What to look for in a horse trailer?

[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.