There are endless lessons on here, Montys books, Horse and COuntry website, and Youtube (Monty and Kelly Marks videos) about trailer loading - I suggest you have a look at them all. Monty especially does a section in his book about how horse who have hit their heads once will look for the spot again and keep repeating this behaviour until you give her an alternative. Is this the same mare that you have had cantering/arena and lots of other problems with, or is this a different one?

unfortunatly this is the same one :( she has gone downhill with her education and is getting a bit silly. she also gets seperation anxiety from other horses now which is understandable because she was kept in a big paddock with no other horses, no one living on the property and was fed every second day if she was lucky so no suprising. i have started trick training with her she is very smart and leanred to kiss, bow and hug in one day, and she loves doing tricks which makes me getting her out alot easier as usually she is slumpy and un enthusiastic but now shes eager! okay ill have a quick look! btw as soon as i canter her she will throw her head up like an ostrich and get silly after the first canter and refuses to round, she just jig jogs

I have posted on your other thread too :-) Horses don't go downhill in their education - we do!! :-) As Monty says, we must create the right environemnt for horses to learn rather than "teach". I get the sense that you are trying so many different things with this mare and she has so many issues that nothing is being fully resolved before moving on to something else. I suggested on the other post that you get a trainer in - sometimes its good to get an ooutsider in; they can often see things we can't. I also suggest that you write down a training plan for her and deal with one or two things at a time with the view that you are lookng at a one year rehabilitation programme - that way you will slow down and if you achieve it all in less than a year than yayy! I know many on here have said it and, to my knowledge you have not done it so far, but did you get round to having her checked out physically re: back etc.?

Yes I'm going to try and do a training schedule with her, because it's like she has a button that tells her out of the random, even when we are doing things she's usually fine with, she will turn to complete natural instincts and blow up out of the blue..! :/ I have been trying to book her to have an equissage with the hand and back pack unit, and boots and see what happens, yet i am still looking to book a session with a chiropractor or a vet to see what's happening with her rear end and her right neck and shoulder, she has a really bad reaction when you touch her right shoulder or neck even just the lightest touch she will pin her ears and try to bits you. Her back is fine now it's no longer sore from her paddock accident but there's something definatly going on with her hind legs and rear muscles. She never pushes from behind when being ridden in all walk, trot, canter. In walk she will pull a lot from the front and same with trot, but in trot when she has to push from behind eg when ridden through thick sand, she throws her head up pins her ears and refuses to round until we are out of the sand, and in canter her back legs barely move, it's not a round canter, her front legs do all of the work I mean they come out by a mile and she throws her head up and pins her ears again.

Given that you know all this and she is obviously sore and in pain do you really think you should be riding her? Sounds as if she has a bad back problem if she is mainly using her front legs. No wonder she is misbehaving. The sand would be very hard for her.

I second what Maggie has said. I wouldn't be riding her until ALL her soreness issues are solved.
Continuing to ride a horse that is in pain only creates an association for the horse that: being ridden = pain. So even when the pain is gone your mare may still exhibbit the same or similar behaviours because you have created this association by continuing to ride.
Just something to consider.... :-)

It is good that you have now acknowledged that she is in pain and that there is something physically wrong but this has been going on for some time and I feel its becoming very urgent now and if she is in that much pain I have to very blunt and say stop working her AT ALL and focus on this. Just gently walk around in hand until she has been thoroughly checked. I prefer a qualified equine physiotherapist in severe cases like this rather than a chiropractor as it not just about manipulation but it is also about putting a full rehabilitation package together - I know many will aruge that chirs do that but in my experience (both human and equine) a physio is better, but that is my opinion only :-) rahni makes an excellent point - remembered pain is sometimes harder to deal with than actual pain!

I don't ride her anymore. I'm saying from past riding she does this. If i do ride her I ride her only very lightly just for a walk tackles in the round yard. As I said her back is NOT sore anymore, just slightly her hind and her front right neck and shoulder. I have checked all over rubbing her quite firmly in various muscle groups and checking her muscles all over and she only gets a reaction to the front right side, no other place. I am suspecting she has a weak hind end or there is something going on with the hind end as she seems to be fine until you trot etc basically until you ask her to do something that requires pushing from behind. Anyway how did this post turn into riding from scrambling off a float? As I said I will start over and I have been planning to get an equissage on her and get a vet check her over or an equine physiotherapist but it is hard to find them.

OK HelpILoveHorses I am going to be really harsh. Although I am responding under 'scrambling' the same applies for your other post on trial riding as I believe you are talking about the same horse. It is months ago now that you initially posted re this mare and at the time many of us recommended that you get a physio or chiro to her promptly as her behaviour was indicative of chronic back pain. At the time you responded to me that you could not afford a physio as you had just purchased an expensive brow brand and I questioned your priorities. Now months later you have the audacity to post again re this mare and yet you still have NOT had her physically checked out by a professional and her condition has obviously deteriorated. The fact that she tends not canter on her back legs, has problems in sand and throws her head up when trotting are all indicative of a really sore back in the pelvic zone yet you say her back is NOT sore? How do you know this? Are you a horse physio yourself? You mention trotting and cantering her and going on trial rides and yet you say you don't ride her? Are we talking about the same horse in all these posts or NOT. I am totally confused and fed up by your posts re this horse. So much so that I have not been on Forum for some time. Perhaps you should think of another pseudonym as HelpILoveHorses does not seem to fit.

Just checked out all your previous posts last September. You did say that this mare floated perfectly when you first bought her so what has happened since?

I am getting her checked all over, honestly all of these nasty comments are doing my head in. I can now afford a physio and equissage so im getting her checked all over by a professional I didn't say that I was getting only her front end checked. I didn't say she floated perfectly, I bought her under the understanding that she scrambles. She gets on fine, travels perfectly but when it's time to get her off she blows up. And I can call my account whatever I like. How's it your business? You would have to switch with me to see what I mean about her. No one gets what I'm trying to say yet I say it over and over. I say I don't ride her anymore but when I do I ride her walking for less then 10 minutes in the round yard and when I was going to go on the trail ride it was going to be an activity to help her back leg situation.

2013, Sept. 12 at 12.12pm you wrote " she is fine to take to new places, for example when we first bought her, we loaded her out of the float at our house, and she stood there calmer than ever like she lived there her whole life! " Sounds pretty perfect to me and no mention of scrambling or panic at that stage. Perhaps she had been doped by her previous owner prior to your purchase but it becomes all very confusing for us when we are trying to help you. So pleased you are finally getting her checked out after all this time. Good luck with it.

no she did come flying out of the float i forgot to mention it.

Dear HelpLoveHorses. Things have become difficult. You can resolve only one problem at once. I would like to come back to your initial problem. I don't know exactly how a "float" looks like. Anyway, I think the important part of the education is going back. You could enter only one step and then go back, next day two steps, and so on. A long line helps you that you can stay still, when the horse moves.
If you think that you have to resolve a more important problem before, just concentrate on that and go ahead step by step, there is no hurry.
Rudi

Rudi, a "float" or "horse float" is an Australian term for a "horse trailer" or "horse box". SO it would look very much like what you would transport your own horses in.
:)

Yeah it's the Southern Hemisphere name for "horse box" - I moved from Scotland to New Zealand we have floats here too! I agree there could be a pelvic issue as travelling horses requires quite a bit of "bracing" in this area, is it a backward unloading float? as that would put strain there too. I had a lame horse for 4 years and tried everything, we had to float her at caterpillar speed to see a chiropractor and I have finally found one that has really been able to help her. However she had been showing as lame in the left shoulder and leg - so we had all sorts of X-rays and farriery work done . It turned out her right hip was out and chiro was able to click it back in. I think it is the way the nerves are wired but apparently there is a cross over so although the problem looks like its at front it can be at opposite at back. Go figure!

I consider myself to be a senior member here - if you're under forty then I'm closer to Montys age than yours & for very many of those years I have been connected with horses, my own, three day eventers, race horses, local riding club activities & ran my own unique PowerCourse competitions for many years. My impression is we have a younger person here who has taken a while to realise that they have wrong thinking. The 21st century has brought those of us who do love horses to the point where, whether or not we can afford it, we have to find a way to meet our horses needs - even if it means surrendering ownership! It is not acceptable to let an animal suffer for financial reasons.

Your mare is telling you she is not coping with these activities. You describe reactions from her that indicate likely cause is pain not poor training but either way you should never put a horse in a situation where it repeatedly strikes it's head - YOU ARE IN GREAT DANGER OF KILLING IT!
You are defensive, your language is defensive & your perception of events is around yourself & not your horse. Look in the mirror & you will see mental aspect of this mares problems. She also has physical problems & it is your responsibility to find solutions to both for her.

My advice is - STOP putting her on the float/lorry & ensure you get vet & physio advice. Rocking about in transportation is not good therapy. If you really need convincing, put her on pain relief for a week & see if the mare changes her habits. If you really love your horse get her the help she needs & her period of recuperation will give you the opportunity to give some serious thought to this point - Do people love horses or do they love the feeling of power & control horses give them? I think you believe you fall into the former group but your posts here indicate that, in fact you are in the latter group. Remember, a whip is still the most popular purchase for ' horse lovers ' worldwide.

I sincerely hope you have the maturity & courage to take my comments in the positive way they are intended. I wish you all success in resolving the issues with your mare. Jo