through the above mentioned exercises confidently it's time to introduce the actual trailer. Use a lead rope and lead the horse into the trailer confidently, if you display any sign of hesitation your horse will sense it. If the horse refuses to load, turn him around and try again. Keep doing this in a firm and calm manner until the horse loads. Once you've managed to coax the horse into the trailer make sure you reward him amply for a job well done. Calmly lead the horse out and try again, remember to feed and offer the horse treats in the trailer then unload him. Don't leave the horse in the trailer for long periods of time initially; your aim is to enable him to feel calm being led into the trailer led into the trailer.
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