Reflective Essay: A Personal Note On Horse Trailers

Every time I swing my leg into the saddle I cannot help but think about how lucky I am to own such an incredible animal. Living every girls dream couldn’t be more exhilarating and fulfilling. Horses have been such a vast part of my life for as long as I can remember. Growing up with horses and other farm animals has taught me multitudes of important life lessons: responsibility, trust, and patience. Feeding and caretaking became my responsibility when I reached maturity. Trust was a must when dealing with any animal; if he or she lacked trust in you, you could say goodbye to progress. Patience became a well-known skill when teaching and training young animals along with riding students. When I think about my future, I cannot imagine living without equine affiliation or the company of any four-legged friend. In knowing this, I plan to study equine science and pre-vet at Morrisville State College in Morrisville, New York. After a year of pre-requisites and bookwork, I hope to move towards equine rehabilitation. You

To many times I have witnessed a horse refuse to load a trailer, become frightened by the handlers pressure, and hit his head off the ceiling or the entrance of the trailer. Scars above the eyes, polls, and ears are not a rare sight at any horse show I attend. Although aggravated loaders or unfamiliar horses usually cause these accidents, bad loading experiences are not easily forgotten or overcome. A horse remembers two feelings the most: pain and fear, and one-to-many times the trailer is affiliated with both emotions. I believe trailer companies should devise a method to help prevent these accidents by adding some sort of padding or give to the crown of the trailer at the entrance of the gate. Doing this could eliminate both the pain and fear of the whole trailering experience for horses in the