Trailer Unloading Problems

Why does my horse bolt out of the back of the trailer as soon as we start to open the back gate?
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Q. One of our horses has a problem with unloading from a trailer. He bolts out of the back as soon as we start to open the back gate, often before we can undo the butt bar. He has done this since we got him over a year ago. He loads and rides great but just scurries or explodes out backwards.  We can’t figure out why he does this. He is a really nice horse otherwise. So arrival and unloading have become a nightmare.  We have to be sure there is a long safe path behind the trailer so he doesn’t hurt himself. Now sometimes he’ll begin to rush backwards just after he gets inside the trailer, before we can do up the rear.  We end up doing the in and out thing, sometimes for several tries, before we get the back up and secured. It is getting dangerous, particularly for the person closing the gate.  We have tried all sorts of ties at the front and butt bars on his rear, but when he’s ready to go, there’s no stopping him. He can break just about anything.

Kaye


A. In my experience most horses that rush out of the back of the trailer, or similarly out of a stock or chute, seem truly afraid. In most cases you’ll probably never know what frightened the horse to rush out backward in the first place, but once the behavior starts, it’s tough to correct.  The panic and commotion of rushing out seem to reconfirm the fear for the horse each time.  As with your experience, trying to hold the horse back seems counterproductive in many instances. Discipline also seems to further confirm to the horse that this really is a fearful situation.

Interestingly, the panic and rushing typically seem specific to the back out unloading situation. Simply changing to a van or stock trailer in which you can lead the horse out can immediately reduce the danger to the horse and the handlers

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Written by:

Sue M. McDonnell, PhD, is a certified applied animal behaviorist and the founding head of the equine behavior program at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine. She is also the author of numerous books and articles about horse behavior and management.

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