Trailer Training - Horse Won't go to the Trailer

This QH gelding will not approach the trailer to load, so our first task is to get him comfortable to walk to the trailer with me.

He was very anxious and pulled me away. Good groundwork skills come in handy here. I circled him around me and kept his shoulder away from me by bending him and sending his hip and body away from me.

The bending helps him to relax a bit, taking the brace out of his back, but it also gives me an advantage by weakening the horse so that I don't get dragged. A straight horse is a strong horse. If we can put a bend on the horse, we have a better advantage on the ground.

When we get to a place where the horse is below threshold, we stop. I give him a moment and then we walk away. This release helps the horse to become more confident in me, knowing that I won't push him further than he can manage. However, I also think his confidence comes from my ability to handle him in the ground work. By showing strong leadership and being fair, he feels safer with me.

Later in this session, he loaded into the trailer with me, but the battery in my camera died and the camera did not capture it.