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Post by here to stay on Aug 24, 2015 16:49:17 GMT
Due to the fires, I have been thinking about what to do in case of a fire and I have to evacuate.
I think the horses would load fast even in an emergency. They tend to rely on me in that case.
But the goats- those little buggers have to be dragged at the best of times. They are masters of the "you want me to go where?!?!!"
So any advice on goat survival? What actions give them the best chance if I can't get them into the back of the truck fast enough? Open all the gates and let them take their chances? Confine them to the arena with bare dirt but surrounded by trees?
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Post by shellymay on Aug 24, 2015 17:11:48 GMT
If it were me I would open gate and let them run and take their chances, penning would or could be cruel if indeed the smoke was think and coming straight at them... Of course I would do everything first like even hogging tying their legs and throwing them in trailer  |
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Post by manygoatsnmore on Aug 25, 2015 4:10:41 GMT
In our case, it's the other way around. I could get the goats to go anywhere with a bucket of grain, including into a trailer. Collars and leads tied to a rope across the front of the truck bed (with a canopy on the truck), and I could get them all secured in record time.
Our horse, on the other hand? I think it would take a whip to get her to load up - not something I'd normally try, but if it was an emergency, I'd beat her butt to get her loaded and out to safety. Turning her loose would not be a good option,.
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Post by Maura on Aug 25, 2015 16:03:22 GMT
Rehearse with them. Start putting a little grain on the trailer ramp. Goats like to climb, so getting them to attempt a ramp should be easier than with a horse, but the ramp does make noise. When you see they have no trouble getting on the ramp, bait the trailer. Then, get them to go all the way into the trailer. (You could also try this with the horse, MGM) You can get them cool with getting into the trailer over the course of a day or two. If you will have to tie them, put the collars on today so that you only have to clip. In fact, I’d put on the collar with the tie, which would be easier to deal with (clipping the leash to the trailer, rather than clipping the leash onto a frightened animal).
If you load the horses first, I think the goats will follow the horses.
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Post by manygoatsnmore on Aug 26, 2015 2:47:43 GMT
Oh, trust me, Maura, we've done all this and more. She just plain HATES our trailer, and I'm not into buying another trailer just to please her, lol - can't afford it, anyway. She's been baited, cajoled, begged, tied, pulled, pushed, everything but physically abused, and I'm not going there unless it's a life or death emergency. She will stick her head in as far as it will stretch with her feet on the outside of the trailer.
As it stands, if we have to evac, my dd will end up heading out on horseback and I will meet up with her down the road. Hopefully, by then, Winnie will be tired enough to welcome a ride.
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Post by here to stay on Aug 26, 2015 11:47:00 GMT
Oh, trust me, Maura, we've done all this and more. She just plain HATES our trailer, and I'm not into buying another trailer just to please her, lol - can't afford it, anyway. She's been baited, cajoled, begged, tied, pulled, pushed, everything but physically abused, and I'm not going there unless it's a life or death emergency. She will stick her head in as far as it will stretch with her feet on the outside of the trailer. As it stands, if we have to evac, my dd will end up heading out on horseback and I will meet up with her down the road. Hopefully, by then, Winnie will be tired enough to welcome a ride. I gave this a long thought before I decided to mention it. Like any procedure with a thousand pound objecting creature, so much can go wrong. Dangerously wrong. But in a super emergency a good thing to know. But years ago someone showed me a one time, pretty sure way of loading an unwilling horse. Since it works by surprising the horse to some extent, it is not- repeat not- good for routine use. But the few times I used it (always on someone else's horse in a real pinch) it has worked. I have never tried it a second time and never had to use it on any of my own horses where I had time for training. A long cotton lungeline - I have a thick cotton rope one instead of a tape- is run from the horse's halter as they stand at the trailer door, through a feed or front door of the trailer, around the side of the trailer. Then, lifting the rope to above hock height, you step around the rear of the horse and hold the rope there just barely touching. Then ask the horse to load. The unwilling horse pulls back, they hit the rope with their rear and shoot forward. The horse's own weight on the butt end counteracts their strength pulling back. As I said, it has worked everytime I used it but I would be scared to try it anywhere near regularly as I have visions of legs kicking, getting tangled and horse down. But in a dire situation it is something to keep in mind. |
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Post by manygoatsnmore on Aug 26, 2015 14:06:50 GMT
Oh, trust me, Maura, we've done all this and more. She just plain HATES our trailer, and I'm not into buying another trailer just to please her, lol - can't afford it, anyway. She's been baited, cajoled, begged, tied, pulled, pushed, everything but physically abused, and I'm not going there unless it's a life or death emergency. She will stick her head in as far as it will stretch with her feet on the outside of the trailer. As it stands, if we have to evac, my dd will end up heading out on horseback and I will meet up with her down the road. Hopefully, by then, Winnie will be tired enough to welcome a ride. I gave this a long thought before I decided to mention it. Like any procedure with a thousand pound objecting creature, so much can go wrong. Dangerously wrong. But in a super emergency a good thing to know. But years ago someone showed me a one time, pretty sure way of loading an unwilling horse. Since it works by surprising the horse to some extent, it is not- repeat not- good for routine use. But the few times I used it (always on someone else's horse in a real pinch) it has worked. I have never tried it a second time and never had to use it on any of my own horses where I had time for training. A long cotton lungeline - I have a thick cotton rope one instead of a tape- is run from the horse's halter as they stand at the trailer door, through a feed or front door of the trailer, around the side of the trailer. Then, lifting the rope to above hock height, you step around the rear of the horse and hold the rope there just barely touching. Then ask the horse to load. The unwilling horse pulls back, they hit the rope with their rear and shoot forward. The horse's own weight on the butt end counteracts their strength pulling back. As I said, it has worked everytime I used it but I would be scared to try it anywhere near regularly as I have visions of legs kicking, getting tangled and horse down. But in a dire situation it is something to keep in mind. Definitely a technique to keep in mind. Thank you. I think if I could just get her to load up a couple times without taking her anywhere, just rewarding with grain and having her stand in there for 10-25 minutes or so, then repeating a few times, she'd get over her phobia of our trailer. She's hauled a hundred times in the past - probably more, as she was a gaming horse - just not in OUR trailer. It doesn't have a ramp, but it's not a huge step in, and the floor is good and solid. I will suggest this method to my dd, and see if she thinks we could try it and get her loaded once! I'd just feel so much better if I knew she'd load up quickly, both for fire safety, and just in general, like getting her to the vet or taking her to the beach. |
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Post by here to stay on Aug 26, 2015 18:54:32 GMT
I forgot to mention that as the horse scoots forward, the line clipped to the halter it taken in and keeps the head pointed into the trailer space.
But again, it is not going to teach the horse to be willing to go into the trailer. That is why I hesitated to mention it. It will not change the horses mind. In fact I can see where it would allow a horse to figure a way around it and thereby become useless.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2015 20:44:00 GMT
Maybe make a loading dock to back the trailer up to so she doesn't have to step up?? A RR tie or 2, secured and then just backfill behind it. Becomes an automatic trailer ramp.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2015 3:11:06 GMT
Put them in a small pen for now, give them Hay. Do this until danger is past.
My dealing with any animal, even Horses, they sense Danger there is no control.
Rockpile |
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Post by here to stay on Aug 27, 2015 16:08:46 GMT
I once got caught up in a wildfire while on a group horse camping trip. While other people worked up a lather over the low flying water drop helicopters and smoke and fire and yellow suit herds of firefighters, my girls couldn't have been bothered less. Or more than mildly interested.
I could trot out my bear falling out of tree story as evidence of placidity but another time.
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Post by wolfmom on Aug 28, 2015 12:06:58 GMT
Yuppers - haul the trailer to where she can be fed. Begin feeding her with a flake of hay close to the door so she stands on the ground. After she gets comfortable with that, move the flake a little further inside the trailer, keep repeating that until she is getting into the trailer and eating by herself. No, your horse won't starve. Maybe be balky for a few days, but that's the way some learn.
When you are in a time limited situation, you want animals to be easy to handle.
I'd also check the trailer and see what can be changed. Is it dark? Paint the inside white and open the escape door so it's light inside when loading. Many horses don't like going into a dark trailer. If it's a 2 horse front load, maybe you need to remove the divider or at least angle it so there's more room when she's loading. Maybe a floor board needs replacing. Lots of suggestions walk around the trailer - look at it from a horses viewpoint.
Yes, I've used a lunge line (butt rope) - that works as does tossing a few pebbles against their back legs - but not all the time. You want fast and easy in an emergency. What if the horse was ill and you had to haul it to the vet as he couldn't make a farm call?
When you are hurting the horse trying to get it into the trailer: butt ropes, tossing stones, spanking their butt, etc., they remember that and have that in their mind for the next time. Make it a pleasant experience and you have a willing horse.
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