Horse Trailer Purchase

   / Horse Trailer Purchase #21  
Brian, I re-read my post and I hope I did not come off as too harsh. If I did, I apologize. We've owned horses for almost 12 years and have seen 'the good, the bad and the ugly'. We've bought all our horses through classified ads, so we've gotten to visit a lot of barns. We've also been to riding events, from equestrian events like Quentin (sp?) in Lancaster County, PA, a very upscale event (not that we're upscale /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif) to local 4H events. I've seen fantastic horse trailers that cost more than my house that I'd love to live in. I've also seen trailers that I wouldn't haul limestone in, much less a horse. Whether it's a barn or a trailer, my heart breaks and my anger rises, every time I see 'the bad and the ugly'.

A less than adequate trailer/tow vehicle combinations endanger not only the horse(s) but also the people in the tow vehicle as well as others on the road. Although I've never towed anything but our horse trailer, I imagine there's a difference between towing a 'regular' trailer and a 'live' load. There's more than enough to 'worry' about when towing a cargo that can move, I would not want to add the worry of mechanical problems.
 
   / Horse Trailer Purchase
  • Thread Starter
#22  
Mike

I did not take your post as harsh. I like to hear things straight rather than trying to read between the lines. Your comments are right along the lines of my fears. I dont mind pulling trailers but with a member of the family in the back, it puts a different twist on it.

As usual I did not put in all the revelent information. the truck is a T-100 with a rated trailer pulling capacity of 5,000 lbs. Hitch is bolted on rated at 5,000 lbs.

I have been watching the posts about horses with great interest. I kind knew she would be expensive, but I must admit, the size of my pickup never entered my mind (grin).

Richard,

As always thank you for your input. I am thinking that I will throw out my original price and go through reputable dealer as I dont think I can judge good axles and brakes from bad. On last question if I can: I don't understand what slanted and straight load means.

Thanks all for the help.

Brian
 
   / Horse Trailer Purchase #23  
Straight load means the horse stands facing straight forward.
On a slant load, the horse stands slightly angled or slanted to the side. As a result, the trailer must be quite a bit wider to accommodate the loading. You have probably noticed some of the larger horse trailers with several windows down the side with a horse's head at each one.
 
   / Horse Trailer Purchase #24  
 
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