Making a BP a box trailer?- Update

[TeresaA]

Hi I have a horse I need to transport 5 hours to the vet college for foot surgery. He’s very sore and I’m worried about him standing thst long. I was thinking of taking out the middle bar and making it a loose box for the journey. That way he can find a way to be comfortable.
Would this be safe? I’ve never hauled a loose horse so are there things to keep in mind?
my trailer is a 2016 Exiss straight load bumper pull.
TIA

Hi everyone, thank you for all the good advice. In the end I decided to trailer him as I usually would. I worked out a pain cocktail and little trazadone (as per vet advice) and used some Soft Ride Boots on him. The boots worked really well and he made the trip without incident or too much stress on Saturday.
he had his surgery monday and the prognosis is very good.

[LCDR]

I would not do it. I assume your trailer is a model with two side access doors. Nothing secures those doors but flimsy latches. I shudder to think about a horse turning around and backing into and maybe through one of those side doors.

[MunchingonHay]

IMOH

Since your horse has a hoof injury, I would want my horse to be able to lean against the wall and divider to help support their body.

IF you are set on giving your horse more room, can you swing the divider to the side to make a triangle? Wider in the back and then narrower at the shoulder? So you can still tie at the chest bar.

I would also stop half way to rest. offer water, not unload but sit in a parking area for a bit? 5 hours is a long time. but then I would also want to make the trip as short as possible.

What has your vet said?

[TeresaA]

Thank you. I have one side door and that is my main concern.

[TeresaA]

It’s not so much about room but letting him lie down.

[joiedevie99]

You could, but I’d really try to avoid it unless you have a trailer that is designed that way - like a 2+1 or a stock or an air-ride semi with a stallion door.

My first call would be to the local vet to see if they could block that foot before shipping. Much safer all the way around.

If there is some reason he can’t be blocked for shipping, I’d try to find a shipper with a properly equipped trailer.

If all else failed, I’d put plywood under the chest bar to the ground, and fill the front with hay bales so the horse can’t get under the chest bar or anywhere near the escape doors. Then I’d carefully examine the windows and rear door for potential issues.

[LCDR]

I dunno about letting him lie down in a 2 horse trailer. But since you are going to a vet school at least you will have professional people and equipment to get him up and out if he can’t manage to on his own in the confines of the trailer.

[TeresaA]

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the advice. I will get him as pain free as possible and trailer him as per normal.

[Lusoluv]

I can’t imagine a horse wanting to lie down in the confines of a 2-horse BP that’s rattling and bumping down the highway. Maybe in a deeply bedded box stall in a big air-ride rig, but not a 2-stall. I agree if he has a sore foot, he needs something to lean against, not more room to brace himself for. The safety aspects are a whole nuther issue.

[sami-joe]

I may be too late to offer help. If so, please let us know how the trip and surgery went.

If not, here’s a 2009 study by a UK horse transport scholar that makes a pretty good case for loose horse transport. In case you can’t see it via academia.edu, you can probably search the title and find it.

Best Practices in Horse Transport: Animal Transportation Association Proceedings

[equinelibrium]

I saw someone ask a similar question in a facebook group the other day. Lots of people mentioned the danger of the horse blowing through the escape doors, but someone else commented on something I’d never thought about: the wall between the horse section and the tack room. It’s not designed to hold a horse’s weight so might be more likely to break if the horse is leaning against it. I have no idea if that’s a valid concern but it’s something I’d never thought of before.

Personally I would not want to encourage my horse to lie down in the trailer. It just seems like there are so many more chances for something to go wrong if the horse is laying down/getting up in a moving vehicle. Something else to consider might be a pair of boots to offer extra cushioning? I’ve had great success with Soft-Ride boots and I know a lot posters on here have had good experiences with the Easyboot Cloud boots, but there are lots of brands/models to choose from.

Wishing you and your horse all the best for the trailer ride and the surgery!

[beowulf]

Yes. I’ve done it many times. Especially if the horse is critically injured and needs as much help as possible or needs to be able to stand in a way that’s comfortable to them on their way to the hospital.

If you are concerned about the security of the back door and latches, you can clip ratchet straps to either end of where the butt bars would end/be and tighten so the butt bars are still there and secure. Or you could use a plank.

Horses travel better and safer loose. They rarely lie down in a trailer unless really hurt or the trip is very long.

[equinelibrium]

@beowulf

If you are concerned about the security of the back door and latches, you can clip ratchet straps to either end of where the butt bars would end/be and tighten so the butt bars are still there and secure. Or you could use a plank.

Smart idea, so much cheaper than buying a specially made long butt bar!

[fivestrideline]

I have a particularly bad loader, and a 2H straight load BP. I have come to the conclusion that he’s rather terrified of confined spaces (a wash rack with walls gets much the same reaction, I have to back him in), and I only own one horse so he’s always alone. I have many times considered ways to make the experience better for him, because the moment you go to do up the butt bar he flies out, and dances/jigs/screams the whole time. He comes out shaking, no matter what trailer or driver, and rides trying to look out the side windows/turn around.

I’ve wondered if being loose and able to stand how he likes would help. And, moreso if being able to walk off head first (and see where he’s going) would make him more comfortable. I had considered taking the divider out, hanging plywood from the chest bars to keep him off the escape doors, and letting him ride loose. My trailer is massive and he fits just fine in the “box” from my full length butt strap to the chest bars.

I may just do it to see how he rides; slanted or backwards or whatever.

[sami-joe]

That’s what researchers in the piece I posted above concluded. They run an animal transport convention annually, maybe semi-annually, and have lots of data collected in the UK and Europe.
My horse travels alone in an oversized two horse slant, step-up, BP with no divider and plastic stick-on mirrors near the hay bag. He went from kind of a pain to load to a self-loader. (Truth be told, teaching him to stand on a rock made all the difference in self-loading.)