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Merrylegs · 04-09-2008, 01:15 PM

First suggestion, hire a professional to help. There is only so much that can be done on your own safely with limited experience with this particular problem.

I would avoid treats. Get your float and make sure it isn't too small for the horse, ensure you always travel very smoothly and give no cause for your horse to be frightened of travelling or being locked in.

Your horse needs first and foremost to learn to stand up until asked to move. Once this is established outside of the float you need to teach the horse the same thing once they're in.

A huge part of this problem is related to the horse not giving to pressure (which can be corrected pretty quickly with the right trainer) and another big part to the solution is lots and lots of practise until your horse thinks "Oh yeah, done this a billion times, no big deal."

Break the lesson into small bits so don't try to teach the horse to stay up there all in one hit. Perhaps teach them to stand up on the ramp first until asked to move. Then teach the horse to stand up with forefeet in the float until they do it perfectly... then progress to part way in the float and finally all the way in.

AND THEN teach the horse to accept being shut in.

The last big hint is when practising and then when actually needing to travel, make sure you give yourself HOURS of time. Keep calm at all times and don't get concerned, annoyed, frustrated or angry. Keep your adrenalin low, and prepare to spent hours getting the result you want.

04-09-2008, 01:15 PM	#2 (permalink)
Merrylegs Advanced Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Kelmscott Posts: 4,056	First suggestion, hire a professional to help. There is only so much that can be done on your own safely with limited experience with this particular problem. I would avoid treats. Get your float and make sure it isn't too small for the horse, ensure you always travel very smoothly and give no cause for your horse to be frightened of travelling or being locked in. Your horse needs first and foremost to learn to stand up until asked to move. Once this is established outside of the float you need to teach the horse the same thing once they're in. A huge part of this problem is related to the horse not giving to pressure (which can be corrected pretty quickly with the right trainer) and another big part to the solution is lots and lots of practise until your horse thinks "Oh yeah, done this a billion times, no big deal." Break the lesson into small bits so don't try to teach the horse to stay up there all in one hit. Perhaps teach them to stand up on the ramp first until asked to move. Then teach the horse to stand up with forefeet in the float until they do it perfectly... then progress to part way in the float and finally all the way in. AND THEN teach the horse to accept being shut in. The last big hint is when practising and then when actually needing to travel, make sure you give yourself HOURS of time. Keep calm at all times and don't get concerned, annoyed, frustrated or angry. Keep your adrenalin low, and prepare to spent hours getting the result you want. __________________ Second Chance Horse Rescue Inc; www.schrar.org SC Hoofcare Workshop - 6th Feb with Master Farrier - book now to avoid disappointment! Last edited by Merrylegs; 04-09-2008 at 01:18 PM.