If you’ve never endured the patience-battering task of convincing an unwilling horse to enter a waiting trailer, you’re one of the lucky few. Most horse owners know this scenario from personal experience and understand the frustration and flaring tempers usually involved. Simply put, it’s a recipe for trouble and trauma. In fact, many experts believe that more injuries occur during loading and unloading than during the trailer trips themselves. Still, getting your horse on and off of a trailer doesn’t have to be risky business. With understanding, forethought, and common sense, you can keep everyone safe and calm while accomplishing these tasks more efficiently and effectively than ever before.

The Fear Factor

"People tend to forget that the reason most horses don’t want to go on a trailer is that the horse is scared to death," says Pennsylvania State University Equine Extension Assistant Brian Egan, who works with the school’s young horses and teaches horse handling and training classes. "When a horse is afraid, he’ll do anything to get out of the situation," he continues. That includes kicking, rearing, plunging toward real or imaginary escape routes, scrambling backward, accidentally flipping, and even slipping–which can cause the horse to slide under the trailer and get trapped. You can easily get caught up in the horse’s struggles, too–meaning that both horse and handler are vulnerable to injuries ranging from minor scrapes and bruises to deep lacerations and broken bones.

The situation is often exacerbated when people don’t leave themselves enough time to get a reluctant horse on the trailer before heading off for a show or other important appointment