I’m still trailer shopping but I’m getting closer!
I’ve only ever hauled in enclosed trailers. However, I’ve been thinking a lot about a 2+1 trailer with stock sides. I think the horses will like the ventilation and the extra light. I have heard horses are a lot more willing to load into a trailer with stock sides.
What I wonder is whether the added visibility is more or less calming when actually hauling. Does seeing the traffic make them worried? Are more enclosed trailers like ‘blinders’ and actually have benefit because horses are less stressed when they can’t see the traffic?
I have a stock trailer that I use for local hauling, and/or if I have a horse to haul that I am unfamiliar with and am not sure how it will load. It has a full swing gate in the rear and is a step up, which seems to make it very easy for loading. We were actually able to load a feral horse in it this fall in less than 30 minutes, without ever touching him. It was the first time he had ever been hauled, and he was in the trailer for about a 45 minute ride, and then he hopped right off like he’d been hauled all the time.
There are many enclosed trailers these days that have white interior roofs, and that makes the interior of the trailer that much more bright and inviting.
I also have a LQ slant load trailer, and have had both type of trailers for the last 8-9 years. I have noticed no difference in how my horses haul on either as far as what they see. If the weather is decent, I do drop the head windows on the LQ trailer, and although the jail bars and screen remain up, the horses still have a pretty good view out the window. Traffic does not seem to make a difference in how they haul, unless we are at a standstill for an extended period of time, and then they just get bored and impatient.
One thing you may want to consider since you are in a state that does get cold, it that a trailer with stock sides will not be as warm as a fully enclosed trailer. Even with plexiglass in the stock side, it does not close up tight. If you are going to do any winter hauling, I would go fully enclosed and consider insulated walls as well as an insulated roof.
What I wonder is whether the added visibility is more or less calming when actually hauling.
We hauled a weanling last spring from North Dakota to Texas in an enclosed trailer. The trailer being a two horse bumper pull we just pulled the divider to let him have the entire trailer.
We have a camera system so could observe the lad … he would get a mouth full of hay then walk to look out the windows to watch the countryside fly by. He remained calm during the two day trip home.
As for stock sided trailers… there are one that have slots for slide in Plexiglas to enclose the openings in the sidewalls for winter use
My situation may be unique, but I lost a lovely mare in a stock trailer accident. Stock trailers offer minimal support for horses (in my opinion). Going (slowly) down a clover-leaf turn, my mare slipped and fell in the stock trailer, under the horse beside her. As her head was tied to the side as was the other horse, neither could get out of the other’s way. Before I could stop, her leg had slid under the divider, and been injured. Despite best efforts, the mare died a few days later of liver failure as her body tried to process the massive bruising that had occurred.
At that point, I told my husband either I was quitting horses altogether, or I was buying the safest horse trailer I could find. I read Neve Scheve’s book about horse trailers, and bought what was recommended. I would never haul another horse in a stock trailer.
Sad fact is that mare would not have died or even been injured had she been in a horse trailer. Yes, accidents happen with all trailers, but I feel I need to try to prevent what I can. A trailer designed to haul a horse is a good start.
That is terrible, so sorry your mare had such a bad accident.
I do think that you are right, that was a unique situation, not because it was a stock trailer, just the way the accident happened.
We have used moistly stock trailers, few others, for over half a century on thousands of horses.
Guess we were lucky, have yet to have a horse injured in any one kind of trailer.
Our stock trailers don’t have horse divisions in them, are all open but a gate in the middle, that we rarely use with horses.
A friend that worked for years in a trailer dealership, with access to all kinds of trailers, has always used a stock trailer for her horses and those she has hauled for others.
Not sure I would consider stock trailers to be any more dangerous to haul horses than other types?
I have both. My horses show a strong preference for the stock trailer. I’ve hauled as far as MD to CO and back in one. I’ve never had any slipping type issues with it but it has proper mats and is always well bedded.
I used to own an enclosed trailer (well, it was a 2H straight that had no top doors above the ramp, so not totally enclosed). I spent a lot of years hauling predominately in enclosed trailers. Then spent a lot of years hauling only in stock trailers. I currently own a stock/combo trailer with divided stalls and a small tack room; I usually leave the divider out to make it an open box. If money was no option, I probably would own a fancy, insulated, airy, and enclosed trailer.
To answer your question regarding visibility being more or less calming: it completely depends on the horse in my experience. Just using some of my own horses as examples: I have one horse who is super claustrophobic and infinitely better in a stock trailer (which is why I own one). I have another who really is pretty irritated by the wind/openness when hauling and seems much happier in spacious, enclosed trailers… but she tolerates the stock trailer well enough to get from point A to point B. As others have said, many trailers have plexiglass inserts to reduce the openness, although mine does not have the tracks for them.
I do think in general, stock trailers are more inviting when loading. However, if you’re only hauling your own personal horses, loading should not be a problem-- teach them to load into whatever you own and problem solved.
@Foxglove I am so sorry for the loss of your mare. That must have been a terrible experience, and I completely understand why you would avoid them after something like that.
But I do think it’s worth noting not all stock trailers are equivalent. Many ARE designed specifically for horses with the same type of flooring, dividers, and safety features you would find in top of the line enclosed trailers. Having stock sides alone does not make a trailer more or less safe. There are plenty of poorly designed enclosed trailers that are marketed specifically for horses, too.
People are chiming in here with comments about stock trailers. However, a stock trailer is not the same thing as a horse trailer with stock sides, which is what the OP seems to be asking about.
I have an Equispirit EquiBreeze. It is configured exactly like a regular horse trailer - 2 horse, bumper pull, divider down the middle, chest and butt bars. It’s only different from an enclosed horse trailer in that it has open slats along the upper sides. And, as @clanter mentioned, it comes with plexi-glass inserts that slide into tracks and close off the openings if you want to fully enclose the trailer.
This is not the same as a stock trailer, which is entirely open inside, or may have interior dividers across the middle to divide the large cavern of interior into smaller compartments. It does not have the interior dividers a horse trailer does that separate the space into individual stalls and give horses something to lean against on curves.
I have owned all three varieties of trailer over the years: 16 ft. stock trailer, fully enclosed horse trailer, and the EquiBreeze. They each have pros and cons. It just depends on what you value most.
I have debated the safety factor in my own mind, and with others. The one thing that could go in favor of an enclosed trailer can also go against it- the ability of the horse to move around.
Our stock trailer has a center cut gate that can basically turn the trailer into two 7’ X 8’ box stalls. If you were to get hit or have an accident, horses could get tossed about more so than if they were in slants or even a straight load. Those slants or straight load stalls can also be an issue if you have a horse who is a bad hauler or does not balance well. Our stock trailer does have mats on the floor, and I never haul without shavings to avoid the mats getting slick.
I do feel like our stock trailer has more accessibility to the horses. Both our swing gates have sliding doors in them that make it easy for humans to get in and out of either “box”, as well as an escape door in the front box of the trailer that is big enough to get a horse out of if need be. Our LQ trailer does have a full horse size escape door in the first stall, but you would have to remove slant dividers in order to get to the door.
Thank you very much for all the responses! The actual trailer configuration I want is a 2+1 with a minimum front box of 7’x8’. As several posters deciphered, I’m debating stock sides or fully enclosed with typical windows.
I really appreciate all the input from the COTH community (the pros and the cons). The horses I have are big WB crosses. One is a bit claustrophobic; we work on it and he loads in my 2h straight load BP, but I can tell he doesn’t love it.
I love my horse trailer with stock sides & horses do too. My horses are good loaders, but I’ve put problem loaders on it too & always get a positive response. My experience has been that they very much like the extra visibility both for loading & while traveling. I think it helps them feel like things don’t “sneak up” on them. I have observed while following an enclosed trailer with my horse in it, which he hated, that he spent much of his time trying to crane his head around to see what was going on & he couldn’t. In my trailer, he has fallen asleep on the interstate & I’ve never seen any signs of stress in any of my horses during (at fuel stops) or after travel, they just munch their hay.
I bought it for the visibility & ventilation. I do always haul with fly masks on to protect eyes, even though I don’t use bedding in the trailer (good textured mats & I’m a careful driver, haven’t had slipping issues). I love this setup so much & will never buy an enclosed trailer again. Even hauling in rain, with airflow & horse body heat, it doesn’t get very wet inside. I don’t have any cons at all – if you care about rain coming in when it is parked (I don’t), you can always get or build sliders to cover the gaps when it’s not in use.
My horses are decent size (16-16.2); the shorter one (hefty Appendix) has a very long back & takes up the entire space (straight load, as he doesn’t even fit in slants & doesn’t like riding in them) while the taller one (TB) has a more upright build so he doesn’t need as much room.
I converted a 6 horse slant into a 3 box stall trailer. The partitions were built so that no legs could go under in case of a fall, and I don’t (usually) tie a horse in there. The sides of the trailer has open slats, so if that is what makes it a “stock like trailer”, there it is. I find that horses ride well in this trailer, load easily. It’s only 7 feet high, but the fact that there is so much “air” due to the full sized stalls makes a huge difference, especially with horses who are a bit claustrophobic or green. It is fully rubber matted, and with some sawdust, it’s nice. I sure like it a lot better than many “horse trailer” configurations where the horse is contained in narrow stalls and with head dividers, all “closed in”. I feel that a horse likes to be able to move and look around, not forced into a statue like stance.
It really depends on your use.
Husband and I joke about needing three different trailers.
Horses do seem to prefer a true stock trailer as they can see out of them and they have a lot of light. Easy for teaching youngsters to load. Plus they are handy for hauling mares and foals. I mainly use it for cow work and close by hauling as it doesnt have a tack room. I have used it for trips on highways and freeways and the traffic doesn’t bother my horses as they are used to being hauled in it.
Love the stock combo trailers with the dividers too. Tack room for shows plus long hauls they can lean on a divider or hauling with horses not my own. Although mine are polite to other horses in the trailer it doesn’t mean someone else’s horse is. My horses due to usually hauled in a stock prefer the dividers with the bars so they can see the horse next to them.
We just bought a new to us 20’ foot titan ‘stock’ trailer. Has a separate stall area in the front. After have a disaster of a time with my two horse straight load this was practical. (Also went from 1 horse to 4 horses)
But I will continue to use very well configured horse trailers – I have used straight loads for 40 years. Tall, wide. Excellent ventilation. But can be closed up to allow horses to be comfortable and dry in rain, snow, -20 temps.
For those with stock sides and plexiglass inserts, do you store the plexiglass in the dressing room and install if it’s raining or do you install/remove seasonally?
I store my plexi slats in a plastic molded gun case and keep them in the mangers. The gun case was the least expensive, easiest and safest way I found to store them.You can have a box installed on the ceiling or underneath the next for storage as well.
Hmm that’s funny my stock trailer is made for horses and they stay dry in the rain. But you go right ahead and give yourself that mighty pat on the back
