Loading a Frightened Horse Into Your Trailer

Every horse owner has experienced anxiety prior to loading their horse into his trailer for a trip. Horses, like any animal, can be unpredictable and easily spooked. At times they may resist all your best attempts, planting their hooves firmly in the ground and tossing their heads in defiance. But you still need to get him loaded up, so you have to find a way around his fear and make your horse comfortable enough to travel to a competition or a ride with your friends in the countryside.

So what do you do? Your local trailer dealer, Lone Star Trailers, located in Lacy-Lakeview, Texas, is here to help. We’ve provided this how-to guide for successfully and safely loading up a frightened horse into his trailer.

Think About Why Your Horse Is Scared

You’re going to need to put yourself in the mindset of your trusty steed if you want to understand why he’s reluctant to enter his trailer. Perhaps your animal has separation anxiety and doesn’t like being shut away from you or other horses. Maybe the fear of the unknown is what’s causing him to balk at the gate. 

If your horse has had a bad experience with a trailer in the past, he’s going to remember it. Horses are prey animals, so their instinct is to avoid confined, dark spaces that can trap them and leave them vulnerable to predators. If you can empathize with your animal, you’ll be able to practice more patience and adjust his surroundings to ease his fears.

Control His Environment

Now you have to figure out how to make the trailer more inviting to your steed. If the trailer is dark, cramped, or dirty, he’s not going to be very excited to enter it. Take the time to thoroughly clean out the trailer and provide him with as much space as possible. Open up windows and make sure the space is adequately lit. If he can see sunlight and smell the outside world, your horse will feel more at ease.

Make Him Comfortable

Be as encouraging and friendly towards your horse as possible. Lead him for a walk around the trailer in the sun so that he can get accustomed to its presence without feeling trapped by it. Allow him to approach and back away from the trailer a few times. You’ll want to budget some extra time to let your horse roam freely in order to reduce his anxiety. Eventually, he should become more comfortable and even curious about the trailer’s interior.

Bring A Friend

Horses, just like people, crave company, so if your horse has a buddy in the stable, you may want to bring that horse out and have them enter the trailer. If you can get both animals comfortable and have one of them enter the trailer, it should assuage the fears of the other because they’ve seen their buddy come out unscathed!

Offer Treats

A tasty treat may help lure your horse into the trailer. Hold his favorite food in your hand or place it inside the trailer for your horse to walk towards. He’ll need to smell it first so he can get excited about it. If your horse enters the trailer, even with just one hoof, give him a treat. As they get more comfortable and can stay inside the trailer longer, give them more snacks for each step they take until they’re fully inside of it.

We hope this guide helps you reduce your animal’s fear and make quick work of a difficult process. Still need a trailer? Come by our dealership in Lacy-Lakeview today to check out our selection of new and used trailers for sale, including our wide array of horse trailers. We provide financing options to help you get exactly what you need. If your current trailer needs parts, we can help you with that, too! Lone Star Trailers also serves the cities of Waco and Temple, Texas.