By Mary Cook, BCHA member and contributing Writer

On my journey with horses I have always liked adding new tools to my “horse tool box.

This past May I decided to attend the Colorado Horse Rescues’ (CHR) free Trailering and Loading clinic led by Sarah Hofkamp, Training Manager at CHR. What a great clinic! Sarah worked with Oliver, a very handsome 4 year old BLM branded mustang. Oliver was recently rescued from a local auction, and she had had no interaction with Oliver prior to this clinic. Sara took us and Oliver step by step, beginning with round pen groundwork. This included basic halter leading, disengaging the hindquarters, and moving away from pressure using both positive and negative reinforcement. She stressed the importance of building trust, confidence and fairness with your horse.

After, Sarah and Oliver moved over to the large arena where a large stock trailer was waiting! She applied the groundwork skills used earlier to the trailer loading. There were no time constraints, and Oliver was never forced to do anything he didn’t want to do. He poked a head inside, then a foot, then another foot and then all four!  By the end of the session he was easily loading and slowly unloading.

Don’t wait until the last minute to (hopefully) load your horse into your trailer for a show, clinic or emergency. Practice loading on a regular basis so when the time comes, your horse will easily load! And, don’t forget to attend the last of these free clinics at Colorado Horse Rescue—and add some new tools to your toolbox!

If you are interested in attending the last free clinic is Saturday, June 26th, please visit Colorado Horse Rescue online to register at www.chr.org.