The training that is given for your horse focuses primarily on Trailer Loading, and includes a minimum of 4 sessions on 4 different days for INTER-MEDIATE horses.

These include horses that have had some boxing experience, but they display the following behaviours from time to time;

• Getting stuck and planting its feet at/on the ramp.
• Refusal to comply on any particular day.
• Side-stepping the ramp.
• Turning sideways on or just before the ramp.
• Going in but running back out again.
• Not wanting to load after other horses are already inside.

These sessions do not last for a particular time, as the purpose of the training is to get every session to end on a positive learning experience for the horse.

Some training sessions may last an hour, whereas others may last only 15 minutes. All this depends on what the horse gives the trainer to work with in that particular session, as well as the overall development and progress of the horse.

The fourth day will include some basic in-hand training for the owner which includes comprehending and understanding the basic principles of loading and off-loading your horse.

In this session the owner will also be given the opportunity, under the oversight of Fanie, to load and off-load their horse themselves.

GREEN HORSES are horses that have never been loaded before, only once, or periodically.  These horses might need more than 4 Training Sessions in order for them to get comfortable with the process.

Green horses are easier to work with since they have not had many pre-traumatic experience from wrong human handling.

REMEDIAL HORSES are horses with behavioural issues who might have developed some bad habits over time in relation to trailer loading, and it can involve serious issues like kicking, biting, and rearing as an absolute refusal to comply.

Remedial horses, just like green horses, might need more than 4 sessions of Training in order to successfully allow them to start trusting the learning process again.

Fanie ensures to keep an open line of communication with the owner as to the progress of their horse, and the possible suggestion of additional training if he feels it is indispensible.

As with INTER-MEDIATE Training, the last session for Green and Remedial Horses involve giving the owner some basic loading and off-loading training ,as well as the opportunity to load and off-load their horses themselves under Fanie’s supervision and guidance.

POST-TRAINING

All of the above is by no means any guarantee that a horse in any category will be compliant after the agreed number of sessions with the owner.  There are many uncontrollable factors that play into the animal’s ability to learn and to adapt to new information.

Fanie does however do his utmost best to reach the desired result in the agreed timeframe.

In the case where additional training is required, Fanie ensures to always consult with the owner about the progress of the horse during the process.  It’s also important to understand that the completion of 4 or any number of Training Sessions is no guarantee that the horse will never again ‘act-out’ previous held behaviours.  Should a horse display past behaviour even after training, it is simply because they are animals of habit and there could be factors which become a trigger point for the horse to reform back to previous behaviour patterns.

This does not mean that the training was unsuccessful, but emphasizes the principle of reinforcement until the new behaviour becomes second nature to the horse.

This is the reason for the last Training Session which always involves the owner / handler of the horse as to be able to correct a bad behaviour and to reinforce newly taught behaviour patterns.