[shayshay211]

So last night I was driving my mare to an arena to ride for the night. On the way there, I took a turn a little faster then a meant to, not fast enough for it to be dangerous at all. My sisters gelding was in the space next to her (three horse slant load). I'm not exactly sure what happened, but somehow she lost her footing and slipped/ fell underneath the divider slightly (her hip got scraped as she stood up and she broke the padding on the divider I'm guessing) and then she started kicking the back side of the trailer. It scared me and my sister because we thought one of the horses had gone down with the fuss she was making so we jumped out and checked on them. She was fine, except for the scrape and she was a bit nervous so we carried on. About 2 minutes later, she started kicking again. We jumped out again because we didn't know what was going on. She was fine and we calmed her down, took her for a little walk and moved the gelding to the very front so that there was a space between them. We went on our way and this happened at least 2 more times. Every time we went down a hill, on a corner, or over a bump, she just started kicking. (we found this out because the only way we could get her to safely travel was by having my sister ride in the trailer on the way back talking to her). I'm wondering, what can I do to fix this? My mom suggested breeding hobbles. Any suggestions would be so very helpful. Thank you!

[shayshay211]

Another thing I forgot to add; when we checked on her she had peed all over the place, and she doesn't usually pee in the trailer unless she's in heat. I was also wondering if it could have something to do with her being in heat? I know that sometimes when she's in heat and we put her in the trailer she shoves her butt against the divider and has kicked the back of the trailer but never while we were driving.

[KISS]

If you don't get any responses, I may be able to contact my cousin who shows, breeds and houses horses.

It definitely seems traumatic.

You might have to wait until she is no longer in heat anymore and try to take her for a short ride to nowhere.

[Lucky098]

Some big breeders who I know and worked with would take problem horses like that and leave them in the trailer for hours.

Horses are flight animals. She fell in a trailer with very little space. She's probably freaked beyond belief.

Breeding hobbles may hurt the horse.

Quite honestly, there might not be much you can do. I'm not sure if you have one of those 10k trailers or if you have something you're not worried about getting a bit beat up.. But I'd leave her in the trailer for awhile. Maybe give some grain and hay to make the experience positive again.

Being in heat really should have anything to do with the traumatic event that the horse went through.

I had a horse fall in the trailer.. The trailer was jack knifing down a dirt road that was nothing but mud. He fell, got back up and was a bit nervious of the trailer for a good long while. But we just continued things as normal. Haven't had any issues since.

Horses aren't quite like dogs where you can talk your animal down. Like I said, they're a fight or flight animal, being soothed and comforted really doesn't do much for them... In fact, someone in the trialer with a horse is a disaster waiting to happen, I don't care HOW safe your trailer is. Horses are strong.. They can wreck just about anything if needed.

[jcdill]

So last night I was driving my mare to an arena to ride for the night. On the way there, I took a turn a little faster then a meant to, not fast enough for it to be dangerous at all. My sisters gelding was in the space next to her (three horse slant load). I'm not exactly sure what happened, but somehow she lost her footing and slipped/ fell underneath the divider slightly (her hip got scraped as she stood up and she broke the padding on the divider I'm guessing) and then she started kicking the back side of the trailer. It scared me and my sister because we thought one of the horses had gone down with the fuss she was making so we jumped out and checked on them. She was fine, except for the scrape and she was a bit nervous so we carried on. About 2 minutes later, she started kicking again. We jumped out again because we didn't know what was going on. She was fine and we calmed her down, took her for a little walk and moved the gelding to the very front so that there was a space between them. We went on our way and this happened at least 2 more times. Every time we went down a hill, on a corner, or over a bump, she just started kicking. (we found this out because the only way we could get her to safely travel was by having my sister ride in the trailer on the way back talking to her). I'm wondering, what can I do to fix this? My mom suggested breeding hobbles. Any suggestions would be so very helpful. Thank you!

You took this turn FAR too fast - it was dangerous for the horses you were hauling. Your mare did fall in the trailer, and she wasn't "fine" - just because she wasn't down or seriously injured when you got back there doesn't mean everything was OK.

1) You need to slow WAY down when you haul horses. Before you hitch up the trailer, put a glass of water on your dashboard and drive slowly and carefully enough that none of the water spills out when you start, brake and slow or stop, or go around corners. That's how slowly and carefully you need to drive when you are hauling horses.

2) Do NOT use breeding hobbles or anything else to restrain your mare. She's kicking out to TELL YOU that you are not driving carefully enough. SLOW DOWN.

After you learn to drive more carefully when hauling, and after your mare has a few more careful trips in your trailer she will stop kicking out when you go over a bump. But expect her to kick out when you take a turn too fast!

If you try to restrain her instead or restrain your unsafe driving urges, expect to end up with a big vet bill, and perhaps a seriously injured horse. Restraining a 1000 lb horse simply will not work out like you hope. They can break almost anything you use to attempt to restrain them, and if they don't break the gear then they often break (injure) themselves.

[macdoncl]

This sounds like a bad situation all around. I've been training horses for about 7 years and had many that had trailer problems. Horses are very sensitive animals it doesn't take much to set them off sometimes. I once had a mare get stung by a bee on her way into the trailer and that was all it took, she was terrified from then on. Others I've seen over the years had to blind folded just to get them near a trailer. The most reliable and least traumatic way to reintroduce a trailer is to do it slowly, I've seen people try to push or pull a horse onto a trailer and it only ends badly for everyone. With my horses and clients I used Buck Brannaman's methods. We work the horse just outside of the trailer and then present the trailer as a place of rest, at first all they have to do to get a break is stand in the doorway, then we ask for one step, then two and so on. With Buck's method a person never even enters the trailer with the horse until it is fully loaded but it's difficult to explain how this is done without being able to see it; and without full comprehension trying it could only make things worse. This method takes a lot of time a patience but it works best for the horse and the owner in the end. The horse learns to accept the trailer as a safe place and the owner/trainer is not placed in danger.

Finally, slow down when you're driving, it's better to drive too slow and be safe than take the chance. And NEVER EVER put a person in the trailer with the horse while you're driving. Horses are powerful and sometimes dangerous animals especially when they are scared and if we're not careful we may not get a second chance. Your sister could have been seriously hurt. Good Luck.

[Tuscany]

Horses can be very traumatized by a bad trailering experience. The only way to get her over this is to work with her. SLOWLY. Put the tralier in her pasture. Get her used to seeing it again. Load her, but don't go anywhere. After a few times take her on a short SLOW ride. Horses have a great memory and it often takes a very long time to change their skiddish tendencies.

As for your driving, I would practice driving quite a bit before you put a horse in a trailer again. NEVER take a turn to fast, go past the turn and find a place to turn around if you have too.

I agree with the other posters here. You should never put a person in the trailer with the horse. I have seen terrible trailer accidents. You never know what could happen. Your safety and the safety of your horses should be your greatest concern.

[merlsgirl]

Why would you think the peeing was due to her being in heat?? And if you put hobbles on her to travel then good luck getting her to load, if I was you I'd just give it time, take her out for short trips so she releans there is nothing to be afraid of, the incident has obviously traumatised her more than you thought, just be thankfull she wasn't seriously hurt, how does the gelding travel after this happened?

[shayshay211]

The reason I would think that the peeing had to do with her being in heat is because MARES PEE WHEN THEY ARE IN HEAT around geldings, new horses, because they want to, etc. I haven't put hobbles on her, I was simply asking for people's opinions and trying to get responses from people to see if they had tried something like that before. Have you ever hobbled a horse in a trailer before? Have you ever dealt with a horse that was scared and kicking in a trailer before? If so, please tell me how you went about things, if not don't assume that I would put my horse in a situation that I don't know how to handle. And I am very thankful she isn't hurt. The gelding travels just fine. Like I said in my previous post, I did not take the corner fast enough for them to not be able to handle it, I am a very safe driver, even more so with my horses. For everyone who thinks I took the turn "far too fast" wasn't there, therefore doesn't know how fast I took it. She has handled much faster driving before this, which is why I am baffled about it. She has never been afraid in the trailer before this, and has never fallen, or kicked before this accident. I am doing everything I can to help her get over this, but instead of judging me, how about a little constructive criticism? Thank you

[fordforlife]

Had something like this happen before a cupple of times ( I grew up on a ranch) and have been hauling horses for over 30 years I would put her back in the trailer an let her stand for a while then take her for a drive she will kick for a while till she regains her confidence wish you an her lots of luck

[shayshay211]

She loads in the trailer fine, and stands just fine, but once we drive a little ways, she starts making a fuss. We took her out again about a month after it happened the first time, and she started fussing again (before we left I let her stand in the trailer for a long time to see what she would do). And when I went to check on her, she had the same scratch on her hip, like the first time, only this time I'm pretty sure she didn't fall because we were on a straight stretch going maybe 15 mph. I think I'm going to take out the end divider (the side she keeps getting scratched on) and see if maybe she just needs more room. But any other suggestions would be great... thanks :)