MARK’S PHYSCOLOGY AND METHODS OF loading horses onto Lorries or trailers ARE BASED ON THE ONE VERY SIMPLE FACT.  Loading and travelling DOES NOT HURT THE HORSE.

IT THEREFORE FOLLOWS THAT ONCE HE HAS BEEN loaded ONCE AND IT HAS NOT HURT, THE FOLLOWING TIME IT WILL BE EASIER. Horse training is based on repetition – you can teach a horse to do virtually anything by repetition.  Repetition is not difficult ... it is doing the first time that is often tricky.

MARK ACCEPTS THAT HE IS SELDOM THE FIRST PERSON TO APPROACH THE HORSE WITH A view OF loading him.  IN THE IDEAL WORLD WHERE HE IS HE FINDS THE FOUR YEAR OLD VIRGIN IS INVARIBLY CALM AND TRUSTING OF THIS NEW CHALLENGE TO HIS BRAVERY.

IN THE REAL WORLD MARK IS ONLY CALLED IN WHEN THE HORSE HAS BEEN LABELLED “KILLER HORSE”,  “DANGEROUS” OR “TOTALLY INSANE”.

MARK APPROACHES THE PROBLEM AS HE DOES ALL HORSE PROBLEMS – HE LOOKS AT IT FROM THE ANIMALS POINT OF VIEW.

THE HORSE’S INSTINCTS ARE ALL TO DO WITH FLIGHT.

WHEN ENCOUNTERING ANYTHING NEW OR DIFFERENT ... RUN AWAY.  (THE SPECIES HAS ONLY SURVIVED BECAUSE OF THESE INSTINCTS).

SO HE IS WORRIED BY THIS NEW Challenge.

HIS FEARS ARE CONFIRMED WHEN HIS OWNER/loader IS PUMPING ADRENALIN AT A FURIOUS PACE.  HE IS FAR MORE ADEPT AT SENSING ADRENALIN THAN WE ARE (REMEMBER IN THE HERD IF ONE IS SPOOKED AND RUNS ... THEY ALL DO. THEY MAY NOT KNOW WHAT HAS SPOOKED THEIR MATE BUT IF HE IS AFRAID I AM CERTAINLY NOT TAKING ANY CHANCES).

SO HIS INSTINCTS ARE SAYING RUN AND HIS loader IS SAYING NO.

Loaders INVARIABLY SUMMON MORE HELPERS, SO HORSE IS VERY SOON IN THIS SCENARIO.

He is worried.  He has never had four or five people behind him before but he has now and what’s more they are all pumping adrenalin.  (The lunge whip holder, the lunge rein holder, the tit-bit feeder are all afraid and therefore make the problem worse).

He assumes the thing they are all afraid of is this confined space into which they want him to go. If this trailer/lorry thing is bad enough to frighten them it must be terrible, so he is going to run away any way he can (over, under or through anyone that gets in his way).

Mark accepts that horses are alive and therefore there are variations in their reactions to situations but he starts from the premise that all of this apparently aggressive behaviour is actually stemming from fear.

As his starting point he always works with the horse by himself.  (He sends owner off to make tea).  This seems to enable the horse to form a relationship very quickly with mark.  Because there is no adrenalin flowing by the time the tea is made the horse is accepting the possibility that this confined space is not necessarily the root of all evil in the world. It may take mark 20 minutes to load him the first time ... it will certainly take a lot less the second time.   The horse loads twenty or thirty times ... by which time he like the game.  (Watch me ... aren’t I clever?

Fifty loads and the horse is usually ready for the owner to load ... they have observed him loading quietly and calmly, so there is no adrenalin as they lead him up and down another twenty times.

The trailer is then moved to a different location within the yard and horse loads confidently there.  Owner drives around yard, unloads and then reloads. The more the horse does it the more confident he becomes.

If there is a convenient, safe place a mile or so away from base mark sends loaded trailer there and remains out of sight whilst the process is repeated there.

Mark recommends that the first proper trip with the pony be to his yard, so that should there be a problem he is on hand to sort it out – there never is.

The horse has probably loaded in excess of 100 times in the one session – horses learn by repetition.

Mark’s aim is that the horse/pony loads quietly and confidently for the amateur owner.

Ring mark on 07930151562 to discuss your loading problem.  Remember this, whatever your problem with a horse one thing is certain.  Mark has met it before and overcome it,