If I had to list the top 10 most stressful situations I have experienced in a life surrounded by horses at least half would involve a trailer. These terrifying wonderful contraptions are both the bane of my existence and the boon of my business. Trailering horses is superficially such a simple task, and yet the reality can become nightmarish within minutes.
The ability to trailer your horse (through ownership of a rig or having friends with one) can embody freedom for horse owners. You are no longer dependent on trainers, barn owners, and commercial shippers to determine when and where you can take your horse. If you want to leave for the show later, you can. If you want to go trail riding in a national park, you can. If you want to change barns without the drama of asking the new trainer to come pick up your horse, you can. Of course there’s the very real added costs of purchasing a trailer, paying fees and registrations, and parking it (and worse, backing it!). But the tradeoff can be very real.
That being said, trailering horses can be incredibly stressful. While some horses will load right up into any trailer most have to be taught about loading, whether it has a ramp, step up, side load, etc. And the process to teach problem horses to load well is extraordinarily frustrating. Those that are excellent at it have oodles of patience that most human beings were not graced with. Kind of like kindergarten teachers.
I have found that there are some circumstances that once a horse has a bad experience they almost never forget it. Trailering and loading is one of those (ear hair trimming is another). Years of good trailering experiences can go down the drain in a single bad instance, and takes years more for horses to move beyond.
Trailering can also make or break experiences once you arrive at your destination. A few years ago I trailered a horse that went down on the way to Wellington for a weekend of intensive training, only to have to scrap our plans and find other horses to ride because of a bruised foot from the incident. I’ve trailered to one day shows and arrived with horses and riders so frazzled from an hour of loading difficulties that their nerves were shot for the day. One of my most stressful incidents was trying to load a colicking horse by myself at 4am only to have him back out of the side by side stall over and over before I could get him tied and a butt bar up. The loading experience to take him to the hospital almost worsened his colic. Loading battles are stressful for everyone under the best circumstances; having a battle while trying to outrun natural disasters like hurricanes can become so stressful they are dangerous.
Teaching your horse to load well into different trailers is one of the best things you can do for them. Don’t forget to be prepared for trailering. Learn all the safety aspects: how to tie the horse in, what safety equipment to have on hand, how to distribute weight in a trailer, and how to load and unload the horse. Big trip? Learn how to pack a trailer! Don’t put emergency medical supplies or the TrailerAid in first, that will guarantee that there is a problem on the road. And don’t forget to learn how to change a tire! Really, that’s just good general knowledge.