Do you ever haul your horse saddled?

[CHT]

Riding in a clinic at the end of the month. Hauling in and out both days. The barn isn’t attached to the arena and I didn’t get a stall. If the weather is decent, planning to just have Izzy brushed and booted so when I get there, I can pull her blanket off and put her saddle on at the trailer, then bridle her in the hitching ring of the arena. If it’s really cold out though, I don’t want to be in the elements any longer than needed…so was thinking of putting her (western) saddle on at home, then putting the blanket on overtop, so when we get there she just needs her bridle.

Edited to add: I don’t know if there is anywhere to tie her in the hitching ring area.

The trailer is a 3 horse angle haul, but she is the only horse going.

Is this safe to do?

[GoForAGallop]

No, because I love my expensive calf-leather saddle and don’t need it getting scraped up.

But I know it’s not uncommon, particularly in the fox hunting world.

Is she bad about standing on the trailer? I don’t know why you couldn’t just leave her standing on the trailer, and tack her up there. Then there’s no need to worry about leaving her out in the elements, finding a place to tie, etc.

[SouthernYankee]

I will occasionally in my stock trailer for foxhunting, cow/donkey sorting, and trail riding. But it’s got a box stall. I would not in my slant load because there is much less room.

[Socprof]

You will get various opinions on this! I came from the HJ world, and this just wSnt done. Now I mostly foxhunt, and do this three days a week (bridled also, with halter over).
While we recognize the possibility of something going wrong, tacking up on the side of the road has more hazards!
Covering your saddle is a good plan, be sure there isn’t anything leather can catch/pull. Be cautious unloading, as the saddle could catch and spook your horse.
My horses are quiet in the trailer, if they were anxious haulers, I’d try a drive around the block just to be sure first.

[SuckerForHorses]

Yep, all the time.

I have a stock trailer.

I would not do it in a straight load - too easy for stirrups and fenders to get caught while horse is backing out. But with an open stock type trailer, I always turn him around and walk out anyhow.

[SuckerForHorses]

The trailer is a 3 horse angle haul, but she is the only horse going.

I would load her up, but keep the slant dividers OPEN, so she’s not crammed in there with the saddle on.

When you get there, turn her around and lead her out.

[SonnysMom]

I do it all the time in an English saddle for trail riding and foxhunting.
I trail ride with a friend who has a Western saddle and she does not trailer with the saddle on. She feels that there is too much of a risk of the stirrups catching on things getting on/off trailer. Since the stirrups are at rib height she is concerned about him getting bruised from the stirrups as he balances himself against the wall/center divider. We use a straight load.

[ElementFarm]

generally I don’t do this, but have a few times when taking a green or very tall horse on a trail ride and I don’t trust him to tie to the trailer for tacking. I ride huntseat, and I’ll saddle, put a spare contour pad over the saddle and then a cover over the whole thing. This provides plenty of padding and I’ve never had an issue with my nice saddles getting scratched. I don’t trailer bridled, though since I have a roomy straight-load trailer with plenty of head room, I will often bridle once I’m parked on location. I can take the halter off and put the bridle on without having my horse giraffe-ing all over or worse, getting loose when we’re in-between.

[Foxtrot_s]

It is risky but is done all the time. Freakouts happen, too.

Even blankets can get hung up if the horse backs out.

[CHT]

With a blanket on OVER the saddle, I would think the stirrups will be kept in place and unlikely to catch on anything. Also not likely to be scratched. I should test that the blanket can go over the western saddle though and still do up…

She isn’t a big horse, so not sure if I need to worry about removing a divider, but that is a possibility to consider.

She loads and hauls ok, but does get restless in the trailer, so I don’t want to tack her up in the trailer. I am just not sure how safe that would be.

I always turn her around and walk her out rather than back her out. We don’t have a back tack room, so the rear opens completely.

[Preposterous_Ponies]

We did this with our standardbreds when we were stabled 5 mins from the track. Warm up, removed the excess (head poles, hopples, ect), throw a cooler or two on and go.

[costco_muffins]

We haul to the beach wearing saddles. Slant load. Much easier since there isn’t much space to unload once you are there and some of the neighbors are less than friendly.

[ThreeFigs]

We always hauled with horses saddled at the ranch, usually with bridles on as well. How tack didn’t get destroyed that way, I’ll never know, because we’d just load five or six horses in the stock trailer and go.

Only one time did a horse fall in the trailer and the horn broke off the (cheap-*ss) saddle he was wearing.

I hauled one time tacked up – with a crazy eventer I knew. No harm done. If the weather’s bad when I haul in for a clinic or whatnot, I can swing my center divider over and tack up in the trailer. (One horse, extra large rear-facing trailer.)

[RedmondDressage]

I’ve been thinking of doing this with my youngster as he hasn’t been out and about much and was a HUGE pain to tack up last time I hauled out to lunge. Since I’ll just be lunging, not riding, I was planning to just take the stirrups off completely. I would think a saddle cover would help reduce the risk of the stirrups catching and give some protection to your saddle.

[quietann]

Have done it with a friend; we always secured the stirrups very well and put a sheet or blanket on the horse. We used a stock trailer. No issues reported. I am not sure I’d do it with a huge-block dressage saddle in a straight load, which is what I have now, but Miss F is perfectly happy to be tacked up after she’s off the trailer, as long as she has hay to keep her occupied.

[rockymouse]

It depends on your trailer, of course, but in these parts, we could go to Dairy Queen right now and see several trailers of working ranch horses in the parking lot. All of them are saddled; most are probably also bridled. Very, very common.

[Appsolute]

yep many times when going to fox hunt meets - or very early lessons in bad weather.

Around here you see cowboys (as in western riders that actually work on ranches) doing it ALL THE TIME - but they are in stock trailers.

I agree - leave her as much room as you can - don’t want her ribs bruised by the stirrups against the dividers.

[SLW]

I fox hunt and sometimes trailer the 15 miles to the kennels with the saddle on. I toss a stable blanket on my horse. My trailer is a 2 horse slant and she goes in the first slant which is closed however she is a 14.2 Connemara so there is plenty of space.

[bambam]

I have done it when going to the barn a mile down the road in a 2h straight load with a saddle cover or blanket on. Ranch I worked on back in the 90’s, would tack up a bunch, throw them on the stock trailer and take them to a trailhead somewhere in the area all the time. No incidents the summer I was there.

[Angela_Freda]

chiming in that we did it in a slant with the polo ponies as well.