Trailer Loading Preparation: Yielding Sideways (Part 4 of 4)

by Jessica Crouch

Over the last three months we've practiced sending your horse to a specific point, backing with precise focus, and squeezing between narrow openings. Now we'll address  moving sideways.  What does yielding sideways have to do with going into a horse trailer? When you close the slant divider on a trailer, your horse has to yield left from you (or the swinging divider) INTO the pressure of the trailer wall or partition.



Exercises: 
1) Ask your horse to stand over a pole and then move sideways off of it, one step at a time. 

2) With your horse facing perpendicular to a solid wall, ask him to step his hindquarters until he is now parallel and quite close to the wall.

GOAL: Your horse can confidently step his hindquarters one way or the other without feeling the need to push forward. He is not worried about being asked to step towards a solid wall.

Begin by checking your basic hindquarter and forequarter yields. Can you isolate which part of your horse you ask to move? Can he move softly without rushing?  Once that is in place, ask him to straddle the end of a pole. Play with asking him to move first his forehand, then his hindquarter so he steps sideways off the last few inches of the pole. Progress to having him move across over a few feet of the pole, stopping calmly at any point. The idea is to develop very clear communication about moving laterally in what could be a claustrophobic situation.

Once your horse feels fine about a little lateral work over a pole, take it to a nice solid fence or a wall. (Note - keep safety in mind - I wouldn't ask a horse to sidestep towards a wire fence.) Face your horse perpendicular to the wall. Then, one step at a time, ask him to swing his hip towards the wall.  Some horses are truly troubled by this - take it slow and build his confidence.  Even though you will mostly need the left to right sidestep in a trailering situation, it is always good to  practice on sides equally. This same maneuver is important in opening gates, having your horse sidestep to a mounting block, etc.
 

With the past few months' exercises, you and your horse have developed the basic communication you need when  you first ask him to load into a trailer.  There are many more simulations we can play with to advance your skills, but next month I'd like to talk about some basic safety tips with trailer loading.

(Originally published May 2014)