With so many horse owners hauling their horses all over the country to equestrian sporting events and to fabulous places to trail ride, horse trailers have taken on a new purpose. Rather than just a box to transport horses, horse owners now look at the comfort and safety of the trailers for their equine partners and for the convenience of the trailers’ features. Like trucks and cars, almost every year there is something more innovative and functional added to the trailers that you wish you had. According to Dean Jackson, an avid and veteran endurance rider who represents Sundowner Trailers for the American Endurance Ride Conference, many of the new features can be added to your existing trailer, no matter what brand or model it is.

“You can add electric jacks, stud dividers, water tanks, additional roof vents, hay racks, an independent power source, awnings, and change from a ramp load to bumper doors, or vice versa, for example,” Jackson states.

“One of the first things that is often changed on a gooseneck trailer is the manual jack,” says Jackson. “It is replaced with an electric jack that takes a lot of strain out of hooking and unhooking your trailer.”

Jeffery Anderson of Cowboy Trailers in Monroe, La., says, “Manual jacks come as one- or two-speed models, and you have to know which one you have to be able to put the right motor on. It is basically the same motor, but geared differently for the two-speed jack