Bought a trailer

[Greyhorses]

Can’t decide if I’m excited or terrified

It’s an old ifor 505 from a dealer so fully serviced, I’ve saved for it for years! I’ve got all the legalities/licensing sorted and have had my car and towbar checked and am ready to go (to where I don’t know )

Has anyone got any tips for getting the horse used to loading, unloading and travelling alone?
Are there any toys or things I can give Pony in the trailer to keep her busy (very food motivated!)
I will be mostly travelling alone, how do you all manage with not having an assistant to help!

It’s been a lifelong dream but now im scared, not of the driving but of the being alone with young pony and not a clue what I’m doing!

Congratulations! If you’ve not driven a trailer much before I can really recommend that you do lots of practice with it empty first, and if you can get someone else to drive, travel in the trailer to see what it feels like. (Best done on private property as I’m not sure it’s legal on the road!).

If your pony is food motivated then that’s great - if he’s not travelled on a trailer before then take it really slowly and in small steps - walking through, feed in it before you even go anywhere. Have a helper on hand but try to manage on your own from the word go. I don’t know how you feel about Natural Horsemanship but the techniques made sense and were certainly helpful.

I have gone from having a horse that on a good day would take 2 hours to load (or not load at all), then he needed the lorry to be alongside a building/fence and a helper with lunge reins and now he will load with just me, anywhere. It’s taken two years but even with an occasional wobble he’s fine. If you start yours out properly you won’t have any of these problems! Above all, you need to be calm, quiet and confident (wear hat & gloves at all times) and take your time.

Having your own transport is fab, it opens up a whole new world - enjoy it!

The most important thing is to practise towing it - and particularly reversing it - with no pony on board. You'd be amazed how many people can't reverse their trailer into a space.

As regards loading the pony you could try leaving the front door open so that it can see through and (as Frosty says) pack alongside a wall so they don't have many options. Make sure that the breast bar is the right height though - you don't want the pony ducking under!

Make sure you tie up well - we use a bungee with one of those quick release clips.

We just give them a haynet - don't think you need to bother with anything else..

Good luck !