THERE is nothing more frustrating than working with a horse who refuses to load. The easiest way to avoid issues around loading and travelling is to have patience and start familiarising them with the trailer as young as possible.

Some reasons your horse may be difficult to load may include:

• • They don’t have suitable groundwork training or manners before attempting to load.

• Your own frustration with loading and giving up if they won’t load is giving them all the wrong signals.

Start with the basics

Unfortunately, there is no “quick fix solution” when it comes to loading, especially if you want to enforce good habits for life.

I’d suggest starting with the absolute basics. Make sure your horse is 100% to lead on the ground. I use the Monty Roberts Dually Halter and a lunge line when working with young horses. The Dually Halter allows horses to teach themselves to come off the gentle pressure of the soft, round nose band on the halter when asked, both forward and back. Horses find the halter’s comfortable sweet spot and move with you to maintain it, without pain, knots or poll pressure.

Make sure your horse will move forward, backward, turn and stop when you ask with no problems. It is also a good idea to introduce obstacles to your horse to allow them to get used to answering different questions. Walking over poles and tarpaulin is a good start for desensitising your horse.

Once you’re happy with your horses groundwork it’s time to start loading. I like to park the box in a safe enclosed area and walk up to and around the box. Really allow them to take their time to inspect it.

Then start to try to get them to step up onto the ramp. Keep the pressure on and reward every time they take a step forward by releasing the pressure. You might face some challenges like rearing or pulling to the side of the ramp. If this happens, stay calm, back the horse up and try moving forward again. The noise of their weight on the ramp may scare them so make sure you have the ramp on a flat surface to keep it steady and minimise noise.

It is imperative you keep your horse’s feet facing forward, so back them up instead of turning them away if needed.

Once your horse has loaded stand with them in the box for a while praising them. I like to have a hay net tied up and ready for them to eat as a reward. Unload and try again. If they load two or three times, praise them and call it a day. If your horse refuses to load after an hour, take them back to the stable and try again the next day or in a few hours when you have both had time to relax.

Always try to finish on a good note. Even if that is just your horse standing calmly with two feet on the ramp.

Top tips

• Keep your sessions short and sweet.
• Reward your horse for everything positive they do.
• Don’t scold them for refusing to load or spooking, this will only make them remember loading as a negative experience. Instead just keep the pressure on the lead rope and release when they are good.
• You need to be organised. Don’t try to load your horse five minutes before you are due to leave for a show. Give yourself plenty of time to avoid getting stressed or frustrated.
• If you have a horse who loads well, use them as a leader.
• Make the box look as welcoming as possible. Open all the doors, windows and the front ramp. It is also a good idea to remove the partition until your horse gets used to loading.
• Once they are loading, go for a 15-minute drive and come home, praise them and unload them.
• Most importantly, be patient!!