“I want to take my horse out on my own and not have to rely on other people all the time. Do you have any tips?”
Self loading is a skill just like any other part of Trailer Loading, and in order to be successful, our horses have to feel extremely comfortable in and around the trailer. Self Loading is not something we skip to, rather, its the pinnacle of trust and communication: understanding foundational groundwork skills.
A self loading horse is the dream right? It’s also a gift, that your horse trusts you enough to walk into a small enclosed space and do it willingly. We should never take that lightly or overlook that.
There are 3 key skills that need to be perfected and practiced, and practiced and practiced.
- 1. Be able to stand still on the trailer
- 2. Be able to back off calmly, and stop at any point
- 3. Be comfortable with you walking around them once they’re on.
You can’t skip these three things if you truly want to be able to go out and enjoy adventures with your horse. You need to spend time perfecting the skills needed to continuously be successful.
When can I say my horse ‘self loads’?
Your horse might walk onto the trailer once or twice on their own, but they aren’t truly confident, until that becomes their norm. Until you can see the confidence in them. Until they are keenly stepping towards the trailer and there is no hesitation. If you’re still holding your breath as they load and are secretly a teeny bit surprised they loaded so well again, then I hate to break it to you: your horse isn’t truly confident and your horse doesn’t truly self load.
None of the methods I use involves hitting, smacking, forcing, pulling or bullying the horse. There are no bum ropes and zero “do it or else..” threats. I use kind, compassionate methods that keep the horse and handler as safe and happy as possible.
Do you want to learn the steps to a confident and consistent to load horse every time? My Trailer Loading Success course walks you through all the steps you need to create a confident horse that’s not afraid to self load.
- – Maddy
