Better Boxing

Help him load with confidence.

- Hayley Kruger

Many of us have gone through the painstaking experience of bad boxing – the hours of frustration, stress and exhaustion that it entails is enough to stop anyone (and the horse) from ever wanting to travel anywhere again. Then an emergency arises and we need to box – now what? We explore some of the reasons why horses do not want to box, and methods to make the whole loading experience as stress-free and positive as possible.

F for fear As responsible horse owners, we need to understand that it is normal for horses to be afraid and apprehensive of the horsebox – think about how you would feel if someone was leading you to an unfamiliar, dark, cave-like area with somewhat unsound footing. Would you think it’s a good idea to walk inside? It goes against the horse’s natural instincts.

It is quite amazing that we can teach these animals to trust us and how much they would stretch out of their comfort zone to do what we ask. Having said this, when a horse is afraid, he will do anything to first remove himself from the situation, and then only think about whether it was a ‘predator’ or not. This instinct can result in serious injury to the horse and/or handler when a horsebox is thrown into the equation. The human error that cements this fear in the horse is two-fold: impatience and not thinking logically. When the horse is not doing as we have asked, people easily become impatient and desperate for a result, which creates more stress for the horse and handler. This is often in situations when time is not on our side, like going to a show.