Hello! Travelling question

[lou666]

Hi

I'm new on here & joined as I have a question I'm hoping someone may be able to help me with.

I have 2 horses, a TB (Will) & a Dutch WB (Mani) I've only had Mani about 6 weeks but he is not a happy traveller. in his old home, he used to travel regularly & was fine but he was always with other horses & he travelled in a lorry. I have an Ifor Williams trailer & although he is hesitant to load, he never refuses to go in. however, whilst travelling he makes a hell of a racket, pawing the ground & lunging back & forth. He also sweats up & always urinates whilst travelling, so he is clearly stressed. I have been taking him out twice a week to try & get him used to it & feeding him in the trailer every night but I think he's getting worse not better :-( Obviously I am driving very carefully. I'm not sure what else to try. I have travelled him with my other horse & he was better but still not properly settled. However, travelling them together is not an option as once they are at their destination, i can't leave either one of them in the trailer without their companion, for fear of them turning the trailer over (my TB has always been that way) i read on another thread, a suggestion to try an Equitrek, which i will do, but if anybody else has any other suggestions I am up for trying anything. Tonight I am going to experiment with covering up the window, as I'm not sure if he could see out of the window of his last lorry.

Thanks anybody that can come up with any other suggestions:-)
Louise

[Erika George]

Louise,
Interesting (and worrying) problem. My horse arrived to me nearly 8 years ago having traveled a longish journey around the M25 and arrived looking fresh and alert and clearly unworried. Many years later and having seen numerous companions arrive and subsequently disappear again for ever in horse boxes, he has become slightly alarmed at the arrival of a horse box. George would become quite anxious as his companion went off hunting for the day, but has relaxed as this has happened more and more often.
6 years after ownership George had his first venture out in a horsebox. He loaded fine and the freaked out trying to turn around and neighing his head off. Quickly we loaded his companion, as which point he calmed down but spent the whole 4 mile trip resting his head on top of his companion's head as re-assurance. We have ventured further afield and whilst he has put up with the travelling he does not travel well. He is constantly stomping about and seems unable to get his balance. I have tried him with boots or without boots but it makes no difference. I have tried to think why he finds it so difficult and I have come to the conclusion that the box is too small. When I see Murphy alongside (he's about 14.2hh compact cob) he can spread his legs and he braces himself against the travelling and sits himself on the back bar. Murphy sleeps whilst travelling. Meanwhile, George is squeezed in like a sardine, he cannot brace his legs and is too tall to sit on the back bar. I am sure that he is too scared to lean against the box because of his weight (he is a heavy weight cob), so he tries to stand on his feet. Let's face it we would find it hard and we would stomp about.
Just food for thought,

Erika & George