trailering troubles, pushy horse, many questions

[griffytayherb]

i need help with my horse! we just borrowed our friends trailer, a 2 horse slant load, in order to drive my horse and my friends horse to a show next week, about an hour and a half drive. its my moms first time, she had never even driven with a trailer before this tuesday. she is good with it empty but we havent tried driving it with a horse yet. so first question,
is this a horribly dangerous idea? i tried talking her out of it but....

ok then today i practiced loading and unloading my horse, who is newish, so i wasnt that sure if her would load okay. he walked in just fine, then walked out okay. but while he is in it and im getting him settled, he is very pushy. he even pushed me up against the trailer so i almost panicked. it seems like hes scared and wants to be with me?... but its dangerous.
how can i get him to stop crowding in on me? im trying my best to push him away, but obviously he is much much stronger than me.

then the second time we unloaded, he just didnt want to leave. he has to back out, but no matter how hard or soft or quiet or stern i pushed him back, he just wouldnt budge. i tried twisting the skin on his chest, though as a last resort and not hard at all, and my mom pulled his tail a bit to encourage him. we finally got him out but im not sure how exactly. it was very stressful. he even walked forward into me and actually pinned me against the wall. he means well and im sure he is nervous, but is there somethng i can do to keep him off of me? how do i get him to back up better? he backs up fine on the ground but in the trailer it took more than a little encouragement...

i loaded/unloaded him several times before we got the other horse. i put him in first, then her, so she was in front of him. when we unloaded her, he got really antsy. i went to untie him to back him up and he just shot backwards out of it like a cannon. i just feel so inexperienced and this whole thing just really stresses me out.

my mom is so stuborn though, and she thinks because people tell her its easy and that shes doing good that she can do it. should i just trust her and myself or should i pay for the trailerer myself and risk getting in a huge fight with her?

by the way i think for everyone a trailer is like a lorry? but its just like a boxish thing you attatch to your car. sorry if im being horribly ignorant there.

 

[KarinUS]

I think it might be a bit bad timing for her to start of hauling livestock to a show. When we started out we actually went to a big parking lot (belonged to a bakery and nobody was there on the weekend) and practiced backing and parking, etc.
I think going to a show on your first time out may put quite a bit of pressure on you - and your mom. It may be more organized in California but here people often park kind of crazy at shows, etc. and you have to carefully maneuver to get your rig back out okay.

But if she's certain she can back it okay and maneuver it fine (that includes driving in a way that considers the added weight of the horses when applying brakes, etc.) then I guess you'll be fine either way.
Have fun at the show.

 

[KateWooten]

If she can drive the trailer ok empty, then she can drive it with a horse in it, no big deal. However, it sounds like the whole task of preparing the horse to load, travel, and unload will be your responsibility. There is a whole lot you can do to prepare him for this even without the trailer. Practice backing him up, and asking him to come forward again. Back back back.... and forward again. Send him out on a long line, send him over a tarp, over a jump, through an obstacle ... it's all preparation to get him thinking that he should go where you send him, and that if he does that, he'll be safe because you are a good judge.

To be honest, this is the sort of stuff I will do 3 months out from a trailer ride, not a week or so. You can do all this from now, but if on the day he feels nervous, not sure, not confident ... I'd back out if I were you, leave it for another day. There is always another day provided you don't overface them,

 

[griffytayherb]

ok i talked to my RI and she said she agrees its a bad idea so i think i will pay to have him professionally trailered. any advice on what to do when your horse pushes into you when you are in there? what should you do if they panick??