hauling sweaty horses in trailer

[Hillary_Indiana]

We went on a dayride the other day to the state park and when we were done we just loaded up and went home. The horses were pretty sweaty, and after I got home I got to thinking with them being wet it might not be good for the breeze to be blowing on them the whole way home. Maybe too much of a temperature change at once is what I'm saying. They don't act sick but just wondering if this is a no-no. Please, be gentle with your responses...I'm not trying to do anything wrong on purpose.

Also, obviously since we went to the state park I have had success with loading the horses into the two horse trailer. But, I lead the first horse in, and then how do you people load the second one. I take the rope through the side window and just pull gently till he comes in. Seems to work ok, but looks kind of shady. Any suggestions?

 

[Wilson_Cattle_Company]

Always cool off your horses I don't care what the case may be. Walk the horse comb the horse inspect the clean the hooves of the horse. ALWAYS BEFORE turning back to pasture. There is NO time for a owner to be lazy. Lazy owners end up with DEAD horses. I am not being a prick but you are dealing with a delicate situation when doing something like that.

Thanks

Avery

 

[Alan]

Hillary,

You're right it's a "no-no" Wilson covered it. If it's pretty cool you may want to put a light blanket on the horse for the ride home.

I don't understand the "looks shady" but if the horse is in the trailer the job is done. Just practice loading at home so you have the type of horses that walk in on their own. As you know already there is lots of good post on how to load on this site, you can do a search and get plenty of good tips on how to load.

Good luck,
Alan

 

[J]

I agree with the premise of cooling the horse off but take into consideration the outside temperature. If its 100 degrees in the shade a blanket for the ride home probably ain't a good idea?

Just pay attention and use some common sense in these types of situations. Keep the questions cpmming though this is a great place to ask and learn.

 

[Alan]

Hillary,

2 more things I thought about; I walk a hot horse out until it starts the breath normal, watch it's sides to determine if it's still breathing hard. The horse may still be wet but if it is breathing normal it's cool enough. Now, like J said, we as horse owners need to use common sense, if the horse is not breathing hard but is still wet and you load him into an open trailer he'll get cold on the way home, blanket him or wait until he is dry.

Second, I have seen some post about parking a trailer in with the horse and feeding out of the trailer to teach it to load, I don't like this for many reasons. But mostly because if you start to train your horse to load in a trailer that is not hitched to a truck or tractor you're asking for trouble. If your horse starts to freak and bounce around it may cause to trailer to come off the ground on the front end or start to roll or fall off the stand, ect. very dangerous and you'll have a real tough time getting your horse in the trailer again if he dosent believe he is on stable ground. It's not that hard to drop a trailer in the area you want to use for training leave it, mark the ground where you need to put the back tire to line it up well with the hitch. It then just takes a second for you to drive the truck down back up to your stake in the ground, used as a marker for lining up the ball, and drop the trailer on the ball and lock it in. All is safe and secure.

JMO
Alan

 

[TR]

Great points being made here. With the most important one being common sense. For example, if its a hundred degrees in the shade, as it inevitably gets down here in Texas, I will haul a horse when sweaty (not blowing) just to give them a little relief from the heat. Its blinking hot in the horse trailer in the summer, so I think the breeze when hauling is sort of a relief for them. Keep in mind that in the summer here, that breeze is like a blow dryer....hot, hot, hot, and humid, so even if they were dry when loaded, they'll surely come off that trailer sweaty. With that being said, its a whole 'nother story when hauling in the winter or in cooler weather, or even in a dryer climate. I kinda use the mantra, "Would I be comfortable say riding in the back of a pickup truck going down the road if I were wet?"

Boy Alan, I gotta say that I'm a huge believer in feeding horses in a trailer to get them to associate it with good things, however, again, COMMON SENSE. It costs a pretty penny to fix that trailer jack when it inevitably rolls off its stand due to the movement of a horse in there and it not being affixed to anything. Hook up before you do that! Plus, you're trying to associate a good thing (feed) with a scary thing, and if that trailer moves a whole lot before you've established that association, you've ruined the whole process. I'll also put an older more established horse in the trailer first. Babies aren't too brave, and when they see another horse in there being calm and cool, eating his supper, it tends to make them wonder if the trailer is really as scary as they think it is. I also don't just throw feed in there and leave it up to them to go in and eat. They get the whole process introduced to them, being tied up while the other horse loads, watching me put the feed in, then being let up to the trailer while the other horse is in there eating. Only time it backfired on me was with this one horse who figured that I had to put the feed in first before he would get in. Only took once for him to go in then get his snack before he figured that he could do it both ways though, and that incident taught me a bit about timing.....there's a point where you load the horse first and then pour feed. After they're over their fear, but before they've established it as a habit.

 

[Alan]

Boy Alan, I gotta say that I'm a huge believer in feeding horses in a trailer to get them to associate it with good things, however, again, COMMON SENSE. It costs a pretty penny to fix that trailer jack when it inevitably rolls off its stand due to the movement of a horse in there and it not being affixed to anything. Hook up before you do that! Plus, you're trying to associate a good thing (feed) with a scary thing, and if that trailer moves a whole lot before you've established that association, you've ruined the whole process. I'll also put an older more established horse in the trailer first. Babies aren't too brave, and when they see another horse in there being calm and cool, eating his supper, it tends to make them wonder if the trailer is really as scary as they think it is. I also don't just throw feed in there and leave it up to them to go in and eat. They get the whole process introduced to them, being tied up while the other horse loads, watching me put the feed in, then being let up to the trailer while the other horse is in there eating. Only time it backfired on me was with this one horse who figured that I had to put the feed in first before he would get in. Only took once for him to go in then get his snack before he figured that he could do it both ways though, and that incident taught me a bit about timing.....there's a point where you load the horse first and then pour feed. After they're over their fear, but before they've established it as a habit.

No to far from agreeing with you TR, sounds like you do it in a very sensable way. With saftey and logic in mind. I'm thinking of the horse trailer parked in the pasture or round pen not attached to anything with a pile of hay thrown in and the owner waiting for the horse to figure it out themselves. But it sounds like your technique would work just fine I may try it myself. It's one thing for a horse to step in the trailer and have a bite off the floor and anther to lead the horse in and tie it and close the divider and/or the door. Too many bad things can happen to a horse left unattended around a unsecure open trailer.

JMO
Alan