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7/26/06: I have a 5 year old Quarter Horse mare that I have used your Join-Up with to the best of my ability, however when I load her on the trailer she is fine until I close the gate. Then she panics even if I have my old mare on with her who is very quiet in the trailer. I have a 3 horse slant load 2006 Sundowner that is 7' 7 as I transport Standardbreds as well so it is not small. There are windows. But she tends to act claustrophobic. She starts to shake, and then sweat, and then she explodes. I have taken time to load her feed her on the trailer, she stands with me on the trailer, but as soon as I close the gate she rears up, paw's kicks; the whole thing. When I go in to get her, she stands quiet, let's me undo her tie and she walks out with me a little shaky but she will turn right around and load again. I think she is just very afraid! Do you have any suggestions that I could use to help her learn not to be so afraid?

7/19/06: I can not break my Thoroughbred mare's habit of fence pacing. The moment she looses sight of company she goes crazy and paces the fence. She is very insecure. I am at a loss as to how to break this. The fence is electric. I have dotted hay nets around the place, which was suggested by a friend as well. I am very close to be kicked out of my grazing because of it. Can you help?

7/12/06: I have a nine-year-old Arab-Quarter Horse cross who is a very sweet fellow, and I use your methods with him. He loves to go out on the trail, but he gets more and more excited if we go out with more than one or two other horses, and after an hour or so he is so excited and wound up that he just wants to run all the time (either that or a bone-jarring fast trot). I need help on how to calm him out on the trail. Should I get off for a little while and let him cool off? I try to stay relaxed, but after awhile we are both anxious and no fun to be around. When I get him back to the barn, he is exhausted and I am, too. I am getting my own round pen, soon – would additional round pen work help us?

7/05/06: We are buying a horse trailer with living quarters and were wondering if you could comment on the pros and cons of mangers.

Answers to July 2006 Ask Monty Questions

Question: I have a 5 year old Quarter Horse mare that I have used your Join-Up with to the best of my ability, however when I load her on the trailer she is fine until I close the gait. Then she panics even if I have my old mare on with her who is very quiet in the trailer. I have a 3 horse slant load 2006 Sundowner that is 7' 7 as I transport Standardbreds as well so it is not small. There are windows. But she tends to act claustrophobic. She starts to shake, and then sweat, and then she explodes. I have taken time to load her feed her on the trailer, she stands with me on the trailer, but as soon as I close the gate she rears up, paw's kicks; the whole thing. When I go in to get her, she stands quiet, let's me undo her tie and she walks out with me a little shaky but she will turn right around and load again. I think she is just very afraid! Do you have any suggestions that I could use to help her learn not to be so afraid?

Monty's Answer: I must say that this is one of the most interesting questions I have had come through in the past year or so. The primary reason that I find it so interesting is that I am reading the words of someone who has concerned themselves with the necessity to be fair with the horse before making conclusions. I love to hear that you reached out to provide a slant haul trailer and I am impressed that you have provided the head space that might otherwise have contributed to this condition.

It is extremely interesting that even though you have experienced explosive behavior when the door closes this mare will allow you to come in and handle her comfortably after you have opened the door. This particular behavioral shift is not often apparent. Usually once the ballistic behavior has begun it is a considerable length of time before any quiet cooperation is evident.

It is also true that this sort of problem is generally reserved for the yearling or two year old who has yet to take on the maturity of the adult horse. It would be nice to know how many times you have experienced this activity but I wouldn’t say it was critical to the recommendation that I intend to make.

Let’s just stop for a moment and ask yourself if you think it would ever be possible to transport this mare quietly, comfortably and with the door closed. I believe that your answer would be that you think it would, but she would probably have to be a lot older and more experienced with travel before it could ever happen.

Let’s take the position that with that in mind we are talking about positive experiences during transportation with doors closed. Bearing this in mind I would suggest that you borrow if you don’t have a stock trailer; just an old trailer that somebody hauls cows around in. Without partitions and with a non-skid floor I suggest that you put 3-4 horses in the trailer with her.

If it is a 14’stock trailer you would probably want three horses with her. If it is a 16’or greater you could transport her with four partners. If it’s possible to utilize horses she is familiar with it is preferable to transporting with unfamiliar individuals. You should take precautions against getting any horses kicked by having a sufficient number so as to limit the space.

Each horse should be free to roam the trailer untied. It is amazing how horses will school bad behavior better than any human being could. Once all horses are loaded and the door is closed you should begin to roll at once. It is not a good idea to allow the horses to stand in a motionless trailer for more than a few minutes. Once you are rolling then it advisable to take a fairly long trip. It is my opinion that your mare will tend to settle with in a half an hour or so.

Often these stock trailers are open to a certain extent. Generally the sides and rear have spaces of about 4-6” allowing the light and air to come through. If this is the case then after your mare is well settled one should arrange a system whereby you can cover these open areas stopping down the light. It is possible that you will have to repeat this process more than once before attempting your trailer again.

Should you get good results with the stock trailer but less than wonderful behavior in the slant haul then take out one partition and try your mare with a double wide stall. After several trips wit this configuration, then give it a go with the fully closed trailer. Please advise us as to the progress you make. I am interested in following this through.

-Monty

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Question: I can not break my Thoroughbred mare's habit of fence pacing. The moment she looses sight of company she goes crazy and paces the fence. She is very insecure. I am at a loss as to how to break this. The fence is electric. I have dotted hay nets around the place, which was suggested by a friend as well. I am very close to be kicked out of my grazing because of it. Can you help?

Monty's Answer: Horses are herd animals. Some horses are in more deep need of constant company than others. The horse that is perfectly happy while solo is rare. In the case of your horse, it seems that there is an intense desire to be in an environment with a companion.

While it is quite possible that this individual would require the company of another horse, often times a different species will do. I have seen horses settle and become friends with sheep, goats, calves, donkeys and I even remember a Thoroughbred trainer who had a horse that simply had to be with this parrot.

The nervous characteristics of the individual that you describe will probably respond to a friend quite well. The art of creating a reasonable relationship with your horse is more likely to be challenged by over-bonding than it is by under-bonding. Horses such as yours are a challenge but, like challenging children, they can be a lot of fun to deal with at the same time.

One must realize and accept the fact that there is a time commitment necessary in dealing with a horse such as yours which is likely to be quite substantial. I enjoy working with these types of challenges but then I guess its fair to tell you I have been accused many times of being maniacal in my desire to better understand the workings of the equine mind.

- Monty

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Question: I have a nine-year-old Arab-Quarter Horse cross who is a very sweet fellow, and I use your methods with him. He loves to go out on the trail, but he gets more and more excited if we go out with more than one or two other horses, and after an hour or so he is so excited and wound up that he just wants to run all the time (either that or a bone-jarring fast trot). I need help on how to calm him out on the trail. Should I get off for a little while and let him cool off? I try to stay relaxed, but after a while we are both anxious and no fun to be around. When I get him back to the barn, he is exhausted and I am, too. I am getting my own round pen, soon – would additional round pen work help us?

Monty's Answer: Round pen work never hurts when done properly. Causing the horse to walk, trot and canter in the round pen on a loose rein is effective therapy for the problem you have stated. Just doing round pen work, however, is not the entire answer.

A good horseman takes the position that one should only work with small problems or small portions of big problems. The round pen work falls into the category of a small portion of a bigger problem. One needs to transition from less challenging environments to more challenging environments in a logical and effective manor. This means making the transition in small steps.

The round pen is great as a beginning tool. Then obviously it is advisable to move to a slightly larger area with good footing and continue to create a quiet attitude on loose reins. Graduate from the second size to slightly larger and then eventually outside of any an enclosure.

It is likely that your horse has galloped like the wind with other horses while in a trail riding sort of environment. For a sensitive horse with a lot of energy this is a destructive procedure. Often horses who love to run in the first place will develop a strong desire for going fast whenever they are with other horses under these circumstances. I have seen horses that I have concluded would never be quiet trail horses after developing this habit.

If you are to be successful at correcting this behavioral pattern it will require a great deal of patience on your part and the cooperation of several friends and their horses, too. If you can recruit this group of horses and riders then the method I have seen work most successfully goes as follows: Your friends agree that they will ride at a walk only. They further agree that they will ride in an area that is open enough so that you and your horse can circle one or more of the riders. It is further advisable that the footing be of a nature acceptable to the cantering horse.

You should allow your horse to walk on a loose rein just as he will remember he did back in the round pen. You should not pick up the reins and tease his mouth in a fashion requesting that he go slower. Instead, leave the reins down. Instead, if your horse picks up speed he will obviously be passing other horses. Let it happen. When approaching the front of the group, bend your horse’s energy either to the left or to the right and let him trot or canter in small circles around the walking horses. You may be circling one, two or three horses but your circle should be small so as to add to the labor- intensive qualities.

When your horse is executing these circles on a nice loose rein ease him back to the walk near the rear portion of the group and allow him to walk on a loose rein with the other horses. Should your horse once again choose to increase speed passing other horses, once again leave the reins down and repeat the same process but in a circle traveling in the opposite direction than your first one. Repeat this process until your horse is walking in a relaxed fashion or until the ride has concluded.

If in fact you have executed the entire ride with your horse failing to walk properly it is my recommendation that you set a date and time for the next ride. Remember that I told you that you need friends that are extremely cooperative. It is my recommendation that you make copies of this answer and distribute them amongst your trail riding partners so they too will understand the suggested road map. Once they know the plan, it is more likely that they will stay the course.

Look for more training tips and develop your understanding of horse psychology in From My Hands to Yours: Lessons from a Lifetime of Training Championship Horses.

- Monty

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Question: We are buying a horse trailer with living quarters and were wondering if you could comment on the pros and cons of mangers.

Monty's Answer: One must take into consideration the purpose for which you are acquiring a trailer obviously if you are a professional traveling 1000 miles a week or so and basically living on the road, then your horses and yourself then your horses have an entirely different set of requirements than the horseman that travels to the occasional trail ride or short distances to horseshows.

There is nothing wrong with mangers but if you decide to include them it is best to install them in trailers of the greater widths. If you choose to put mangers in the narrower trailers and you have full sized horses you could restrict their space unacceptably. For the hard traveling professional mangers provide several advantages. They increase your ability to feed and water while on the move. In addition they allow for significantly more storage space than trailers without mangers. I am a spokesman for Sundowner Trailers and it is difficult for me to speak to other trailers but I know that Sundowner produces a manger that is safe and effective.

You are probably aware that I am a strong proponent of slant haul trailers. If you have read my book From My Hands To Yours you are aware that I recommend partial partitions. I have also stated that I am strong proponent of ramps as opposed to step-up trailers. Sundowner has a trailer they call Monty Roberts Special Edition. I am fully aware of the fact that I am giving you far more info than you requested but I feel very strongly about the safety of you and your horses while traveling. If I can be of any further help, please write back.

- Monty

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