Why sometimes talking to your horse may make things better…
We had an emergency move of two horses recently. Two mares who were known not to enjoy trailer loading needed to get on a trailer with no questions asked. The weather conditions unfortunately made it impossible to work on trailer training with them in the few days between realizing they needed to move and when they needed to be on the trailer. It’s possible to do trailer training without a real trailer through simulating some of the enclosed spaces, sounds, and actions, but this time that wasn’t feasible. So, the mares were given a mild sedative and a talk.
I don’t advocate for this as a substitute for preparation. You should always try to help your horses to be prepared for trailering in physical, material ways. However, if you ever find yourself in an emergency situation and stuff has to happen, please try talking to your horses. It makes no logical sense, but it does help. Explain to them in detail what is going to happen, why it is extremely important that they cooperate, and convey as much as possible that this is one of those situations where you’re doing what you know is best for the herd. Talk to them as if you’re talking to a child about needing to hold their hand while crossing the street. At worst it will do nothing. At best… the two mares got onto the trailer with no issues and quietly rode to their new barn. What a relief in an otherwise stressful situation.
Please check out my interview with SkyDance Mountain Audiobooks for more tales of surprising connection and communication with horses! Link here.
Maeve Birch Home 