1960s horse trailers

[Foxtrot_s]

I was 23 years old - rented a trailer that had a bumper hitch — that means no trailer hitch on our Ford Brougham. Just a contraption that hooked onto the car’s bumper.

Single axel trailers were common and legal.

6’6" was the normal height and in went my 16’2" horse.

Tandem trailers were also seen.

My Lord, how did we survive!

[Watermark_Farm]

My first horse trailer was a 1965 Miley. Everybody had a Miley here in CA. That was an amazing little trailer – my father restored it and the interior was lined with teak wood. Probably not sustainably harvested from the rain forest, either.

[js]

[QUOTE=Watermark Farm;7798470]
My first horse trailer was a 1965 Miley. Everybody had a Miley here in CA. That was an amazing little trailer – my father restored it and the interior was lined with teak wood. Probably not sustainably harvested from the rain forest, either. ;-)[/QUOTE]

I had a Miley just like that! It was a beautiful trailer and heavy duty. Mine was Maroon and Silver, towed with a matching Maroon/Silver Chevy El Camino.

[Trakehner]

Imperator horse van…from Frank DiBella in PA.

Kingston and Rice horse trailers…all towed with station wagons.

[red_mares]

Pretty sure Mom’s horse often travelled in the back of pickup truck with sides added.

[Hilary]

Cherokee was also popular in the northeast- tiny things with no escape doors! But the horses sort of scrunched themselves in.

You used to see a lot of homemade trailers too - ours was plywood. But we had a crew cab dually to pull it.

[riderank_makebank]

[QUOTE=red mares;7799267]
Pretty sure Mom’s horse often travelled in the back of pickup truck with sides added.[/QUOTE]

Like a stock rack? I’ve seen crazy pictures of horses loading themselves into stock racks. Old horse stuff is neat :lol:

[Gestalt]

Miley. The one I had was a 1968, I used it for over 25 years and sold it about 10 years ago for $1000, it was a very well made trailer.

[RPM]

I was just thinking of The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit too.

Could a 60s sports car like Kurt Russell’s really have towed a horse trailer? The only people I knew who had a horse trailer in the 60s towed it with a big station wagon (something like a Chevy or Ford). Big V8 probably.

[poltroon]

@Hippolyta;7796992

So you could pull with the V8 wagon b/c they (cars) were so heavy at the time (before fuel efficiency mandates)? Or was it the wood panel sides

The answer is:

1. They were very heavy.
2. They were rigid frames, and did not have crumple zones.
3. The were rear-wheel drive, which is better for pulling a bumper-pull trailer because it means you always have traction on the drive wheels
4. They were long with long wheelbases.

Great for hauling trailers. Terrible for efficient, practical driving cars.

[Hippolyta]

[QUOTE=poltroon;7800337]
The answer is:

1. They were very heavy.
2. They were rigid frames, and did not have crumple zones.
3. The were rear-wheel drive, which is better for pulling a bumper-pull trailer because it means you always have traction on the drive wheels
4. They were long with long wheelbases.

Great for hauling trailers. Terrible for efficient, practical driving cars. :)[/QUOTE]

Poltroon- thanks so much for the answer. I have wondered for a while how that worked, esp. considering even some of the bigger SUVs today don’t cut it.

are you sure the wood panels didn’t help?

[Watermark_Farm]

[QUOTE=js;7798925]
I had a Miley just like that! It was a beautiful trailer and heavy duty. Mine was Maroon and Silver, towed with a matching Maroon/Silver Chevy El Camino.[/QUOTE]

js, you are my sister from another mother! My Miley was dark green and white and towed by a restored 1969 El Camino – in matching dark green of course. Loved my dad, he worked so hard to restore the truck and trailer so that I could ride to shows in style!

[roseymare]

And many of the old 2-Horse trailers had long tongues so less tongue weight. As trailers got cheaper tongues got shorter.

Plus they hauled level.

I had my setup in some hairy situations and we stayed safe. That was the main problem in the 90’s driving a car with a trailer- even though we had plenty of lights- it was as if people just refused to see the trailer. Had Harry Potter been around thenI would have thought the invisibility cloak was over it!

[Beverley]

Ah. A friend I showed with had a yellow El Camino with the wood sides and matching Miley.

[Trakehner]

[QUOTE=kerlin;7796047]
Whatever brand Kurt Russell had in The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit. :D[/QUOTE]

And he was towing it with a Morgan sports car…yep, that’d pull a trailer.