Horses react with the flight or fight instinct to perceived danger; that is, they flee if they get the break or fight. A fighting wild horse is an impressive sight. To the inexperienced horse, a trailer must initially come across as a dark cavern probably full of dangers. He wouldn’t want to enter that cavern happily. Survival instincts honed over countless generations sound the alarm when horses come across entrances to dark and foreboding interiors.

The best way to lead a pony into over comming his fear of trailers is to break him in gently and avoid doing anything that may swamp him. One practical method is to have the horse walk over a strong plywood sheet laid out on the ground. The sheet should be powerful enough to take the load of the pony easily even when laid out on supports at the 4 corners. Lead the horse to the plywood, let him have a close look at it and sniff at it. Permit him to take his time over it. Don’t rush him, but coax and persuade him. Soon enough, the pony will become used to the plywood and walk over it without considering it.

In the second part of the endeavor, hoist the plywood sheet onto some 4 x 4s. Be really sure the plywood sheet is tough enough to easily take the horse’s weight; if it breaks and the horse’s leg plunge through, you’re going to need to handle the possibility of severely hurt leg and a badly psyched out horse who is going to avoid plywood sheets like the plague. Have some hay or grain at the other end of the sheet for the horse to chew on when he crosses the sheet. This way, the sheet will become linked with rewarding experiences.

In phase 3, set up a sort of tunnel of plastic sheets over the plywood sheet. The tunnel should look like a trailer in structure, in that it should taper down from a wide end to a narrow end. Get the pony to walk thru until he becomes happy with it. Again, let him have a reward at the end of his efforts to allow him get the impression the tunnel is a means to a pleasing end.

These three steps should help your horse get used to confined structures. Breaking in the horse softly at his very own pace will work far better than any attempt to rush him thru. There is no doubt whatsoever that patience is one of the first qualities you need to work successfully with horses.

Now that you have gone through the preliminaries, it’s time for the actual thing. Bring out the trailer.

Lead the pony on a rope into the trailer. Use confident body language and an assured tone of voice as you coax your horse don’t look at him just assume he is following you. Any hesitation on your part will convey itself to the pony. If the pony balks, don’t push him. Lead him away and bring him back for another try. If he balks again, repeat the process again, but never make efforts to force him. Continue your work with cool firmness until your horse eventually stumbles on. When he does get on, give him a reward; a larger one this time.

Bring him out of the trailer and repeat the process. Once he is in, reward him again. You may spook him badly if you leave him alone within the trailer, so stay with him for the first good many times until you judge it’s time to let him enjoy a little solitude. Carry out your last exercise: work on him to get him used to being alone in the trailer, a tiny bit at a time before slowly towing the trailer.

Horses are Heather Toms passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100s of articles with other horse lovers, like all things about equestrian wear