Hauling Horses–National Exposition on Equine Transportation

The first National Exposition on Equine Transportation (NEET) had a wealth of information for people who haul their own horses for competition or pleasure riding, or for those shipping horses commercially. Information ranged from live

Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

The first National Exposition on Equine Transportation (NEET) had a wealth of information for people who haul their own horses for competition or pleasure riding, or for those shipping horses commercially. Information ranged from live demonstrations and hands-on participation to lectures on topics including research on health aspects of transportation, choosing a trailer, proper hitching, and selecting a towing vehicle.

One of the most practical seminars was Trailers 101, which featured a panel including Phyllis Spalding, one of the top Sundowner trailer dealers in the country; Dave Dalzell, a representative of Jamco trailers, which has been manufacturing custom and standard horse trailers for more than 30 years; and Tom Scheve, who with his wife, Neva Kittrell Scheve, wrote The Complete Guide to Buying, Maintaining, and Servicing a Horse Trailer and owns EquiSpirit trailer company.

They said that in hauling horses, there are three elements to consider. They are, in order of importance, the horse, the trailer, and the towing vehicle.

When considering the horse, you should think about his size, temperament, and type of hauling (short or long distance). “I’ve seen more damage done to a horse and trailer from a warmblood playing than a Quarter Horse being mean,” said Scheve. He reminded the audience that a horse is stressed when it is transported. Therefore, when shopping for a trailer, it is important to look at safety features and design of the trailer. You should look for size of the horse compartment, good ventilation, and safety and design of the overall trailer.

There are three main styles of trailers–manger, walk-through, and slant load. Trailers also are made in taller sizes for larger horses. A manger trailer for a small horse might be 6 1/2-7 feet tall, while one for a warmblood might be 7-7 1/2 feet tall. Stalls should be suitable to the size of horse, neither being too long nor too short.

“If you have more than one horse, and they are of different sizes, get a trailer to fit the larger horse and have adjustable butt and chest bars for the smaller horse,” said Scheve. He added that the horse will lean on the chest and butt bars, so they need to be sturdy, but easy to open even under pressure.

Slant Load Trailers

One thing the panel told the crowd was that slant load trailers don’t necessarily fit bigger horses. “Slant load trailers were created to put more horses in a smaller space,” said Scheve. “If you have larger animals, stay away from the slant load trailers unless they are specifically designed for your horses.”

The maximum legal axle width for any trailer (horse or cargo) is 102 inches, said Scheve. So, maximum stall width on a slant load is 8-8 1/2 feet (from one side of the trailer to the other). That means there is only 6’8″ maximum floor width between the wheel wells in a stock trailer. “Therefore, the only way to make a stall longer is to face the horse more forward at an angle,” added Scheve. “A 15.3- or 16-hand horse can’t fit very well.” By the time you change the dividers to make the stalls face more forward, you could have gotten a straight-load trailer, he said.

There also is a safety problem in that if a horse near the front of the slant load trailer needs attention, all the horses toward the back of the trailer must be unloaded to get him off the trailer. Auxiliary side doors can be installed, but aren’t found on most slant-load trailers–side ramp doors cost from $700-$1,200 to install. Dalzell and Spalding noted that it is better to have an emergency exit door behind a horse rather than in front of a horse to encourage slower and more controlled unloading and because of traffic considerations on the driver or road side of the trailer. (The passenger side is called the ditch side in trailer lingo.)

However, if you want to haul three horses, the slant-load trailer offers the most economical solution. Also, Dalzell said that while he prefers a straight load, he personally owns a slant load. He and Spalding agreed that if a horse trailer was involved in a head-on collision, they would rather have their horses in a slant load.

Spalding said that research done by Sundowner trailers showed that rear impact collisions account for 80% of accidents that involve horse trailers. Horses often can’t be removed from a rear-load trailer after such a collision because of damage to the door mechanisms.

Ramps and Steps


“We’ve come a long way from jumping horses into the back of a pickup truck,” said Spalding. Something that should be remembered when purchasing a trailer is the actual loading and unloading of your horses. There are two main types of entrances on horse trailers–ramps and swing-open doors that require the horse to step up into the trailer. The type of trailer you select might depend on your breed or discipline, and the trailer’s availability might depend on your location in the United States. According to Dalzell, in Texas, Oklahoma, and other Western states, they don’t want ramp trailers. However, on the East and West Coasts, warmblood and Thoroughbred show people want ramp trailers.

“We break our sales into territories, and we see a big difference in sales of these two types of trailers based on region,” said Dalzell.

There are two types of ramp trailers–one where the ramp forms the back door, and one where the ramp lifts up outside the back door. A good ramp is long with a low angle that makes it easy to load and unload horses, and is it easy to lift even for one person. The springs should be in the correct location, not in the way on the sides of the ramp. There should be rubber on the ramp to provide traction.

There are some drawbacks to ramps. Many horses find it friendlier to step up into a trailer than walk up a ramp that echoes and doesn’t seem to be solid footing. Some ramps are too heavy for one person to lift. Some older trailers have ramps that slide out from under the bottom of the trailer. Those ramps often become so caked with mud and road grit that they are impossible to dislodge.

The most important aspect of having a ramp trailer is the lay of the land where you load and unload your horses. If you go to show grounds or hunt fields, then there usually is plenty of flat area to drop the ramp and get the horse off. However, if you trail ride or compete in endurance events, then you might face rugged terrain. There might not be enough level ground to lower the ramp properly.

The step-up usually is found on stock or slant-load trailers. Dalzell said that the open space of the stock or slant trailer is inviting to horses.

However, one of the major drawbacks of a step-up trailer is the potential for the horse to slip and get his hind legs caught under the trailer. That could spell disaster. “One of the causes is if you are pulling on the horse’s head in the trailer and he is pulling back against you, and his hind legs slip out from under him,” said Dalzell.

Also, a step-up requires a step down. If you have to back the horse out on wet ground or asphalt, even the most trailer-wise horse could slip and end up with his hind legs under the trailer.

Trailer Styles


There are several styles of interiors on trailers, each of which has its pluses and minuses. For example, a two-horse straight load trailer with a manger means there is room for tack and equipment in an outside compartment under the manger. However, the manger-style forces the horse to have his head in the dust of the hay that is blowing around when the trailer is moving. Also, some horses have “climbed” into the manger during transport.

Walk-through trailers are better for bigger horses and to keep the horse’s head out of the dust, but some horses get under or over the chest strap, or try and follow the owner out the front of the trailer.

Trailers also come with extra height for taller horses.

The divider between horses should stop six inches above the floor. This allows the horse more foot room than actual stall room. Some trailers have hanging rubber mats as stall dividers. When a horse moves against the rubber divider, it moves into the other horse, which steps out of the way. Use shipping boots and wraps to protect the horse’s legs and especially coronets.

If possible, haul mares and foals in a box stall configuration. If using a box stall for young horses alone, make sure the top of the box stall can’t be jumped or climbed over.

A gooseneck trailer spreads the weight of the trailer over the towing vehicle better, but a tagalong trailer follows the wheels of the towing vehicle more precisely.

Towing Vehicles

The main comment about towing vehicles during the seminars was to make sure the vehicle is well-maintained, has enough power to get you out of trouble, and that the hitching system is properly installed and kept in working order.

Planning to Minimize Disasters

“No one can predict disasters, but you need to have a plan in place before disaster gets there,” warned Roger Lauzé, Coordinator of Rescue/Training of the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA). Lauzé suggested several considerations in preparing for the unthinkable.



  • “If you have a horse no one can handle, what happens if you’re not around in an emergency? The horse dies,” Lauzé said. Train him to accept other handlers.



  • “When the wind is 80 mph, it’s not the time to be checking your tires,” he continued. “Check that stuff ahead of time; keep equipment in good shape

    Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

    TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

    Start your free account today!

    Already have an account?
    and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

The Horse: Your Guide To Equine Health Care is an equine publication providing the latest news and information on the health, care, welfare, and management of all equids.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
333 votes · 333 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!