Kicking in the trailer

[Alan]

Any ideas on how to get a horse to quit kicking in the trailer. I have tried kick chains and I had to hobble her once but don't want to do that. Just wondering if there are any other ideas out there. She'll kick if she is lose in the trailer or tied with the divider up.

Thanks,
Alan

 

[pineypuncher]

howdy allan have ya tried to just let her stand in their for a few hours on her own? or the other way to do it is to put her in with another horse and leave them loose. we had a couple of them that use to kick in the trailer and thats how we did it.or we stuck a hay net with a little feed in it to take thier minds off the trailer.

 

[cowgirl580]

my mare used to do the same thing. she put a helluva dent in the back door. now i continue to put her in last and tie her head around so that her back feet aren't really near the door. haven't had any more trouble yet. good luck.

 

[Linda]

Our friends who train horses tie the young ones up high and let them stand in order to teach the horse patience. I believe they call where they tie the horses a "patience pole." Possibly some retroactive training along that line might work with your mare.

Could she have had a bad experience in the past in a trailer? Is the driver of the towing vehicle careful in his/her driving methods to see to the comfort of the horses?

Possibly anxiety is a component. Most horses will settle down and not kick when the vehicle is moving. I've loaded a horse with trailer anxiety last and unloaded first.

The anxiety and patience components are the best I can come up with. Possibly you need to go back to square one in her training and move up in increments. It may not be possible to just address the kicking and solve that particular problem without going back and starting from the basics in her training.

Good luck, Alan.

 

[Alan]

A little history on this horse. She also kicks stall walls, never has or acted like she was going to kick me or anyone else. She started kicking while she was with an ex-trainier, she got hauled a little over 2500 miles in 33 hours she was loose in the trailer. When she got to the location she had kicked into the second wall of a three panel (new) horse trailer (mine). Long story short... I hooked my truck to my damaged trailer and took my horse home by myself. Because the trailer had sharp edges from a ripped up wall I hobbled her home (while she was in the trailer). This has been several years and she is a great horse under saddle, rock solid and no vices (under saddle). I have pretty much got her over kicking the stall walls but can't get a handle on the trailer. I don't want to hobble her, too much a risk of injury. I've tried kick chains of varied length. She's loads great, in front or back gets along with other horse fine, she's not afraid of the trailer, she just kicks. Oh and the trailer now has 1 1/2 inch thick plywood for a kick wall, so she can't hurt the trailer... anymore.

Just thought there might be an idea out there that is new to me. Thanks very much for the suggestions so far.

Alan

 

[Beefy]

the kick chains dont deter her at all?

 

[Alan]

Our friends who train horses tie the young ones up high and let them stand in order to teach the horse patience. I believe they call where they tie the horses a "patience pole." Possibly some retroactive training along that line might work with your mare.

Could she have had a bad experience in the past in a trailer?

Thanks Linda I think you're right on with the problem, I have tried tying he in the trailer for a couple of hours at a time, but she still kicks every couple of minutes, sometimes she will not kick for 10 or 15 minutes (I think she need to catch her breath for the next round). I think the 2500 mile sprint probalby ruined her for easy trailer rides. She can't hurt the plywood wall but she may hurt herself or teach the other horse in the trailer to kick also.

I should say she ties to the to wall or posts just fine, very patient. She use to kick stall walls at feeding times or turnout time. I have pretty much stopped that she doesn't do that very often now.

But thanks for jarring my memory on a bad trailer ride.

Alan

 

[Alan]

the kick chains dont deter her at all?

no

 

[TXBobcat]

You said "She use to kick stall walls at feeding times or turnout time. I have pretty much stopped that she doesn't do that very often now."

What did you do to stop the kicking in the stall? Did you disipline her in some way each time she would kick? If so, you might apply the same technique to the trailer. Tie her in the trailer, when she kicks, do whatever you did to her when she was in the stall.

 

[Alan]

Sorry for the delay, been gone for a few days. Thanks for all your replies. Yes I have basically fixed the stall wall kicking, but to correct most problems with a horse you have to react to thier negitive action within a second or two, or they won't know what your action is in relation to.

So with that said, my horse does 95% of her trailer kicking while the trailer is moving no way to get to her in a timely manner. She kicks if she is alone or with other horses in the trailer. I'm sure it's not my driving , she is the only one of my horses that kicks the trailer. I think she learned to kick on the mad 2500 mile dash to the show

Thanks for all your responses.
Alan

 

[dcara]

I have never had one that exhibited this behavior, but if I did, and nothing else seemed to work I might try a staged carrot and stick approach. Since it would seem that she doesn't like the trailer I would start with the carrot. Teach her that the trailer is a good place to be by parking it in a area with her and always feeding her out of it. That is, place her feed and hay in there and let her go in and out of it of her own free will. It might also be good if the trailer was the only place she could get out of the sun in, or go into when it rained. It would be great if she sought it as shelter during a storm. Its important that she still get to visit her buddies and continue to be part of the herd on a regular and often basis though. Next try closing the doors with her in there for just a bit and when you take her out let her visit her buddies. Increase how long she has to stay in there a few times before she gets to go visit her buddies.

If she kicks its time to use the stick (not literally). In this case I would suggest a loud horn that was was blown near an open trailer window for just a half second or so as soon as she kicked. This would likely get her attention. I'd give the horn a short blast each time she kicked. If she was persistent I might increase the length of the blast a little, maybe to 1 second. I don't think I'd do this more than 3 times the first time I used it though. At the end of the session she would be let out and the session NOT repeated for a few days while she re-established her friendly relationship with the trailer. I don't think she would forget it though. Repeat the horn exercise until she will stay in the trailer without kicking for at least 10 minutes. Then its time to go to the next stage.

The next stage would be to take her in the trailer from her pasture/paddock to a very near pasture, maybe just through a gate which has been separating her from other horses/buddies. Let her out of the trailer into the pasture with her buddies for the day while you return the trailer to her paddock. At the end of the day ride or lead her back to her paddock where the trailer is for feeding. Then the next day, load her up and take her back to her buddies, again just a very short ride. Repeat this procedure but lengthening how long she is in the trailer each time.

Hopefully, she won't kick on the first very short rides and she will get the reward of getting to visit her buddies. If she does kick you may have to digress to setting up a horn in the trailer which you can operate from the truck.

This is obviously a rather involved and unusual process, but this is a bit of an unusual behavior, and you did ask for ideas.

 

[jt]

i am not a horse man, but if the horse only does it when riding... then get in there with her, if your trailer will allow it without you getting hurt, and have someone slowly drive you around the pasture or something...

maybe this is a crazy idea, but who knows??

jt

 

[Alan]

i am not a horse man, but if the horse only does it when riding... then get in there with her, if your trailer will allow it without you getting hurt, and have someone slowly drive you around the pasture or something...

maybe this is a crazy idea, but who knows??

jt

Jt, that is a great idea, thanks, it's not that she dosen't like the trailer, she loads as well as any horse I have and will stand fine in the trailer while it's not moving. I truly believe she loves to go trail riding and being hauled, I think it's a patience thing for her just as when she kicks the stall wall at feeding time. Good idea thanks.

Alan

 

[jt]

let us know how it turns out

good luck and be careful..

jt

 

[anne]

I had a very nice warmblood x tb that used to kick in the float ,I floated it twice then a well respected horseman trucked him to the breaker for me .Anyway it started kicking on the 100 mile trip, so every time it kicked he braked ,it never kicked in the float ever again.Foolhardy approach I know and if you werent careful you may well find your horse seated beside you in the passenger side of the truck,but it sure was effective.

 

[Beefy]

I would ride with her in the trailer and discipline her when she starts kicking. I wonder if she has you trained to take her out of the trailer when she is being a naughty girl?