Open all the doors and windows

Open all the doors and windows so that you can let in as much light as possible. For me, I have a straight load trailer so there are side access doors which I can safely hook back out of the way so they don’t blow around. These help let in lots of extra light and help my horses see. This minimises as much ‘claustrophobic’ feelings possible for your horse when entering a small confined space.

Add some poo to the floor of the trailer

Add some poo to the floor of the trailer. This can help disrupt the chemical or rubber smell of a brand new trailer. Remember your horse’s sense of smell is far more highly attuned than ours is, and while we might love that ‘new’ fresh smell, it can be confronting to our horses. Just don’t put poo down that will cause the horse to slip and fall. You can either put it in a second partition or in a strategic place that won’t be a slip hazard for your horse! And remember to clean it out when you’re done – you don’t want mould or bacteria growing and to become a health hazard for you or your horse later!

Remove or latch any unnecessary dividers away

If you can remove or latch any unnecessary dividers away until your horse gains more confidence then please do so! You want to set your horse up for success, so why not help him out and teach him it’s easy to go in and out of a space with a liiiiitle extra room. You can later add back in the partitions or dividers as an extra challenge.make sure to return the divider to its original position to increase the difficulty once the horse is confident with it in a wider position.

Remember, it’s not a race to force your horse to learn how to have confidence on a trailer or float. It’s a careful approach, understanding your horse’s thresholds and supporting him, so why not make some extra changes to more fully support him!

Speaking of support, My Trailer Loading Success course takes you through a calm gentle approach to teaching your horse to trailer load confidently and consistently.