A Detailed Look at Loading Pt.2

Second: Can you cope with simulated squeezes away from the box? Can you handle the kind of spatial and emotional pressure you’ll feel during loading — but in a safe, controlled way? For some horses, that might include the squeeze of noise or visual clutter, not just physical obstacles. I prepare for those in the same way I do with a tarp — by introducing them slowly and pairing them with relaxation.

Then I check: Do you understand poll pressure? When I pull on your halter, do you come forward off the pressure — or do you brace and think backwards?

And finally: Do you understand driving pressure? Can I push your hind legs forward? Can I move your shoulders sideways, redirect your body, and reposition you when needed?

All of these elements are going to be essential once we bring the box into the picture and start putting things into practice.

Once I’ve worked through each checkpoint, then — and only then — I’m ready to walk up to the box or trailer.

My first question is: when I approach the box and stand on the ramp, and you’re standing in front of me at the base, are you able to stay straight? Or do you drift left and right? Do you try to blast through me and go straight up the ramp without thinking? Or do you back away and start thinking away from the box because it’s too much of a challenge?

That’s where I find their threshold. And if they back off — I go with them. Don’t ever feel like you have to pull the horse on or force them through something. Find where their actual edge is. The most important thing is to find a spot where they can stay straight through the shoulders, where they feel comfortable enough to flex left and right through the neck, or maybe even offer a rib release — whatever helps them feel like, “this is my point of entry.”

From there, we begin the real work. I start to introduce treats for thinking forwards. That might look like extending the neck, pricking the ears, responding softly to pressure, or simply orienting toward the ramp. Maybe they want to explore it with their nose. Maybe they pause and touch it with curiosity.

What I don’t allow is when they get distracted and try to walk straight up the ramp and through me. It’s really easy for us, as humans, to take that shortcut — to see the horse heading up and think, “Great, that’s sorted.” But I’m very precise about this. I don’t ask the horse to go beyond the point I’ve set as the boundary. They need to wait for the cue, not make the decision to push past it.

This encourages the head to drop down as they back off the ramp. It’s preparation for a common and very real problem: when the horse gets to the top of the ramp, feels the squeeze of the box from above, panics, and draws backwards — often with their head high and their body braced. That moment can be really worrying for a horse, and dangerous for a handler.

If you can, it’s a huge advantage to teach the horse how to come backwards off the ramp calmly, before you even ask them to enter the box.

That way, if something does go wrong — if they freeze, panic, or need to exit quickly — you’ve already trained that exit. You’ve got a reliable, rehearsed way to get them off safely. That’s the whole idea of backchaining: you start with the last part of the sequence, and work backwards to build the whole behaviour chain with confidence.

If they feel tense, I take them away from the box, help them release that tension, and then we restart.

Rather than working them away from the box in a traditional sense, I’m using distance from the box as a reset. I feel out how much tension the box is creating, step away to release it, and then return — asking the horse to face the challenge again with a little less in their trigger stack.

What I tend to find is this: if a horse is, say, 80% triggered by the box — they’re holding tension just from being near it or inside it — they might be able to release 10–20% of that while standing in the box. But then I need to take them out and release the remaining tension away from the box.

If I do that a few times, something starts to shift. Each time they go in, they’re able to release a little more. Eventually, after a few reps, they start to release tension inside the box — without needing the full somatic reset away from it.

This teaches them that the box can be a place of relaxation. That being near it, loading, standing tied, being shut in — all of it — doesn’t have to trigger survival responses. It can be reassociated with calm, not with coping. And definitely not with fight or flight.

Sometimes I’ll set the ramp up to be more flat, using a curb or a raised area on the property. If the horse struggles to get their back feet up, that helps me isolate the issue: Is this a physical limitation or not? In the past, we’ve had horses that simply couldn’t load because of discomfort — and once that pain was identified and treated, they were suddenly able to load with no problem at all.

So first, I rule out pain.

Assuming there’s no physical issue, the next step is to use a little driving pressure from behind. I’m encouraging them to come forward — but I stay in front of them. I’m directing the nose up and into the box, keeping the line clear and intentional.

At this stage of the loading journey, I’m still leading rather than sending. That’s partly because the horse is more likely to back out than go in — and if they’ve never been in a box before, I want to be able to guide what they’re exploring with their nose.

Some boxes have bars or edges the horse can get their head under. Some have awkward or unfamiliar fittings that can worry them. In a trailer, I would likely take all the partitions out to create space. In a side-loading box, I’d make sure there’s enough room to open things up and remove as many visual or physical stressors as possible.

In a trailer, there’s often an open front door, and the horse may think that’s the way out — creating confusion or forward pressure. In a side-loading box, there’s a moment when the horse needs to turn at the top of the ramp — and that can feel claustrophobic. Many horses panic at that point and want to blast out of the space.

So you need to be prepared. That means:

 • You’re standing in a safe position

 • Your rope is long enough to give the horse room

 • There are no coils in your hand or line

 • You’re ready for the horse to exit quickly, if needed

One of the best ways to prepare for this is to simulate it in advance. If I’ve got a horse who feels like they might panic at the top, I’ll often build a simulation on the ground using four jump standards and high poles to create a box-like setup. This helps recreate the spatial pressure without the added height or movement of a ramp.

Some people use stable pen setups or other types of confined areas to mimic this feeling. What I’m preparing for is that moment in a side-loader, where the horse has to come up the ramp, bring their nose into a corner, and then disengage the hindleg in order to turn inside the box. For many horses, that’s a huge ask. It can feel overwhelming and tight — especially the first time.

By preparing them for that turn in a low-pressure context, you set them up to handle the real thing with more confidence and less panic.

If I feel like I can, I might ask them to pause at the top of the ramp on the way out, just to let them see the world and get a feel for the box. But if that’s not possible — if they’re unsure or building pressure — I go with them as safely as I can. And I don’t stop them. That’s really important.

Another thing that often happens at the top of the ramp is that the horse suddenly starts to back up, feeling a wave of claustrophobia or pressure. And again, I don’t stop them. I let them leave.

Don’t ever let the horse feel trapped. It’s never going to be a problem if your horse learns that they’re allowed to leave. All you’re doing is teaching them that you’re not going to shut them in the box until they’re mentally inside, not just physically present.

Because there’s a big difference between a horse being in the box physically — and being in the box mentally.