Thinking about buying… Background: I describe my 16.2h horse as claustrophobic. I am too, so it’s easy for me to sympathize! Up till now, I’ve transported this horse 3 times in five years, and used Dormesedan and a 3 or 4 horse trailer. I hope that by having my own rig, I can train and overcome this. I want to buy a trailer that would be most comfortable for my horse.
So: limiting this to slant load bumper pulls:
Buy taller? Is there a problem with the taller models, like 7’6" or more? Harder to drive?
Wider? Is it worth going wider than 6’10"? I want the horse to be able to turn around and walk out.
Again, harder to drive?
Stalls (width of slants): are these usually fully adjustable? So, if I have a 2 horse, and only want to transport my 1 horse, can I make the stall wider? Previous trailer was a straight load, so I really am uninformed on this.
Bigger? Would a 3 horse be overkill? Again, I’m only taking 1 horse.
Without more info about what is causing the issue, it’s hard to be helpful. Was the horse in an accident? Was it never really hauled anywhere before? Is it a loading issue or do they have a hard time standing up? Can you haul it with an old-pro buddy? I have 2 OTTBs (currently) that have been hauled a lot before I got them and I’ve hauled each of them individually in a stock (open) configuration. One prefers to travel loose facing out the back. I haven’t had a need to haul them together yet, but when I do, I’ll tie them facing forward. I’ve also hauled a 16.3 horse with no problems in the same trailer and it’s only 6’6". I’ve hauled 2 previously together with the more dominant one first but both tied and facing forward. It’s hard to know if your horse needs to feel more confined to lean on a partition because they don’t feel stable or if they need more space to move about a little. If possible, before I sunk a lot of $$ into a trailer, it might pay to figure out what the real issue is with the horse and see if it can be worked on with with training and more exposure?
A stock trailer is open and may be a good choice if he’s truly claustrophobic. If he just wants space, straight load stalls are usually bigger than slants.
I’ve found the length to make more of a difference than width for my horses. They usually like to lean on the sides and divider a bit, so adding width (as long as it’s not ridiculously tight) may not be helpful. Adding length in the front area so they have plenty of headroom may make a bigger difference.
The nice thing about having your own rig is you can work with him at your/his pace and make trailering routine and boring. Good luck!
Thanks for sharing your experience! I don’t have a trailer now. All the places near me that rent them have trailers that are too short, like 6’6" or less. Horse will enter the trailer, but panics and flies backwards out of straight loads. Nervous in barns as well. I’m going to buy my own trailer, just looking for some experience on sizing.
I find most horses with trailering issues are happier in a stock trailer if it’s tall enough and not a dark pit of doom. I had mine raised to 8’ and I painted the interior white. It’s 18’ long and the 6’10 wide and my big draft crosses have no issue turning around in it and they seem to appreciate the length when they load as they are walking forward into space and not right into the front wall. It’s set up with a centre gate to make two box stalls, most horses choose to travel backwards on an angle. I find it easier to drive than a smaller 2 horse as it’s pretty stable due to the weight and it’s easier to back due to the length.
My two-horse trailer is a Hawk, warmblood size, with a side ramp to offload. I added extra windows, so that it’s windows all around, including in the bulkhead wall with the tack room, and also in the tack room itself.
It’s very open and airy, and I find the forward offload reduces a lot of anxiety for the horses. No backing off the trailer, no folding up to turn around (I have 16hh+ lads).
It’s very stable to drive with the width, and the wedge nose significantly reduces wind drag with the height.
I also have a Balanced Ride 2+1 (rear facing), and my one restless traveler settles down and rides much better in that configuration. I believe BR also has a two horse model, which I think has more room on the floor than a traditional two-horse.
Balanced Ride is built in the Hawk factory, and has the similar quality haul. Horses also walk forward to offload.
If you buy a 2 horse or 3 horse trailer, just remove ALL the partitions and inner “structure”. Ship the horse loose, in a box stall configuration. Both you and your claustrophobic horse will find this the most acceptable option. Try to find one that is “over height” … that is, taller than normal horse trailers. This gives him more “air”. Open along the sides for air too can be good. Do not tie the horse in there, let him move around to find the position in the trailer that he feels the most comfortable and secure. You can hang a hay bag up high. “Stock trailers” are often NOT very tall inside, they are often used by ranchers to haul both cattle and horses (usually smaller QHs), loose or tied. But are probably not tall enough for many larger horses, or horses who have an issue with being uncomfortable in tight conditions.
In the old days, there were some trailers and trucks that did not have a roof on them at all. Horses tended to ship very well in these conveyances. Used to see them going down the highway, a bunch of horses in the box, forelocks and manes flying in the air, horses watching the sights go by as they went down the road. That guy, I was a kid, used to be hired to ship “bad shippers” in an open box on the back of his truck like this. But they got wet when it rained, so no one does this any more. One guy had a pony stallion that used to jump into the back of his pickup truck on command for transport… no ramp needed for loading or unloading.
The important issue here is that some horses don’t like the feeling of being “confined”, or “trapped”. They prefer to be able to move a bit, find their own preferred position in the trailer. Let them do that, and they are happy travelers.
I had my stock trailer raised, easy to cut the roof off, add a panel and pop it back on, most welder/fabricators can do it - not much choice in my area for extra tall trailers so I made my own and it was far cheaper. Have seen a few others around here that have been done.
For a 16.2hh horse, I’d go no lower than 7’. For one that’s claustrophobic, 7’6" would be better. It’s not harder to drive but may affect your gas mileage. It might have some effect on tippability, but that’s more based on the center of gravity than just the height. Just take those turns nice and slow, as always when hauling.
I don’t see any need to go wider. Not harder to drive, again, but may limit your comfort driving in narrow driveways and narrow streets.
I’ve personally not seen slants that are fully adjustable in the width. Usually you have the front slant with a width defined by the swinging divider. The rear slant is wider, of course, because it’s a triangle to the back door. In a slant load, when hauling one horse, I always tie the divider back to make a box stall, even for non-claustrophobic horses. It’s a less stressful ride for them.
Yeah a three horse is probably overkill, but if your horse is that claustrophobic, then it’s probably worth it. ETA - if you expect many instances of hauling two, though, a three-horse would be excellent for your claustrophobic horse. You can take out the first divider so the first slant is a double slant, and still put a second horse in the end. Or take out the last divider for the bigger end stall, depending on axle location.
But I’ll add a vote for a stock trailer for your situation. You can get them with a center divider gate that makes it two box stalls, if you need to haul two.
Example: Livestock Trailers - Model 8107 Bumper Pull Stock Trailer - Featherlite
Taller is better. 7’6 would be my minimum. I believe 8’ exists though is harder to find. Personally I feel 7’ starts to feel cramped, even for my shorter (16hh) horses as they have a higher head/ neck carriage (TBs and WB). No difference in driving shorter vs taller IMO. Likely some difference in drag and thus MPG.
I haven’t owned a slant but WRT width my noteworthy point is to be mindful of wheel wells. A wider trailer isn’t worth it if it means the wheel wells are inside the horse area, IMO. As long as they remain outside the horse area, all is golden. Wider will affect how it tows mostly (only?) in regards to turning.
Can’t really comment on slant stalls but I can say I’ve never seen one that has adjustable widths. It’s either open or closed.
Bigger is better so you can have more horsies later Plus depending on your use and configuration it can give you more space to load hay, tack trunks, etc.
Overall the biggest limiting factor will be your vehicles limits such as towing capacity. Height, width, and horse count all add weight.
For the flying out backwards from the trailer - I had one that did (actually 2) and both were fully remediated rather quickly. Both horses are very good “workers” love to have a job and please people but are a bit type A/ anxiety prone. It could have been claustrophobia but I think some of it was anticipation of being asked to back off. I spent a few trailer sessions (3-5) working on calmly loading, standing, and backing off. I broke it down to each literal footstep and there was a lot of praise involved. I made sure I was in control of each step and the horse was calm each step of the way (some Warwick Schiller type work), and the behavior stopped. I did continue to reinforce trailer = happy and calm place with making sure there was treats/ alfalfa/ a bit of grain waiting every single time they got loaded. Consistency is big.
I’ll echo everyone else that a stock set up is probably best and gives you the most flexibility. IME they can be difficult to find in the 7’6 height.
Unrelated note - I cannot recommend a fiberglass roof enough. It lets in natural light which helps for the claustrophobic ones and it stays like 10-15 degrees cooler. Not all brands offer fiberglass roofs but I know Hawk does (they make great trailers).
ETA forgot one note - I would look for a trailer without a rear tack AND without a middle post in entry point for the horses (some have two doors that meet on a center post). Both the post and rear tack can make loading and unloading feel more like squeezing through a chute which you don’t want with your horse.
I’d do a stock trailer or configuration where you can make a safe box stall where you can leave the horse loose and he can comfortably turn around.
With a slant you’d need a 3-horse and to remove the first divider, but I worry a little bit about an anxious horse using the extra space to try and turn around. And if you leave them untied in a slant, I also worry about them trying to go under the divider.
I have had very large horses and trailer alone and prefer a straight load because I’m never in the stall area with the horse. I either go out the escape door if I walk in or I stand outside the back and my horse self loads.
Like kaya824, any trailer you get, I would work on very calmly loading step by step with treats (and a clicker if you want). When you get the front feet in, just wait there, then unload. Repeat that until you have control of how the horse unloads. Then get the horse in a little bit further, wait, and unload. Do that a lot so that by the time the horse is all the way in the trailer, you’ve been in control of when and how he unloads. I still practice with my horse frequently when we go someplace that he unloads part of the way and stops and gets a treat.
I have a Balanced Ride 2-horse bumper pull. It’s essentially the same as your Hawk with the side ramp except the interior hardware is flipped so horses face backwards. With my claustrophobic horse I took the partitions and hardware out and made 1 big box stall. Worked great.
I’ve had all configurations: straightload, slant,stock, w/ramp & stepup, BP & GN.
All aluminum, never had a steel trailer.
My favorite is the stock & BP.
I also prefer a stepup to a ramp - horses automatically lower their heads as they step in, so no bonked heads.
I’ve got a 16’ aluminum stock BP w/center gate & escape door now.
I know GN is supposed to be easier to back, but I never found that true for myself.
And getting in & out of the truckbed to hitch the GN became too hard on my aging knees.
In a pinch I can load all 3 of my horses - 16h horse, 13h pony & 34" mini.
When I take the mini to drive, his cart goes in front of the gate. I’ve had 2 carts fit there.
He goes behind it.
He also has to jump in, but that’s never bothered him.
Thanks everyone! @mmeqcenter: re slant width: I was assuming that the slants could be adjusted, like from 39" to say 44"? Thinking about it more, I don’t think it’s so easy to move the latch ends, but could the fronts be moved? Might not be a good idea.
@kaya842: Yes for the fiberglass roof! I had this on my Brenderup. And NO on back tack -never! Yuck, makes me claustrophobic just looking at those. And NO on the middle post. Agree completely with both of these as no.
@sherian: 18’ - is that the overall length, or length of the floor inside?
I don’t care about mpg - won’t use the trailer enough for this to be an concern. I want a trailer that I can use to train my horse to get in , take my horse to the vet, and maybe somewhere else, like a local show or clinic, 3-4 times a year. Not every weekend or long distances.
If you’re near Maryland, consider the Boeckmann trailers. Very open, airy design. Great window placement to let the horses feel that they see where they are going. Some models have a ramp on and ramp off in the front - again, very comforting and open for claustrophobic types.
I can also say that the construction and interior set up is very quiet - no jingling, no smashing, no metal clanging. Minimalistic in its efficiency, great suspension system and again - appreciated by horses as they find it calming. Even those that typically needed encouragement tend to walk on; and if they’ve done a trip already, they’re very happy to load and go. I think they vote in favour, with their feet!
If you want to speak merely from a TRAINING standpoint, the type of trailer you buy does not matter.
Growing up, we had an old, small, metal stock trailer that I routinely hauled my long-bodied 16.1 Quarter Horse in. The ceiling was so low that I did put a head bumper on him. He never did hit his head but he couldn’t raise it at all. I would allow him to turn around to unload and he has to brush his shoulder and butt on each side of the trailer to get turned around, he was so big and the trailer was so dark and small. But that’s what we had. So that’s what I trained him to load in. If you horse has confidence and trust in you, they will load into anything for you.
I once sold a horse for my aunt. I rode him for about 2 months until someone bought him. I am pretty positive he had never seen a large trailer before with a ramp. He followed me onto the buyer’s trailer without hesitation, even though he’d never been in it before or seen it before.
So while I do commend you for thinking about your horse’s comfort and choosing a trailer wisely, remember that it will still boil down to training.
So a few thoughts: Why does he had to turn around? Teach him to back out. That’s a good life skill.
I myself am NOT a fan of bumper pulls. I hate them. I feel a gooseneck rides so much better and smoother for the horse. If that’s not your cup of tea, that’s okay, but that’s just my personal preference.
How tall the trailer is has nothing to do with how it drives. Sure, you might catch more wind but that again is why I prefer a gooseneck because you aren’t going to fishhook like a bumper pull can.
Slant vs. straight vs. stock is just personal preference. You take your pick.
I have 2 trailers. One is an older 2003 Exiss 3-horse slant with a rear tack and dressing room in front. The other is a large 5-horse slant with side load and a ramp, with living quarters, and full tack in the entire back. The side load was a little different to teach them to load,but again, you take the time to train and teach and then it isn’t an issue.
Yes, having access to your own trailer that you can spend 5-10 minutes every day training with, will be a big help to overcome your horse with this training hole.
Plus depending on your use and configuration it can give you more space to load hay, tack trunks, etc.
, take my horse to the vet, and maybe somewhere else, like a local show or clinic, 3-4 times a year. Not every weekend or long distances.