Mounted search and rescue

["Thor Burfine" <thor@cpcinc.net>]

my $0.02 worth

All horses in my opinion should walk right to the trailer and step in in with out you asking them to.
e.g. throw the lead over the neck and point them to and have them enter.

This should be for the trailer that you use all of the time.

Strange trailers (to the horse), yes 5 minutes is good as long as its not 5 minutes
of fighting them.

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Thor Burfine
Texas Equusearch
Equine Team Leader
ATV Team Leader
www.texasequusearch.org

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From: msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of ALLEN SNYDER
Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2007 10:56 AM
To: Mounted search and rescue
Subject: [MSAR] Thanks for encouraging response on trailer loading

It was good to hear what you said.  I would also imagine that horses may be like people in that they are often very vulnerable and easily led like sheep after something traumatic like an accident.  The demeanor of the human(s) leading them makes a big difference too.

 

I do not know what may have happened to the former race horse, then jumper (no more jumping due to old fracture) I adopted last fall.  He may have had some bad experiences with the racing chute or poorly loaded by a rough or inexperienced person.  He used to be really worried about trailers; deep, dark, noisy stock trailers. Can we really blame them?  I have been really patient and just let him stand around the trailer as well as employed the help of a professional trainer to overcome this.  The trainers sense of timing and confidence are evident in that she can load him without of fuss. Next, I will need to learn these skills because a MSAR horse should be able to load in about 5 min. or less, right? 

 

My TB gelding has a great mind and is not afraid of many of the things that frighten most other horses, so I think the investment is worth it.  Neither of us is perfect, but he trusts me; which is one of the most important aspects of any partnership. 

Happy Halloween!