Training Tip of the Week: Stopping a horse from kicking in the trailer.

Remember that horses are prey animals and when made to go in tight, narrow spaces – like a trailer – it’s natural for them to feel trapped and claustrophobic. When a horse feels trapped and claustrophobic, and his ability to run and move his feet is taken away from him, his only other option he feels he has is to fight – kick, bite, strike or do whatever he can to survive the situation. Because the horse goes on the trailer relatively easy, most owners who have a horse that kicks in the trailer think, “It can’t be a trailer loading problem, he goes on. It has to be a kicking issue.” Just because your horse goes on the trailer, doesn’t mean he’s comfortable there. You have to teach him to crave the trailer – thinking that it’s the best place in the world to be. In order to do that, you’re going to work his feet outside the trailer and let him rest inside the trailer.

You can do the Sending Exercise (sending the horse between you and the trailer from one side of your body to the other) or Lunging for Respect (lunging the horse in a circle around you and asking him to change directions every so often). It doesn’t really matter what you do with him outside of the trailer as long as you make his feet hustle and change directions). After several minutes, let him rest inside the trailer. If he starts to kick, immediately back him out and put his feet to work again. You can even load him in the trailer and drive around your property and as soon as he starts kicking, stop, unload him and make him hustle his feet. If you’re consistent, it won’t take long for him to realize that standing still and being in the trailer is a good thing because if he kicks, there’s nothing but hard work waiting for him outside. With repetition, he’ll learn to stand still, not kick and relax. Remember, he is kicking because he really doesn’t want to be in the trailer. If you can get the horse to think the trailer is the greatest place in the world to be, he will no longer want to cause any problems in the trailer.