On Sunday we put Nilla on the trailer by herself. We tied the center divider over to the side so she ends up with a triangular stall (which is very like the end stall on a slant load). She likes to spin herself around and face backwards like this. She actually had shipping boots on all four legs; this picture is from later, but it illustrates how the divider was placed.
She walked on just fine and we went down the road a few miles, parked at a parking lot, unloaded, grazed on fresh grass for a few minutes, re-loaded, and went back to the barn. She did some pawing and she was sweaty, but there was no lying down or scrambling.
We parked the trailer by our stalls and then went for a ride over to the winery. The park was packed with families out for Easter picnics and walks, but the winery was surprisingly uncrowded. I don’t really like wine, but I love the white port this winery makes and they give you a piece of white fudge to taste it with. It’s sooo good. They also had a new sparkling Zinfandel, which I’ve never tried before. I didn’t think it was as good as their Brut Rose, but my husband liked it.
We rode back to the barn after our tasting and I made Nilla eat her grain on the trailer. She was totally fine with it. We had planned to try out the slant load trailer today, but we need a different size ball for our hitch. Hopefully, we can try that out next weekend. Not that she was great today, but she at least wasn’t actively trying to kill herself. We do need her to trailer with another horse though, so the solo trip isn’t a true success, but it’s at least a good sign.
She’ll also only be getting her grain on the trailer for the next few weeks. And the trailer is now parked outside of her stall. Since she starts panicking the moment we drive the trailer down by the barn, the BO suggested we park it next to her so she has to get over it. It took some maneuvering to get it in there, but we managed it. I’ve also found a 3 horse slant-load that I like, so if the slant load solves it, we’ll be set.
That sounds like progress. Good idea to have her trailer like that for a bit.
Sounds like a great way to train her!
Great game plan!
So far so good!
I would also suggest loading her last in the slant load. I trailer all the time with a Haffie that loads just fine in the second spot, but gets incredibly claustrophobic in the front and completely loses his shit. Doesn't lay down, though.
The plan is to put her in the last part so she can turn herself around. She did that on a slant load when we pulled at the Fireworks ride and she was content like that.
Umm- I'd like to stable at your barn! Ride to the winery- NBD- I'm in! Fingers crossed!
Ha ha. It really is very every day for us as the park is next door and it's our easiest trail ride. We only get one free tasting per month so most of the time we just ride up and back. Sometimes I stop and use the bathroom. We really are very lucky to board where we do.
a promising start!! and yea… i'm also jealous of the nearby winery!!
Yay! A promising start. *fingers crossed*
Great idea with the trailer! A winery ride sounds so excellent right now.
Fingers crossed for continued success!
Sounds like it's promisiing!