Planning afternoons out at clinics, competitions or trail rides and new adventures? You can picture how good it’s going to be, that view between your favourite set of ears, or watching them stride along comfortably next to you as you walk in hand… the only problem is: your equine best friend and adventure seeker refuses to load onto the trailer to get there…

Or maybe, you’re pretty confident you can get your horse there, but you have this knot in your stomach, knowing you’ll get stranded as the sun is setting miles from home…

But here’s the thing – Trailer loading is a skill. Just like anything else in your horse’s training.

You train the mini skills that set up for the big one – and once you’ve done it once, you keep practicing so you and your horse can remain consistent.

Trailer loading is NOT a set and forget.

Take flying changes as an example: you don’t canter madly for a corner, throw your weight towards the right at the last minute, and hope and pray your horse changes leads. Maybe you could fluke it once or twice, but it’s probably going to be messy and probably going to cause more grief later on down the track. 

Of course, you understand that a good, clean lead change in canter is built through 

• Walk to Canter transitions

• Preparing with your half halts 

• Making sure your horse is balanced in the canter 

• Working on your counter canter 

• Perfecting soft upwards and downwards transitions 

• Adjusting the stride length of the canter 

• Making sure your horse is free of anxiety, free of tension or brace in the body. 

And then, once you’ve prepared the mini skills, you attempt the lead change, and then, you practice. You practice to refine it, to build both of your strength and confidence in each other, you practice in different environments and maybe even different surfaces so that you *know* the skill is solid.

You have to apply this same thinking to your trailer loading.

To load successfully onto the trailer you must practice the mini skills of: 

• Being comfortable around, in, and tied next to the trailer.

• Walking on

• Walking off

• Stopping midway (at your direction)

• Standing still at different points

• Waiting calmly for the next direction 

• Avoiding anticipation 

Then you practice mid level skills 

• Local trips to low stress environments

• Transporting 

• Short trips around the neighbourhood

So you see, trailer loading is a real skill, one that requires patience, good timing, feel and the absence of ego.

Some thoughts to remember: 

• Just because your horse is going on, it doesn’t mean he is comfortable to do so: often horses go on, because they have experienced what the alternative is when they don’t. Sadly the horse chooses going onto the trailer as the lesser of two evils.

• If your horse is displaying any kind of anxiety at the tailgate of the trailer (pawing, chewing/biting rubber, metal etc, calling out to friends, brace in the body etc) then your horse is not ready to progress much further. 

• If your horse is not easy to load, then he is not safe to travel down a motorway. 

• The more force you apply as a ‘quick fix’ measure in the short term, the harder and more impossible you’re going to make your next trip. 

 Remember, trailer loading is a journey, not a race. Celebrate every small victory and be patient with your horse as you work together to make this skill second nature.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

If you’re serious about creating lasting, confident trailer loading experiences for you and your horse, I’ve created a comprehensive video training library that guides you through every stage of the process.

Inside, you’ll find detailed, step-by-step video lessons that break down each skill – starting from the groundwork and mini skills, all the way to real world loading and traveling. Whether your horse is brand new to loading, or you’re looking to fix long-standing issues, this library is designed to meet you where you’re at and move you forward with calmness, clarity, and confidence.

💻 Click here to access the Trailer Loading Training Library

Take the guesswork out of trailer loading and start building a safer, smoother, and more positive experience for both you and your horse, one session at a time.

Got a question? Don’t forget, you can submit your own question to askmaddy@whitfordequestrian.com for the chance to be featured in the weekly blog.