As many of you know I am moving this weekend, and was needing my horse transported. I ended up bying a used 2 horse straight load trailer. Today after loading the house up, I went to load my Foxtrotter up in the trailer. She freaked out when she got halfway in, cut her face in multiple places, and put a knot on her head, and ended up throwing herself on the ground backwards. With help from a couple other horsemen I finally got her laoded, but not until after she managed to throw herself down in retreat a couple more times. She is ok, but she cut herself pretty good on the face in a few places. Mostly around her muzzle. My question is a several fold question. First what can I get to treat wounds on her face? Second how can I avoid scaring, and third what can I do to prevent her from being so trailer shy next time? She has loaded many times before in another trailer (a friends) and I really didnt anticipate any trouble from her at all. Boy was I wrong.... Apparently she didnt like the looks of this trailer. She has settled down now, and we will be taking out here very shortly, but in the mean time Id sure like to treat those wounds and prevent any scaring...

Oops, this should have been in health... Sorry, it hasnt been a very pleasant day to say the least....

Treat her wounds just like you would your own. If you think she might need stitches then have a Vet look at her. If not, clean with soap and water. Apply any sulfur based anti-septic paste and keep it clean. Then apply Neosporin daily. Facial wounds tend to heal quickly. If you notice swelling or discoloration take her to the Vet to check for infection. Remember that she’s much larger than you are and a big cut on you isn’t quite so big on her.

P.S. It might help a lot if you know how to apply a twitch. They generally don't object to the salves, it's the cleaning that can be a bugger.

Thanks Mike. She is very trusting of me, so a twitch hasnt been needed. I had heard facial wounds heal quily, and I actually did all the things you advised before I got your response. How can I get this horse used to this trailer now? She had a bad experience, and Im afraid that is going to hinder her loading in the future. I appreciate your response and advice. Thanks!

There's one trick I've used successfully all but one time. Put your trailer in the pasture with your pony, block up the corners of the trailer so that it won't rock or tilt with a horse climbing in or out. Now put your pony's feed and hay at the trailer door. Over time slowly move the feed and hay inside the trailer farther and farther until she's standing inside to eat. It also seems that horses like trailers with light colored interiors better than dark colores. I'm gonna paint the inside of mine white and see if it helps.