What to do when your horse jumps off the trailer ramp

Recently, a young horse from England came to my stables to be started under saddle.

Unfortunately, the horse had developed a trailer trauma on the way here, not understanding the ramp and out of anxiety leaping the length of it. Of course, causing all kinds of problems.

But how do you approach such a problem? How do you make sure that the horse can walk on and off easily and prevent injuries from jumping off the ramp?

We recorded the steps we took to help this youngster overcome his fears.

First, it’s always important to think of what is actually causing the behavior.

In this case, the nerves kicked in when the horse was turned around and looked down the ramp.

So we first needed to work on making sure the horse would feel comfortable on a different, raised surface. That he would be able to manage his feet and keep his balance when walking on and off the ramp.

I used my climbing wall here to guide the horse, but you can also use poles or cavalettis.

You can watch the process here:

After that, we move to the trailer. It’s best to start with a small ramp before you move up to the steep one.

I then repeat the pattern of the climbing wall on the small ramp. This way they will cover every part of the ramp and will feel comfortable every step, not having to skip a few steps and rush in or out.

Learn more in the video below:

Once I feel that the horse understands the ramp a lot better, I move to the bigger ramp, taking the same steps as I did with the normal trailer.

Three steps forward, two steps back, until I feel that the horse is relaxed and confident about their feet.

The main problem with this horse was walking down the ramp, so we want them to feel that he can stand on the ramp without wanting to rush off.

When he’s facing the ramp, he has to find his rest point when he feels that gravity is pushing him down.

So when he’s faced with that anxiety, of looking down and having to go downhill, we help him with finding that resting point by giving him a bit of food.

It’s not meant to bribe the horse or for him to completely forget about the process he’s in, but it will help the horse to relax a bit more at that moment.