A horse that rushes out of the trailer is telling you he doesn’t really want to be in there. So change his perspective on things. Make sure you park the trailer on good footing so that the horse won’t slip and you can safely work with him. If he wants to rush out of the trailer as soon as you open the doors, don’t try to stop him. Instead, as soon as all four of his feet hit the ground, put him to work. You can do Lunging for Respect Stage One or Stage Two, Backing Up, the C-Pattern, etc. It doesn’t really matter what exercise you do. What is important is that you ask the horse to do changes of direction and you make his feet hustle. After working for a few minutes, send him back in the trailer and let him rest. Anytime he wants to come back out, let him, and then put his feet back to work. It won’t be long before he realizes that he gets to rest and relax inside the trailer and work hard and sweat outside of it. He’ll soon think that the trailer is the greatest place to be and will be in no hurry to back off of it.
Learn more tips about teaching your horse to be confident about trailering by downloading the free Downunder Horsemanship app from the App Store or Google Play. Go to the Video category “NWC Videos,” and select the video, “Trouble-Free Trailering, Part Two.”
