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| I have a horse that backs out way too fast. Like the front of the trailer is on fire. Once he gets started there's no stopping him. I'm afraid he's going to hurt himself. Any suggestions for teaching him to back out slowly? |
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Member
Posts: 9
| I would also like yo know as I have the very same problem too. She loads fine. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
  
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | KayP - 2018-10-21 8:28 AM I have a horse that backs out way too fast. Like the front of the trailer is on fire. Once he gets started there's no stopping him. I'm afraid he's going to hurt himself. Any suggestions for teaching him to back out slowly? What type of trailer do you haul in? If its a slant load I would haul this horse in the last hole.
How long has this horse been doing this? I have a friend that had a horse that was this way and he got dangerous when unloading him, you had to make sure that no one was standing behind him. So we always hauled him in the last hole in my trailer so he would not try to rush out, he was always alot more comfortable being in the back. He never got over being this way.. Just be careful and dont get your self hurt trying to correct him, a friend got hurt a few times trying to help unload this horse..So every time she would unload him everybody stood to the side.. She hauled him in a stock trailer when she went places so he was always in the back so less backing for him.
Edited by Southtxponygirl 2018-10-21 9:46 AM
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Defense Attorney for The Horse
Location: Claremore, OK | Try stepping one foot in, then back out, then 2 steps in and back out, etc. don’t give him a lot of room to get his speed up and reward him for being quiet. If this doesn’t work you can load/unload, keep repeating until he decides he doesn’t have to get out so fast. Don’t try to slow him down by pulling in the lead rope. |
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Location: South Dakota | I would do a lot of backing with him, with groundwork, and get him real comfortable and listening to light commands. Back him out of the barn or pen, instead of leading him out, teaching him to listen to you and relax, so he figures out, that it is no big deal, and then work towards happy trailer unloading. |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| We have one, always been that way. He’s not dangerous in the sense that he’s going so fast he’ll hurt himself, but once his slant is opened he’s coming out. Once he’s out, he stands there. He’s gotten a bit better on his own now that we have a trailer with a ramp. He’s a little better in the middle or back stall so he’s never on the trailer by himself.
We leave him untied and if we hauled him tied in a stock trailer we untie him from the outside of the trailer or before we take the horse next to him out - he will pull back if you don’t.
Husband has had him since he was a 2 yr old and he’s 15 now.
Honestly, we go with it. If he was absolutely running backwards and falling or on the verge of flipping out backwards...different story. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 561
Location: somewhere in the south | I had one that did that and I had a trainer/natural horseman come to check it out and fix. He did some basic trust exercises with him and then when he felt it was good, he lead him in the trailer and had me close the trailer door. He started easing him back and when he got faster he would stop him but if he didn't stop, the horse would hit the door, basically teaching him that it's not always open to run out. It didn't take very long before the horse was easing back and standing at the back door waiting to step out! I don't recommend this to just anyone as I know some horses will freak in the trailer but this trainer is very experienced! |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 595
Location: North Dakota | I fixed my old geldings issue by keeping the door closed untill I had him untied, and ready to back out and we just stood there for several mins till he gave me some kind of sign of relaxation. Then I had someone open the door and we backed out calmly and slowly. I did this several times with no where to go or I would drive around the block and do it so it felt like a real trailering for him.
I also fed him in the trailer for a few weeks too. I would give him his grain, he would eat it all and I would open the slant... he would start to back out right away then I would put more grain in his feeder and he would walk back up and eat on it. Basically a distraction to get him out of the habit of backing out of the trailer quickly. Then I had him stand there with the slant open and we just stood there.. and stood there... and stood there.
Edited by MidWest1452 2018-10-21 5:30 PM
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 357
| I have had two horses in the past that did this. I feel like it is one of those things you learn to deal with and didn’t fuss with them. We did the same as another person posted I keep them untied with the rope tied around there neck. They wouldn’t even stop if they hit the end of a tied rope.They would stop as soon as their feet hit the ground so it wasn’t like they were trying to get away.Some horses you are just not going to fix and my two were those type.
I am still very quick to untie my current horse even though he doesn’t fly out. it is always in the back of my mind!
Also if you even sell your horse make sure you tell the buyer they do this so no one has to find out the hard way, like I did! |
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| Thank you everyone for the suggestions and experiences you have had. I will absolutely give them a try. I do have a slant load and do try to haul him on the back, but sometimes that is almost worse. He will try to come out before I can get the butt bar totally down and get myself out of the way. He does stop once he gets out so not trying to run off. He's not for sale and if none of the suggestions work I will just be careful, as I am now, and deal with it. |
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | KayP - 2018-10-21 6:54 PM Thank you everyone for the suggestions and experiences you have had. I will absolutely give them a try. I do have a slant load and do try to haul him on the back, but sometimes that is almost worse. He will try to come out before I can get the butt bar totally down and get myself out of the way. He does stop once he gets out so not trying to run off. He's not for sale and if none of the suggestions work I will just be careful, as I am now, and deal with it.
I feel your pain, some times we just have to deal with what we got. Just be carefull  |
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 Serious Snap Trapper
Posts: 4275
Location: In The Snow, AZ | I have ALWAYS made sure my horses could back out... but I have a gelding now that freaks when trying to back out. He flies, head up, straight backwards until he hits the ground. . I have to tell my husband and daughter to stay out of the way. I’ve decided it is easier to just allow him to turn around. I don’t like it. But it’s safe and he’s relaxed. I choose my battles. |
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 Cute Little Imp
Posts: 2747
Location: N Texas | My gelding used to be that way. When I first started hauling, he loaded and unloaded nice and quiet. Then over time, he got faster and faster with the unloading. Nothing traumatic happened, so I really have no idea what caused him to start racing out of the trailer.
What I did was load him all the way in the front (I have a 3-horse slant), let him stand for a minute, then back a couple of steps, stop, stand for a minute, go back to the front. Each time we backed, I let him go a couple more steps until he was slowly backing all the way to the end. I'd let him put one foot out, then made him go back forward. If he still raced out, we'd start over all the way at the front of the trailer until he backed all the way nice and quiet.
It did take some repetition, but he is now calm and quiet backing out every time. |
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 Born not Made
Posts: 2937
Location: North Dakota | Usually, when they rush out that like, it's because they are nervous or anxious about backing out.
What I like to do to work on this is what another poster mentioned: Load one foot, then unload one foot. Repeat 1,000 times.
Then load the two front feet, and unload the two front feet. Repeat 1,000 times.
Then load 3 feet, and unload 3 feet. Repeat 1,000 times.
By the time you actually go to load all 4 feet, you have now taught him how to be PATIENT and you have also taught him HOW to back out of the trailer, and how to do so carefully and safely. He shouldn't rush anymore because he's at the point where he is listening to you, and waiting for you to tell him where to put his feet.
I would work on ground work like this for 10-15 minutes every day. You can use the trailer, or you can use other obstacles to keep things different. Maybe that's "loading" into the barn opening. Maybe it's only a blue tarp. Or a piece of plywood, etc.
Just gain control of those feet and teach him to wait on you, instead of panicking.
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 The Bling Princess
Posts: 3411
Location: North Dakota | In my opinion he needs to be taught to come forward off of pressure. He doesn't know this, so that's why when you pull on your lead rope he just continues to back up. I teach it on the ground and when it's good I'll load them in the trailer. I've had freaky backers too; one backed up so fast he literally fell out of the trailer and his hind legs went under it. Thankfully he didn't get seriously hurt. It's a dangerous behavior and this is how I've corrected it in the past. |
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 Lady Di
Posts: 21556
Location: Oklahoma | OhMax - 2018-10-21 11:46 AM
We have one, always been that way. He’s not dangerous in the sense that he’s going so fast he’ll hurt himself, but once his slant is opened he’s coming out. Once he’s out, he stands there. He’s gotten a bit better on his own now that we have a trailer with a ramp. He’s a little better in the middle or back stall so he’s never on the trailer by himself.
We leave him untied and if we hauled him tied in a stock trailer we untie him from the outside of the trailer or before we take the horse next to him out - he will pull back if you don’t.
Husband has had him since he was a 2 yr old and he’s 15 now.
Honestly, we go with it. If he was absolutely running backwards and falling or on the verge of flipping out backwards...different story.
I was going to suggest a ramp. Sometimes that will cure it.
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