[QUOTE=walkinthewalk;8575394]
You didn’t say you bought a half ton truck in your original post.
If you had, I would have said to buy a 2-horse trailer.
I would never pull a stock trailer with a half ton truck.
Buy a 2-horse:)[/QUOTE]
Oh darn. See? Told you I knew nothing. 
Also located in Southern Ontario. Have a beautiful 3 horse slant with full living quarters and am now looking for a stock trailer to use as a “commuter” trailer to the horse shows. I had both a 2 horse and 4 horse head to head previously. Don’t want to go that route again. Either slant or stock from now on. And I want a step up this time. Suitable for big 16.3 hh warmbloods.
I am searching now for what I need…
Stock trailers can be relatively light-weight, so I wouldn’t automatically rule one out, if towing with a properly-equipped half-ton truck.
For example, neighbor’s 14 footer weighs approximately 2200#.
I’ve hauled a 14’ BP stock trailer several hundred (relatively level) miles quite comfortably with a Ford F150.
If the truck is properly equipped for towing, what is the increased hazard of pulling a small stock trailer with a 1/2 ton truck? Honest question. A 2H straight or slant load with a tack room is going to be about the same length, and maybe even a little heavier depending on construction.
Thanks Jarpur and Texarkana, that’s good to know. Guess I’ll need to do some homework, the truck is factory equipped for towing so something small should hopefully be ok.
What’s the difference on the truck’s performance between bumper pull and 5th wheel? We’d rather go bumper to leave the truck bed free.
[QUOTE=walkinthewalk;8575394]
You didn’t say you bought a half ton truck in your original post.
If you had, I would have said to buy a 2-horse trailer.
I would never pull a stock trailer with a half ton truck.
Buy a 2-horse:)[/QUOTE]
LOL. Here we go again.
A 2016 F150 tows between 5,000 and 10,000 lbs so know what you have will be helpful.
A “stock” trailer can be gooseneck, bumper pull, very long, short, 7’ 6" tall, or 6’ tall. It generally refers to stock or open sides and although people might think they only haul livestock they are often designed specifically for horses. You can buy a straight load stock, a slant load stock, a stock with front and rear compartments, or one that is wide open on the inside.
A stock trailer can be heavier, lighter, longer, or shorter than a “2 horse” which is also a pretty darned generic description.
If you got the beefier F150 you could handle a lot of options including goosenecks
[QUOTE=Parrs Gold Bar;8576580]
Thanks Jarpur and Texarkana, that’s good to know. Guess I’ll need to do some homework, the truck is factory equipped for towing so something small should hopefully be ok.
What’s the difference on the truck’s performance between bumper pull and 5th wheel? We’d rather go bumper to leave the truck bed free.[/QUOTE]
My ideal trailer would be a two horse, gooseneck, with tack room stock trailer, extra tall. Once you learn to pull a gooseneck (backing up is different than a bumper pull, but once you get the hang of it, easier!), most people I know, myself included, never want to go back to a bumper pull! I would say go with a gooseneck.
I pull with a 2004 F-150 with the factory towing, beefed up suspension, axle, electric trailer brakes etc. It does fine. I’ve towed half way across the country moving horses and everything from PA to KY. I made 6 trips back and forth in less than a month using two different trailers. No problems, and that included going through the mountains in WV. Stock trailers can be lighter than regular two horses trailers, especially if they are aluminum. You really just need to check what YOUR truck is rated to pull, then find out the weight of the loaded trailer, and see if they compare.
As soon as my hunting season is over I’m selling my 2 horse slant load GN and buying this stock trailer. It has a very small dressing room AND the wall that makes the dressing room swings open to create one large area which will be perfect for using when I haul my donkey and cart. I will purchase Plexiglas inserts to put on the head side for the winter time because cold wind at 65mph can’t feel good on the face.
My first trailer was a heavy, steel, stock trailer. I hated it. The trailer was small, and not tall enough for some horses. Everything on it was heavy, and rusted quickly. Whenever it rained or snowed, the weather came in. I always had to immediately clean all of my bedding out of it after each use, as otherwise rain would wet the bedding and it would mold. It took 2 of us to lift the heavy ramp. The ramp was slick.
My current trailer is a 2014 Sundowner 2h with screened drop down feed windows. It has great ventilation but stays dry in bad weather. There is lots of room for 2 big horses. The ramp is nonslip and easy to lift. Everything is light weight. I am very happy with this trailer.
[QUOTE=AKB;8584036]
My first trailer was a heavy, steel, stock trailer. I hated it. The trailer was small, and not tall enough for some horses. Everything on it was heavy, and rusted quickly. Whenever it rained or snowed, the weather came in. I always had to immediately clean all of my bedding out of it after each use, as otherwise rain would wet the bedding and it would mold. It took 2 of us to lift the heavy ramp. The ramp was slick.
My current trailer is a 2014 Sundowner 2h with screened drop down feed windows. It has great ventilation but stays dry in bad weather. There is lots of room for 2 big horses. The ramp is nonslip and easy to lift. Everything is light weight. I am very happy with this trailer.[/QUOTE]
Here, stock trailers are not enclosed, so you don’t use bedding, or it would blow around in there and get in the horse’s eyes and nose.
The true cowboy stock trailers are half tops, so you can rope and pull one in if you have to haul it and no place to load it, like at least a good fence corner you can pull along and drive it between the trailer and fence and they hop in there.
With the half top, you can keep pulling the critter in there, let the horse holding it and run around and close the back gate.
Full tops, you can pull them in there, but it takes longer to get your rope thru the bars.
Most pull with 1/2 tons.
All stock trailers are step-ups, have a door, no ramp to lift.
Never had a horse not go in one, they like riding in those.
I am not sure we are talking about the same kind of stock trailer here.
This is what is called here a stock trailer:
“Stock trailer” is a broad term.
Although I think it’s implied most people on the forum would only consider the variety with a full, horse height roof and at least 4’ solid walls for hauling horses.
You should see the terrifying trailers on the road in my area. But I think those who haul their horses in the bed of their pickup truck tied to a cattle pen win for scariest horse transport. I always wonder how they even get their horses up there.
They are trained to jump up and down! It’s nuts but they seem happy enough.
[QUOTE=Texarkana;8584188]
“Stock trailer” is a broad term.
Although I think it’s implied most people on the forum would only consider the variety with a full, horse height roof and at least 4’ solid walls for hauling horses.
You should see the terrifying trailers on the road in my area. But I think those who haul their horses in the bed of their pickup truck tied to a cattle pen win for scariest horse transport. I always wonder how they even get their horses up there.[/QUOTE]
Me too!
I have an F250, V8 diesel truck and we pull a 24ft stock trailer that is a goose neck. One thing that you want to also remember, with a goose neck trailer it allows you a bit more turning radius as well as maneuverability and I love that fact about ours. Having started to learn to pull it with and without horses, as well as park it in our pasture between 2 trees by myself, that extra wiggle room of turning is nice.
Our horses are not allowed to be in the trailer and not be tied, too many things can go wrong and if there is an emergency you don’t want a loose horse moving about. My dad taught me to tie the horses as he always did and we do the same.
You can get a smaller stock trailer for your F150, ask about tow weight and ensure that your truck is the right “size” for what you want to do.
So when I say stock trailer I’m picturing something like this:
Not an open roof as I’m in Ontario and that would suck 
I just need something to get to the trails, or friend’s farms to ride for the day, and of course in emergencies.
We don’t show much (low level schooling for fun), will take in a few boarders so having something to pickup is useful, and were hoping this could pull double duty as a handy utility trailer.
I’m finding used stock trailers are few and far between up here, unfortunately. That’s why I was curious of people’s experiences because I’m having a hard time finding any locals who use them to pick their brains.
OP- Used stock trailers in great shape are difficult to find. I saw ours listed online at a dealer 2 1/2 hours away, and put a deposit on it without even seeing it. At first, my husband thought I was nuts, but it was priced about $3K lower than it should have been, plus had been recently serviced and had 5 new tires on it. When we went to pick it up, the dealership told us we were the first of many calls wanting to put a deposit on it sight unseen, and they could have sold it many times over. We were lucky with it as it was owned by a couple, who fox hunted a couple times of year, and the trailer was like new, had been stored inside, even though it was 11 years old.
I looked on Horse Trailer World multiple times every day to find this trailer. I would recommend that or any other website that lists trailers.
i love Stock trailers. Yes i have hauled horses loose in the front stall of the trailer. i prefer it. Good Luck finding one. Stock trailers are the only style i have been able to load any horse into without a fight. Most horses that dislike a slant-load will load on a stock trailer. Eby makes some nice ones.
OP, that particular stock trailer would be suitable if your horse was about 14.2 or 14.3 it is quite short for anything bigger than that. My trailer is about the same height and my 14.2 hand mare fits nicely but if I bought a bigger horse I’d need a taller trailer.
“Stock Trailer” means a lot of different things and it’s important to understand what you are getting and not getting.
In general, it is a catchall term to mean a trailer with open, slatted sides.
However, within that consider:
There are many stock trailers I’d happily put my horse in and many I never would and some I’d use in a pinch but not buy. It’s kind of like “sedan” which could be a Yugo or it could be a Mercedes.
Not only are some stock trailers older but many people are… maybe a bit less concerned about individual livestock animals than we are with our horses. So for example, I know of a local incident where a pig fell out of an older stock trailer while it was going down the road.
Horses have a higher center of gravity than other livestock animals and are more mobile and more reactive. So, a trailer that easily handles 10 lambs might still not work for a horse.
In general, a typical stock trailer is going to be shorter in height and narrower than a newish horse trailer.
You can buy a “horse” trailer with removable dividers and with or without a ramp, and even with stock-type sides. You can buy a “stock” type trailer with a dressing room, with fancy dividers, a ramp, top of the line suspension, extra doors, etc.
I use my horse trailer sans dividers to move all kinds of things. (The ramp is really nice for appliances…)
I prefer a horse trailer to have a butt bar restraining the horse inside the doors, rather than relying on the door to hold the horse in. First, the latch may bend or fail; second, if it bends, it may be hard to get the door open.
If a trailer is cheap, it was made cheaper in some way. It’s good to know how and why. Good basic transportation is all you need, but you want the corners to be cut on fancy things like extra doors and not on structural integrity, finish, suspension, or weight ratings.
[QUOTE=Bluey;8584151]
Here, stock trailers are not enclosed, so you don’t use bedding, or it would blow around in there and get in the horse’s eyes and nose.
The true cowboy stock trailers are half tops, so you can rope and pull one in if you have to haul it and no place to load it, like at least a good fence corner you can pull along and drive it between the trailer and fence and they hop in there.
With the half top, you can keep pulling the critter in there, let the horse holding it and run around and close the back gate.
Full tops, you can pull them in there, but it takes longer to get your rope thru the bars.
Most pull with 1/2 tons.
All stock trailers are step-ups, have a door, no ramp to lift.
Never had a horse not go in one, they like riding in those.
I am not sure we are talking about the same kind of stock trailer here.
This is what is called here a stock trailer:[/QUOTE]
That is hilarious to be considered a stock trailers. Up here in Canada that would be outlawed on the roads and highways with our serious laws on trucks and various trailers. They get pulled over and taken off the road. They have to pass strict safety restrictions.
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