What to look for in a horse trailer?

[MikePA]

Our GN stock trailer did not have a ramp, and our horses didn't take long to learn how to step up and step down. Both of the BPs had/have a fold down ramp.

Regarding fold down ramps...We found out the 'hard way' the plywood in the ramp was not PT when one of the horses stepped on it and broke through the rotted plywood.

No injury to the horse, but there could have been.

 

[Soundguy]

Why no ramps?

My horses hate/fear ramps. My loading deck is low, my equines just step up to load and unload.. I think horses are like people, each one, or herd, acts differently

 

[MikePA]

My horses hate/fear ramps. My loading deck is low, my equines just step up to load and unload.. I think horses are like people, each one, or herd, acts differently

Even the same horse can load fine one time and balk the next time. We've had horses that walked right on the trailer on the way to the event and balk at loading to come back.

I have heard it can be a function of some horses not liking/fearing walking into a dark location, like an unlit trailer. We have always made sure the trailers have lights and are 'light and airy'.

 

[buickanddeere]

Something with a change room and a bunk .

 

[EddieWalker]

My horses hate/fear ramps. My loading deck is low, my equines just step up to load and unload.. I think horses are like people, each one, or herd, acts differently

My only experience is just that one time I brought the horses to my place. Guess it was two times. 4 horses meant two trips with a 2 horse trailer. We found that building a ramp for them made a huge improvement in getting them in and out of the trailer. They didn't want to go in there anyway, but with the ramp, we where able to make it happen. I've watched a few shows on RFD TV and it seems like a lot of those people have ramps on their trailers too. Not all, but enough that when you look for it, you see them all over.

The reason I bring this up, is which is better for a new horse owner with a new trailer? Would you suggest that they teach their hose to load without the ramps, or just add the additional task of lowering the ramp every time you want to load or unload your horse?

 

[ultrarunner]

Like most things it takes training and being familiar... most trailers I see at the barns don't have ramps.

Probably a slight advantage price wise not having a ramp mechanism with counterweight.

Now ramps can make a horse/sock trailer very useful for other things... like hauling a gator and such.

 

[Soundguy]

Even the same horse can load fine one time and balk the next time. We've had horses that walked right on the trailer on the way to the event and balk at loading to come back.

I have heard it can be a function of some horses not liking/fearing walking into a dark location, like an unlit trailer. We have always made sure the trailers have lights and are 'light and airy'.

Yeah, we have lamps in our trailer too.

 

[r porter]

by far and away the best thing a new owner can have is knowledge. get some instruction on how to load. it is not a ramp or step thing it is a knowledge thing.

if you know what to do there will be few problems.

 

[Soundguy]

knowing the particular horse you have is more than 50% of it, and knowing horses in general is another big part.

 

[ultrarunner]

At the riding barn is an avid hobby horsewoman... she will be 80 and spent her life working as an executive secretary.... has done many endurance rides... always finishes and rides to finish only.

She can do anything with her horse... no one else can anything... well almost.

Horses can be fiercely loyal and are not afraid to show it...

Another endurance friend is the only person that ever rides her horse... usually an everyday rider year round...

Even her husband who also rides isn't accepted...

It can be comical to watch people loading and unloading at the rides...

Of course... just about any horse can be broken into submission.

 

[gsganzer]

I borrowed a neighbors 2 horse slant bumper pull over the weekend. It's just an old rust bucket steel trailer, but it got the job done and gave me some ideas on what to look for in my trailer search. Both horses loaded up like seasoned veterans with no issues. It was after 11pm when we loaded up after the rodeo and lighting wasn't that good, so they were a little shy to load at first, but went in without issue. So good interior lighting is a must. Also a water tank of some type would be nice. I also wouldn't mind a pull out shade canopy, like you see on campers. I think I could add one myself if I needed to.

So, an aluminum 2 or 3 horse slant BP would serve the needs nicely and that's what I'm looking for. I did run a cross a used 3 horse slant aluminum GN that was pretty decent. But it's really overkill for what I need at the moment.

The F150 3.5L ecoboost never even knew I had a trailer attached. I was real impressed with it for towing.

 

[gsganzer]

I borrowed a neighbors 2 horse slant bumper pull over the weekend. It's just an old rust bucket steel trailer, but it got the job done and gave me some ideas on what to look for in my trailer search. Both horses loaded up like seasoned veterans with no issues. It was after 11pm when we loaded up after the rodeo and lighting wasn't that good, so they were a little shy to load at first, but went in without issue. So good interior lighting is a must. Also a water tank of some type would be nice. I also wouldn't mind a pull out shade canopy, like you see on campers. I think I could add one myself if I needed to.

So, an aluminum 2 or 3 horse slant BP would serve the needs nicely and that's what I'm looking for. I did run a cross a used 3 horse slant aluminum GN that was pretty decent. But it's really overkill for what I need at the moment.

The F150 3.5L ecoboost never even knew I had a trailer attached. I was real impressed with it for towing.

 

[farm boy00]

I borrowed a neighbors 2 horse slant bumper pull over the weekend. It's just an old rust bucket steel trailer, but it got the job done and gave me some ideas on what to look for in my trailer search. Both horses loaded up like seasoned veterans with no issues. It was after 11pm when we loaded up after the rodeo and lighting wasn't that good, so they were a little shy to load at first, but went in without issue. So good interior lighting is a must. Also a water tank of some type would be nice. I also wouldn't mind a pull out shade canopy, like you see on campers. I think I could add one myself if I needed to.

So, an aluminum 2 or 3 horse slant BP would serve the needs nicely and that's what I'm looking for. I did run a cross a used 3 horse slant aluminum GN that was pretty decent. But it's really overkill for what I need at the moment.

The F150 3.5L ecoboost never even knew I had a trailer attached. I was real impressed with it for towing.

With a bumper pull you won't have a good living quarters like you will for a goose neck. That's a hug lose when doing rodeos

 

[zing]

I borrowed a neighbors 2 horse slant bumper pull over the weekend. It's just an old rust bucket steel trailer, but it got the job done and gave me some ideas on what to look for in my trailer search. Both horses loaded up like seasoned veterans with no issues. It was after 11pm when we loaded up after the rodeo and lighting wasn't that good, so they were a little shy to load at first, but went in without issue. So good interior lighting is a must. Also a water tank of some type would be nice. I also wouldn't mind a pull out shade canopy, like you see on campers. I think I could add one myself if I needed to.

So, an aluminum 2 or 3 horse slant BP would serve the needs nicely and that's what I'm looking for. I did run a cross a used 3 horse slant aluminum GN that was pretty decent. But it's really overkill for what I need at the moment.

The F150 3.5L ecoboost never even knew I had a trailer attached. I was real impressed with it for towing.

Good to see you got your feet wet trailering, and hope the rodeo went well for your daughter. Most of the ramp/no ramp questions and horses that won't trailer issues are relevant to people that do not trailer often, but for show horses that trailer a lot those issues get resolved simply due to frequency on the trailer. Anyone that has a new horse or a horse that is new to trailering, we tell them to spend a couple weeks getting the horse used to the trailer when it is just sitting at the barn. Wrap its legs to prevent cuts, take a bucket with some grain, and coax it onto the trailer and just stand there for a few minutes and then walk off again. Do that every day for a couple weeks. Eventually do a couple 5 minute drives with it on there. Soon it will trailer like a champ.

There is always water at shows, so I don't use this very often, but for longer trips I have a water tower. Way better than trying to use a bunch of milk jugs or whatever. Mine is triangular and fits into a corner of the back tack just like this one.

My horses will always drink less in a day on the trailer than a normal day in the barn, so a good trick is to take a bag of apples, a cutting board, and a sharp knife. When I stop to fuel up the wife and kids are in charge of filling a bucket from the water tower and cutting an apple into 1 or 1.5 inch chunks and dropping them into the water bucket, then hold it up to the horses at the window. The horses will "bob for apples" and splash around in the bucket to get the apple pieces, and they take in some water at the same time. Helps make sure the horses don't arrive at the show dehydrated.