Any Ideas of why she does this when travelling

Seren

Seren

Llanigon Seren
Mar 20, 2004
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Great Barr, Birmingham
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Just took my mare to her second show (with me, been to lots before with her old owner) and she was in a terrible state when i got her there. all sweated up.

I took the journey slow and steady.

On the corners or slowing down she was just kicking the hell out of the trailer with her front feet and back ones too.

ONce she is off the trailer she was great like nothing had happened all be it very sweaty.

She loaded up great to come home but the same happened again.

I unloaded her fine.she had manager to kick off her back shoes and was very very sweaty like she had been through as card wash with fairy liquid. But she is so calm to handle like nothing went on.

I have a new Ifor williams trailer (Double). She travelled on her own with all the protection on apart from rugs as too warm. On the way back she had no boots on as she had wrecked them.

Any ideas on why she kicks out when slowing/turning??

How can I get her used to this??

If she was frightened she would not go on or would she?? (I do not force her on she just walks up)

She may be better travelling with another horse but not everyone wants to go the the shows??

It was quite a nerver wracking journey

HELP HELP HELP!!!

Many Thanks
 
You say your mare kicks out when going round corners and slowing down. I suspect that she is scrabbling(trying to get her balance). I had this problem with my old gelding. Try removing the centre partition so as she cant get stuck should she fall. I found this made an enormous difference as my gelding could then move round freely to adjust his own balance. Also when your horse used to travel to shows before she may have travelled in a lorry.
 
How big is she? I know of some larger horses (16hh +) who dont like travelling in trailers. Also, the pony I loan doesnt particularly like trailers but she travels ok in a box.

Could you try her in a box to see if it makes a difference?
 
It could be something about the trailer that she finds uncomortable. It might be very enlightening to have someone drive and let you ride in the trailer; try to get the driver to do the same sort of slowing down and going around corners that you were doing.
 
Sounds to me as though she was struggling to keep her balance, and wasn't kicking but actually scrambling and throwing her legs everywhere to try and re-gain balance?


Another possibility- has she ever had any accidents or problems- such as has she fallen over ? Maybe she has and as a result panics?
 
Thanks

for all your advice.

Will ride in back of trailer with her to see what she does.

Then will try her with another horse to see if she is ik with that.

Then finally take the partition out and try her without that in.


Sarah XX:p
 
Re: Thanks

Originally posted by Seren
Will ride in back of trailer with her to see what she does.
Click to expand...

Please don't ride in the back of the trailer - this is VERY dangerous! If you want to see what she's up to follow in a car behind - provided this type of float lets you see in. This will let you see when the horse is scrambling and give you an idea why.

Things to look for in your trailer -
* is there a stallion grate\head divider? if so take it out or at least check that it is sturdy and not interfering with her head.
* what is the flooring ? If it is solid rubber mats - make sure that they aren't getting slick with moisture
* How much padding is there in the float? If there is a lot your horse may be resting against it (lazy) and then has to scramble when you corner. I've seen this happen just recently when I was following a friends trailer - this is really just training, the horse needs to learn not to do this (and will eventually)
* Look at the walls of the trailer low down where her front and back legs should be - scrambling is generally shown by scrapes down the walls where the horse has run its feet down the inside of the walls.
* How wide is the horse space in you trailer ? Some are narrower than others - we have one brand here that looks great but lots of horses scramble in it. One solution can be to move the centre bar across to give the horse a diagonal loader - lots more space to spread her legs and brace.

Does she have a hay net in there? - some horses just get very bored\claustrophobic\annoyed in a trailer and decide kicking it is a great idea to gain attention. The sweating up sounds like a lot of energy was being used in there - perhaps take her on some very short trips with lots of praise and treats in the float - start with just letting her stand in there and have a feed for several minutes.
 
quote:
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Originally posted by Seren
Will ride in back of trailer with her to see what she does.


I agree that you shouldn't do this as it is very dangerous. If your horse is panicking you could get hurt even if it is unintentional. Either follow behind or if possible set up a video camera to watch her while she is in the trailer.
 
Originally posted by galadriel
It could be something about the trailer that she finds uncomortable. It might be very enlightening to have someone drive and let you ride in the trailer; try to get the driver to do the same sort of slowing down and going around corners that you were doing.
Click to expand...

What I meant here was ride in the trailer with the trailer empty. It can be dangerous but it can also help a lot with understanding what's going on back there. A lot of people have no idea how difficult it is for a horse to ride in a trailer, and some trailers can be much worse than others.

If you are still interested in taking a ride in your trailer, you probably would be safer doing so when there's no traffic or on private roads.
 
I have been in the back of a trailer and will never do it again. It is a horrible experience in all likeliness your horse was trying to stay upright mine does the same go down a private lane or something in the back bearing in mind your horse will only have its head tied and not tight and you will se why she does this.

Nasty things but very convenient
 
virtuallyhorses in the Uk Ivor williams trailors cant be adjusted for horses to go in diagonaly!!!

have you got the top doors at the back open??? i had a mare once who couldnt keep her balance if it was dark and one who weaved if was closed, i know ivor williams arnt built for it but have you tried traveling her backwards (head towards the back ramp!!!) i tried this with the mare in my trailor (ivor williams!!) and she found it much easier!!! also has she travelled in a box often as she may be useing the sides as balance like she would in a box!! try lots of very short trips to get her confidance up!! be careful if you take the partition out as some horses get worse when you do that!!
 
Hi Sarah, Like the others have said it does sound like she is loosing her balance. Maybe it could be because with Maxine she always travelled in a huge lorry and sideways. Maybe she just needs a bit of time to adjust. Maybe try without the partition to start as it would be bigger like the lorry and she could stand herself slightly at an angel and then when she's used to this add the partition.
And maybe she isn't used to having things come up behind her and being able to see out as she would be totally enclosed in a lorry. My friends Welsh Cob has to have the back doors shut behind him when he goes in a trailer as he panicks because things come up behind him.
Its definetley not your driving because she coped with Maxines, and I've been in the lorry with her and lets just say I was in the living quaters and it was a scary experience:D
Did you pick her up or have you travelled her before? Was she like this? No offense to Maxine or anything but you need to be sure this wasn't a problem before you had her, as like I said with her driving its very possible!!! Another horse of hers I tried was like this. Went in fine but kicked the hell out of the lorry the whole journey, cuts legs, lots of sweat was not a pretty site!!
Was she bothered by the travel boots?? Because I never saw Maxine use them and when I first put them on Warrior, he'd never worn them before, we had to stop about 15minutes down the road because he was kicking and thrashing around so much. I took them off and he settled.
Atleast she's happy to go in, she'll get better!! How did you get on at the show??
 
Thanks

I felt so sorry for seren. Going to buy a single breast bar for the trailer and try her like that.

Maxine brought her down in the box but was not in a state at all and had no boots on too.

she had to travel back with only front boots on as wrecked the back ones.

Will keep on trying her as she is so lovely.

Did well at the show. came second out of nine. She beat a couple of stallions too. Was very pleased with her and she moves like a dream. she know her job and she just took me with her LOL It felt like i was floating!!

The marks on the trailer are low down.

I will try her with the doors closed as she had them open at the back but the front door closed.

Thanks once again and i will keep you all posted.

P.S I have trued to get in touch with maxine but not heard nothing back of her as yet!!
 
Poor Girly!! Sounds like she did brilliant at the show!!!! She is a stunner though and she certainly does know her job:D
Will be good to have a talk with Maxine see what she says.
Let us now how things go!
 
Does anyone

know where i can get some extra padding for the walls in my trailer. They used to be in the robinsons cat last year. Cant find them on the net ofr remember what they where called DOH!!

I travelled seren with another horse and she was a bit better. she is loosing her balance like you all said. So i thought the extra padding might keep her a bit more stable.

Sarah

:D
 
I'm trying to remember where I got them from... i think it was a friend of a friend who was selling them as it wasnt a catalogue. But that was a good couple of years ago. I'm sure I seen them in Robisons a while back, try ask around at local tack shops or phone up the catalogues if you can't find them.
 
Hi Seren - just be aware that extra padding can make things worse! The horse leans on the padding (with their body) instead of spreading their legs and bracing, they are then already unbalanced when they get to a corner.

Remember to be stable you want a wide base and a centred body. Horses aren't like us, their legs and knees don't allow them to shift their weight sideways well. If you practice this yourself next time you're standing on a bus/train/boat (or perhaps this is when that ride in the back of an empty float might help - no hanging on with your hands ;) ) Think about how you balance and you'll see that you do things horses can't - like turn your feet\knees into the direction you need and then bend them to bring your weight low.

Horses must compensate by putting their four legs wide on their 'corners' - if they rely too much on the padding then their weight is held too high and that's when they really scramble or fall.

Padding on the chest bar and rump bars are helpful but I'm a bit more hesitant to provide padding on centre rails or side walls. :)
 
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