This website is owned and created by Nancy Kerson, a private citizen - I am not the givernment

Information about BLM adoptions is offered as a service, to help mustangs find homes and to promote public appreciation of wild horses and burros.

Please direct adoption questions to the BLM, not to me.

And I sure as heck am not a Mustang car dealership!

I have NO horses or burros for sale and not interested in buying or listing your sale animals!

This website:
Copyright 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
All Rights Reserved.
I am happy to share, but please give me a credit when you "borrow" things off my website! Thanks! Just say, "author, Nancy Kerson www.mustangs4us.com "

If you can stand at your horse's side and drive it forward, you can load it into a trailer.

Although most people consider trailer loading to be a separate and special skill, it is basically a matter of assuming enough leadership to effectively lead and drive your horse.

Practice driving down a fence line, and through less threatening "obstacles" as a good warm-up to trailer loading.

Students at a Jerry Tindell Ground School clinic practice driving down a fence line

First, get your ground skills solid:

At some point you'll start noticing small changes - the horse is less afraid, more curious, willing to step closer. Stop and reward each change, then go again.

Don't be frustrated by back-ups. Backing up is usually a part of the process of teaching trailer loading for the first time. If the horse backs up, fine. Make it your idea for a minute - ask for more back ups. Then start circling back toward the trailer. Repeat as often as is necessary.

When he is able to reach his whole head into the trailer, reward, and then softly but firmly ask him to step forward. If he goes backward instead, just rebuild.

Eventually, he'll take a step into the trailer. And eventually he'll go all the way in. At each positive response, reward by pausing and petting him on the neck.

When he finally goes all the way in, DON'T JUST SLAM THE GATE AND DRIVE AWAY!

Let him go out again, and practice going in and out a few times, getting it smooth and relaxed, before shutting him in. Each time it will be a bit easier, a bit quicker.

Don't wait to load him until you are in a hurry to get somewhere. Prepare by training ahead of time!

• Learn to lead without "holding on tight" and without tugging and pulling.
• Learn to drive the horse forward while standing at its side.
• Learn to drive the horse in circles around you (similar to lungeing).

Then drive in circles toward the trailer. If the horse looks into the trailer at any point, stop and reward him. Then go again.

Practice and practice at your leisure. Then when the time comes and you MUST load, it'll be no problem.

For your horse's safety, it is a good idea to train him to load into any type of trailer - not just the easy, wide, modern slant-loads. You never know when there could be an emergency (a wildfire, a flood, a tornado, a highway accident, etc.) that will require the horse to get into a different trailer than the one he is used to. You want your horse to know what to do, so that emergency personnel can load him quickly with no problems.