I've felt your pain before. I think you're starting to deal with two problems. One with trailer loading and the second with being buddy sour. I have one horse I've dealt with trailer loading issues and another wanting to be with her buddy. On both issues they need to be worked with and they can get better. With either one if you don't, they can be dangerous. I'm blessed enough to have a great horse trainer I've worked with and I've learned so much from her. When she first starts working with a horse, she leaves them tied a lot. In trailer, on high lines etc. She doesn't let horses out of the trailer until they're standing quiet so everytime you pull in, they don't just think they'll get out. At the beginning of every riding season, I take all three of my horses and tie them where they can't see each other and they get use to not having to be with each other and they will settle down. It may take hours and sometimes tied most of the day and then the next. It really pays off, something about it gets their minds with you. With the one I've had set back, he can be dangerous because some horses won't hurt themselves but he will & has. I've had him do it tied in the trailer, when tied to the trailer, on a hitchin post. Don't ever try to step in and try to stop them, let them go until they're done, better them to get hurt than you. Teach them to give to pressure and release. Don't tie low, tie above their heads. I like to tie to a branch overhead so if he'd tries to set back, it doesn't work well. If they're tied that way, they can't get their back feet under them to use their weight. I've trained the one horse to be driven into the trailer instead of me leading him in. That's taken hours and a lot of patience. I now ask him to go in and he'll walk in himself and then turns around and I tie him reversed, sounds weird but he's content that way. He's now 14 and ties and loads fine. I never completely trust him and maybe once every few years he just might try it again. With the buddy sour one I've worked a lot with going away and coming back and going farther away and coming back. Coming back to camp, riding back out, sometimes just doing that. If you have enough people riding, you can do drills where they get use to riding in different places in line and riding past another horse on the trail. What we do is to have the lead horse turn around and go to the back of the line and just take turns with that. They get use to every position, in the front, middle, back and passing a horse on the trail. It was a proud moment for me the first time I rode past a group of riders when riding by myself and my horse didn't nicker or think she had to be with them and she's good now. Keep them guessing so they don't get into habits and give them a job asking them to do things so their mind stays with you. Good luck, you can do it! |