Van boarding simulation workshop: problems and solutions

The horse trailer is a problem encountered by many riders: horse that gets stressed, that doesn't load, that takes a long time to load, horse that scratches, that stamps its foot, gets agitated to get out, gets out quickly while pulling the rope, etc.

Horse trailer transport is a discipline just like show jumping, dressage, etc. It requires preparation, yet few people know this, and many want to load and transport their horse without any preparation. It is an art to load and transport horses smoothly in a horse trailer!

In practice:

I thought it would be interesting to offer you this workshop where you'll experience situations from your horse's perspective. More than just a demonstration, this workshop will help you understand the learning stages, safety points, the roots of common behaviors, and appropriate solutions, tailored not only to your horse's personality but also to the specific situation. During this workshop, you'll learn the four main learning stages related to horsebox (or truck) and travel. We often focus solely on loading, and it's afterward that problems arise. We'll discuss the various issues you encounter and then practice simulations so you can put yourself in your horse's shoes and experience the situation from their point of view. This is a very powerful workshop because you'll learn to interpret all possible behaviors and find solutions for your horse.

• Parking is available in the car park above the quarry and the reception is at the barn at 9:00 am.
• Dry toilets are available on site
• Three vans will be available, straight and angled.
• The workshop uses a headset microphone so that everyone can hear properly.
• We love dogs, but they will not be allowed on site during the workshop, thank you for your understanding.

Some information:

Staying in the horse trailer is the main difficulty faced by owners, and of course, by the horses themselves. To move to the next stage—acceptance, rather than just obedience—requires understanding equine behavior and psychology. A horse given carrots in the trailer, for example, hasn't necessarily chosen to stay there, or hasn't necessarily understood that the expected outcome is to remain inside. It knows there are carrots inside, but then, when everything is closed up, or when the road starts to open, panic ensues, with the horse sweating, pawing, freezing up, becoming stressed, and so on.

We also learned, for example, how to "send" the horses into the trailer, or how to make the outside uncomfortable, to get the horse moving, so that the inside would then be comfortable. But what kind of relationship is that? You're always the one on the receiving end! How do you manage adrenaline surges? How do you detect the first signs of panic? That's what we'll cover together during two hours of theory and practice, with participants role-playing the various scenarios they've encountered.

Learn with the Equideo app:

Discover all the learning steps broken down and presented with different horses. Find out how to relearn how to load into a horsebox, even with very difficult horses: https://app.equideo.fr/

WARNING: GO THROUGH THE PIGASSE RELAY WHEN COMING FROM CAPESTANG, AND THUS AVOID THE VINEYARD PATHS!