Best trailer for a trouble horse

[lbofenkamp]

Hello all. I need some advice on a trailer for my gelding.

Trying to buy the right trailer has been a huge headache.

I have an 18h Holsteiner, so I know that the trailer I buy has to be a straight load, 2h, and it will be WB sized (7’6" tall). But I have two questions:

1. How do you feel about solid mangers vs a breast bar? Keep in mind that my horse has hung up a front foot in a manger bag, but that was in a slant load trailer that was too small for him. He also paws a lot. Do you think that a solid manger would help with the pawing, or make it more dangerous?

2. Ramp or no ramp? My gelding seems to have a mental block about being able to step up with his hind legs, and since I’ll be loading by myself a lot, I’m not sure if a ramp will make a significant difference or not.

HELP!

[jawa]

I bought a Gore trailer from a couple who had an 18 hand Dutch Warmblood that WAS HUGE. They had the trailer made special to fit him. The inside is 8ft tall, the length of the trailer is a bit longer in the body part and a bit longer to fit him from shoulder to head. The other things they did was to double the divider so that it would hold him if he shifted in the trailer. The but bar was also extra heavy duty. The other modification they made (after the fact) was to move the but bar slightly forward of the rear of the trailer. The horse would “sit” on the but bar and trailer ramp and rear upper doors. You can see where they had to re-weld the different connections.

I bought it because it was a great deal. At the time I only had a 14 1" pony. I’d show up to fox hunts with this MASSIVE trailer and folks who didn’t know me would look in awe to see what was going to come out. It was a bit anti climatic!

Mine has a ramp, but I’ve seen trailers that have full rear doors AND a ramp. This way you have the option to keep/use the ramp or not.

[Highflyer]

I would never, ever buy a trailer with a solid manger. You do not want to be extracting your 18 hand horse from it! Plus it makes the whole trailer seem smaller and more claustraphobic.

I think the best trailers for bad haulers are the stock type, so that you can haul the horse loose, but you may have trouble finding one in the WB size. I think most horses seem to figure out the step-up thing fairly easily, but I’ve never had one not be okay with the ramp, either. If you’re hauling by yourself, the big thing is that there needs to be some kind of butt bar you can easily close rather than just a door (some step-ups seem not to have this). Unless you go custom, you may have more trouble finding a step-up in the WB size, too.

[lbofenkamp]

Thanks for the input! I’m hoping to find one with a ramp and no mangers… we’ll see how it goes!

[FLeventer]

Ramp. I have one without and I’m looking to get a ramp installed. It makes life 100x easier. Also agree on no manger. I like my horse to be able to put his head down if needed and to clear his nose or turn away from the hay.

[Simkie]

Totally agree on the manger issue. It is SCARY when a horse winds up in one.

I prefer a step up and have always found horses load better in them, but it’s just so personal and what the horse likes.

I’m with Highflyer than a giant stock trailer might be your best bet, if you can find one. I had one horse that just could NOT be hauled in anything but. In a stock, loose, he’d be happy as a clam, but he’d kick and paw in a straight load or slant.

[ladymcts]

Ramps - I have learned to hate them with a passion. I have a horse who is difficult to load, and it always seemed like he did not trust the ramp. I’ve now been trailer shopping for about five months, and it seems like ramps are extremely popular.

So I thought I’d share this info … Any good trailer service shop could always convert your ramp trailer to a non-ramp trailer. However, the question might be how much is it going to cost? If the trailer has “dutch doors with ramp,” you’re talking about a pretty big deal to take everything off and replace with full doors. But there are quite a few out there that have full double doors, then the ramp is almost like an add-on. For those, it’s just a matter of unhinging the thing and adding a rubber bumper on to cover the extra bar used to hold it on. Much cheaper to convert to rampless.

So whether you choose to go ramp or no ramp, you should know that you have options.

[Manni01]

Ok… my recommendation… get a Boeckmann trailer… Its a german horse and the German trailers are made for this type of horse… Any seize horse will fit in, and the ramp converts to a step up in seconds…

[enjoytheride]

I’ve also seen horses go over the chest bars so I think if it’s a big enough trailer a manger will be fine. However, most taller wider trailers come without mangers anyway.

I don’t think your horse has a mental block, I think it’s a reluctance to put his entire body in the “death trap” and you would experience the same issues with a ramp.

You could try a stock combo trailer, which would have stock sides and then dividers in the front.

[ElementFarm]

I hate, hate, hate mangers. I’ve seen a horse get a permanent knee injury from pawing with one, I know someone who was almost killed loading their horse with one (the manger got in the way of the human escape route), and I feel they make the trailer seem smaller and more clustrophobic.

I do prefer ramps over step-ups, but it’s not a deal-breaker for me. However, I am concerned with how “high” the step is. The older, lower ones are fine, but I’ve seen some that were a good 18-24" off the ground and I don’t think all horses can back off that safely.

stock trailers can be great for iffy-haulers, but many of them are only 7’ tall, and finding one in 7’6 might be tricky. Also, depends what temps you’re going to be trailering in (not so great for cold/winter trips)

For the record, I own a 17.3 (perm card, not exaggerating here) hanoverian gelding and he’s hauled fine for years in my 2H BP Equispirit. It’s 7’6 and he’s fine with that.

[pologirl27]

If you are alone I say you need one of two things:

1. A step up stock style
2. A ramp where there is a center divider you can totally move out of the way

My mare totally refused to self load on a ramp, but I have an immobile center divider. Or had, I had to get her a darn step up. If your horse already likes ramps get a ramp, with a removable divider.

[clanter]

[QUOTE=Simkie;8181115]
Totally agree on the manger issue. It is SCARY when a horse winds up in one.[/QUOTE]

worse is the breast bar… we had a horse hop its front feet over one … then pass out as it couldn’t breath because all its weight was on its chest…

By the grace of god I grabbed it by the halter and pulled it out the personal door …

I have no idea as to just how I was able to drag the thing out

after a minute or so it regained consciousness, we got it to its feet and it reloaded without a problem and stood absolutely still

[TullyMars]

I also have had one go over the breast bar. And get hung up in there. I bought the featherlight with the mangers and walk thru in draft size and have loved it. Nobody has even tried going into the manger and the walk they gives me peace of mind with my daughter having somewhere to go when the crap hits the fan. Maybe I have been lucky with the mangers and unlucky with the breast bars, but that was just my experience.

[Calvincrowe]

Ramp. Extra tall and long. You’ll hear horror stories about every iteration of a trailer–manger/no manger, bar/no bar, ramp/no ramp. When we haul our “troubled horse”, a 17h warmblood who is claustrophobic, scrambles and has gotten hung up on a slant divider twice he absolutely LOVES my 2h, straight load, Hawk with a ramp and breast/butt bars. It’s open, light, tall and inviting with all the windows and length.

We hang hay bags, instead of the stock ‘hay feeders’ that came with the trailer to avoid feet and to make human egress easier.

[Ambitious_Kate]

[QUOTE=clanter;8181388]
worse is the breast bar… we had a horse hop its front feet over one … then pass out as it couldn’t breath because all its weight was on its chest…

By the grace of god I grabbed it by the halter and pulled it out the personal door …

I have no idea as to just how I was able to drag the thing out

after a minute or so it regained consciousness, we got it to its feet and it reloaded without a problem and stood absolutely still[/QUOTE]Clanter!!

Just…:eek:

[WendellsGirl]

I have a 14’ stock trailer that’s extra high and wide. It’s basically a box stall on wheels. I have never had trouble loading any difficult horses. It sits low and I make sure to park where the horse only steps up a small step to get on. Swing the door shut behind the horse and I slip out the little people door. The other benefit to mine is its all steel, so if they choose, naughty horses can carry on all they want to, that trailer is safe and can take a beating. I’ve been thinking about upgrading, but I really enjoy all the open space at rainy horse shows for tacking up and hanging out under a roof.

[clanter]

[QUOTE=Ambitious Kate;8181437]
Clanter!!

Just…:eek:[/QUOTE]

The weight of the horse on the bar put stress on the bar’s release pull pins… no way to pull the pins to release the breast bar

Have thought about that problem often over the years, and never really have come up with a solution on how to have the pins easily removable when jammed

[Manni01]

Clanter bel![](eve it or not, my trailer has the solution for that…
[IMG]http://i931.photobucket.com/albums/ad152/Gretaundlucky/IMG_1415_zps2e8bc96a.jpg)
Can you see the ringlike screws?? They hold the butt and front bars. In case of an emergency you can stick something like a broom in it and loosen them up. So you can free your horse even if you don’t get inside…

[lawndart]

[QUOTE=WendellsGirl;8181495]
I have a 14’ stock trailer that’s extra high and wide. It’s basically a box stall on wheels. I have never had trouble loading any difficult horses. It sits low and I make sure to park where the horse only steps up a small step to get on. Swing the door shut behind the horse and I slip out the little people door. The other benefit to mine is its all steel, so if they choose, naughty horses can carry on all they want to, that trailer is safe and can take a beating. I’ve been thinking about upgrading, but I really enjoy all the open space at rainy horse shows for tacking up and hanging out under a roof.[/QUOTE]

^^This^^ I have a '96 CM open stock that I’ve thought about selling a few times, but I’m so glad I hung on to it. It is mostly used to haul cattle, but I’ve used it more than once for a stubborn or unruly horse. I love my Hawk 2H straight load too much to subject it to that kind of abuse!!

[Smiles]

I had a featherlite that had mangers and never had a horse end up in the manger. They were built high enough to prevent that. With that said I have a wb 2h 4star now and I can take out the divider/everything and treat it like a stock trailer. My 17h gelding rides in it nicely. If your horse prefers a ramp then get one it isn’t that expensive of an add on.