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Post by spinney999 on Dec 20, 2007 10:32:38 GMT 1
Hello..This is the first time I've ever posed on any message boards so please bear with me.
I have a lovely, gentle horse who has been on and off work for the last 1.5 years due to a string of injuries. However last night I decided to hire out our local indoor school to exercise him. I put him in my trailer (which he has been in numerous times before) and started to drive the short distance to the indoor school. However about 5mins into the drive he started panicking and thrashing around. Initially I thought he had fell over so I stopped the car to check him but when I opened the jockey door he was fine, so I continued on my way. Every so often he would start thrashing again but as I was on a country road I had to continue the mile or so to the indoor.
I rode him in the indoor and he was fine. Behaving exactly as normal. I then untacked him, and led him back in the trailer and he loaded fine. I tied him up closed all the doors the got into the car to drive off. We must have pulled forward about a metre and he started thrashing. I looked into the jockey door to see him putting all his weight onto the middle partition and almost trying to climb the walls of the trailer with all four hooves. It was as if his sense of balance had completely gone or that he felt that the floor of the trailer had disappeared! He was becoming very dangerous. We eventually managed to get him out and as soon as he was out he instantly calmed down and behaved normally again. My friend then brought her lorry to collect him and he loaded and travelled fine back home in that. Has anyone got any advice or experience of why this may have happened or what I can do to overcome this?
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Post by Karon on Dec 20, 2007 15:26:14 GMT 1
First reaction - remove the partition and let him stand sideways on. One of mine wedges herself nicely, diagonally across the trailer and I never hear anything from her all journey. Personally I think if you try that he'll be a lot better.
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Post by Roz on Dec 20, 2007 16:28:14 GMT 1
I'd agree with Karon, one of ours cannot seem to balance with the partition in, and will thrash about and throw himself at the side of the trailer and work himself up into a terrible sweat. However we took the partition out, cross tied him and put up a full width breast and breech bar and he was as good as gold, arrived at the show with not a drop of sweat on him, so he found that being able to spread his legs meant that he could balance much better.
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Post by spinney999 on Dec 20, 2007 16:35:24 GMT 1
Thanks for your replies. I am very confused as to why this has suddenly happened after he has travelled in the same trailer loads of times before. It seemed like he was having a panic attack and was completely disorientated as he couldn't seem to stand on the floor, even when the trailer was staionary. It was totally out of character for him as he is a laid back horse. If iI hadn't seen it with my own eyes I wouldn't have believed it.
I will try him in the trailer without the partition and see if he travels any better.
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nettle
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Post by nettle on Dec 20, 2007 16:50:20 GMT 1
It's odd that he should react like this after being ok previously. Are you sure you haven't changed anything? no new travel boots?
Are you ABSOLUTELY SURE that the floor of your trailer is ok? I'd get it checked before I put a horse in there again.
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Post by spinney999 on Dec 20, 2007 17:01:49 GMT 1
Nothing that I can think of has changed and as far as I could tell the floor of the trailer was fine, although I will check again tonight. The trailer is a 2 year old ifor williams 505 with an aluminium floor. He behaved so out of character and it was crazy to watch. He was literally trying to climb the side wall of the trailer with all 4 hooves by putting all his weight on the partion in the middle,even when the trailer was at a stand still. He never, ever panics at anything and is very laid back. This is why I am thinking he was disorientated or lost his sense of balance or something, but he was perfectly fine and calm once he got out of the trailer.
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Post by june on Dec 20, 2007 19:36:46 GMT 1
I'd also suggest removing the partition. I've come across horses where this has happened before and there hasn't been an obvious reason. Many of them settle down when the partition is removed and often, after a while, they are fine with the partition again.
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pip
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Post by pip on Dec 20, 2007 20:35:46 GMT 1
Has he been in the trailer in the dark before? Maybe it was that. Or, perhaps he is a bit chubbier than before (having been off work) and he feels the section is too narrow. The problem usually is lack of room for them to keep their balance.
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Post by SarahW on Dec 20, 2007 21:52:20 GMT 1
This is quite a common problem - some horses go "into pressure" against the partition and lean right into it whilst scrabbling with their feet. It isn't always possible to tell why this has happened - it may be that someone took a right hand turn or went round a roundabout too quickly. Until you've actually travelled in the back of a trailer yourself it's hard to realise just how slowly you need to go. It could also be that the partition feels cold to this particular horse - what colour is the horse? It might sound ridiculous but chestnuts seem to struggle more with cold sides than other horses. Sometimes it's the travelling boots - those long travelling boots can make some horses act as if their legs are tied together.
I agree that it might be worth trying him without a partition providing you cross tie at the front and have a double breast bar. It's questionable whether it's legal to travel a horse entirely loose in a trailer - structurally trailers aren't meant to have a horse standing with it's rump tucked into the front end and that's where most horses would park themselves given a choice.
If the situation doesn't improve really quickly, I would consider getting an RA out so that they can analyse the problem. They might also want to see how the trailer is driven so be prepared to let your ego go!!! The other alternative would be to offer the horse for one of the loading courses at Hartsop Farm.
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Post by spinney999 on Dec 21, 2007 10:17:55 GMT 1
Thanks for all your replies...at least it is making me feel better that horses can show this behaviour for no obvious reason and my horse hasn't just gone "crazy", and I can work through this.
In response to the questions in the above posts. He has been in the trailer in the dark before, he would often be transported in the dark however it will have been about a year since he last was in it in the dark and about a couple of months since he was in the trailer in the light. However the trailer does have a light in the back which was on at the time.
He is chestnut and a thoroughbred with thin skin but he did have a rug on at the time, so not sure if he would feel the cold partition through the rug.
Also regarding travelling boots...as much as I am ashamed to admit it..... I didn't put them on him. No excuse I know... but he was only travelling in the trailer about a distance of 3 miles and I just had his overreach boots and brushing boots on him ready to ride when I got to the indoor. Definately learnt my lesson about always putting them on in future though.
I will try him without the partition over the Christmas hols in the daylight and see how he behaves. Thanks again for you advice.
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Post by Roz on Dec 21, 2007 10:53:05 GMT 1
Spinney don't punish yourself over travelling your horse without travel boots. I never travel mine with them, I always prefer brushing boots and that's it. This way their legs don't overheat and they can balance better.
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Post by Karon on Dec 21, 2007 12:02:36 GMT 1
Ah, I was just going to post to see if anyone else travels their horse without boots ;D I will hold my hand up and confess to forgetting my boots when I travelled Shef last weekend but she was fine and I may just dig out my overreach/brushing boots next time.
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Post by Roz on Dec 21, 2007 12:42:25 GMT 1
Karon we can stand on the norty step together!!! LOL!
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em&ed
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Post by em&ed on Dec 21, 2007 14:21:27 GMT 1
move up a bit and make way for me on the step then! I don't even 'own' any travel boots!! I was just about to buy some and heard that more people are not using them now due to over heating and possible cause of tendon damage etc... even £500k race horses!! Gulp....
My first thought on this when i read it yesterday (but didn't get time to post) was the floor... maybe it gave way a smidgen and he didn't like the way it felt...
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Post by Sue Palmer on Dec 21, 2007 18:01:01 GMT 1
Exactly the same thing happened to my mare, again for no apparent reason - it was really very scary! Took the partition out and got full breast bar, it took her several trips to get ok again, but now she's back to travelling happily with a partition in and travelling boots on.
I used to not bother with travelling boots, until my horse (different horse) trod on herself and there was a huge pool of blood in the trailer which we had to wash out - now always either put boots or bandages on, or if really want to be sure, brushing and overreach all round and bandages on top!
Sue xxx
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