One of my regular comment participants here is Mary. She filmed this horse training loading video on the second day of training.
Training an animal to load can be a nightmare for a variety of reasons. The key is to create a positive association and to communicate clearly.
I’d be interested in seeing how the horse does after a ride or two.
I’ll be back with a training post but I am in a storm area of California where we are getting serious snow. So, in between clearing a path out, power outages, etc., I’ll have something more for you soon!
Drop by and check outMary’s blog–thanks for the video Mary!
About Ark Lady
Thanks for featuring my video!
You make a good point–
doesn’t matter how well we teach the horse to load
if they then have bad experiences in the trailer.
It’s good as well to practice opening and closing the door,
the trailer looks a lot different and darker with the door
closed!
Also, taking the new horse on a few short trips around
the block with a trailer savvy horse as a companion can
really help boost confidence, especially at the beginning.
Mary
NP Mary, I was happy to have it and yes, it is important to add variables and higher levels of distraction to really solidify behavior. You are on the right track with your comments and I hope that others take note.
I have a friend who recommends taking your horse “for coffee” regularly…to give them lots of short positive experiences. Then if they do have a bad experience (a simple slip on the ramp can cause problems, it will hopefully not have the negative effect that it would if the horse has onhad a few trailering experiences.
Great idea. If more people understood that concept it would make it easier on them. For instance, many people only crate their cat or dog when they go to the veterinarian. The crate becomes the SD for the visit to the vet and usually gets a negative association–which makes it harder for the owners to crate the animal.
Short trips, fun games, and habituation in times when you don’t need it will help avoid any negative associations or help override any incidents–like the slip you mention.
Thanks for pointing this out!