More Trailer Advice Needed: what's the least scary configuration?

[cutter99]

I have owned more trailers than I care to admit to- everything from a two horse straight load bumper pull to large 4 horse slants with living quarters, probably more than 10 in total.

The one I will never sell, until we are totally out of horses and livestock, is our stock trailer.

Gooseneck, 16’ on the floor, 6’9” wide, calf gate into the neck, full escape door in the front compartment, center full swinging gate with a sliding door in it, and the same full gate with a sliding door on the rear. It is only 7’ high, but I have short, cattle bred QHs and Paints, so it works for me.

The only thing that would make me love it more is if it had a real dressing room/ tack room up front, and a ramp either at the rear or on the side.

With the center gate, it makes 2 8’ long box stalls. Great space for 1 or 2 horses per box, depending on the horses.

I have loaded a feral horse on it more than once, as well as horses that hadn’t been hauled for years and problem loaders.

One of the things I like about it best is it is safe for both horses and those loading the horses. There are plenty of places for a human to get away from a fractious horse, and you can even open the center gate from outside the trailer.

Ours is all aluminum, and I bought it in 2011 for a mere $6500. It is a 1999 that is hard to tell its age as it has held up so well. We just replaced the mats in it last year, make sure all the hinges and latches get lubed regularly, and replaced all the lights with LED lights a couple years ago. Other than brakes and tires, there is not much to it.

[LazyA1]

I just custom built a 4Star 2H slant bumper pull. I already have a Featherlite 2H slant GN, but 1) I have four horses and have a wildfire phobia and want capability to evacuate 4 horses, and 2) I wanted something that is designed to keep horses as cool as possible in summer, and 3) I wanted a BP so I could pull with a 1/2 ton and in an emergency I’m more likely to have a friend that can pull it.

I add 6" to the height and 6" to the width, so by 4Star specs that makes it 7’6" high and 7’6" wide. My hauler friend mentioned that when you add height, you lose stability so I added both width and height.

I also added a ramp. No rear tack. The back opens up completely. No center post. It is also a stock/combo type design with slatted sides on top. It is extremely open and light. I have this configuratoin in my GN also. I have had new horses that came as “bad” loaders, but I never have any trouble with my trailers.

My 16.2 horse turns around and walks down the ramp easily. If I am hauling one, the divider telescopes and I can tie it back. It came with a snap and ring to do this with.

You do not need taller. My 16.2 (my tallest) has plenty of head room!

I did also add a foot to the length. I haven’t hauled two in it yet, so I can’t say if that made a huge difference for that. In hindsight, I probably didn’t need that.

[hillary_again]

@LazyA1, thank you for sharing your experience and configuration. What’s the weight of this trailer? Was the cost >$30k?

[gradytb]

I love that idea of painting it white inside!

[BlueDrifter]

The Complete Guide to Buying, Maintaining, and Servicing a Horse Trailer

This book is invaluable in helping you make a decision. They examine the pros and cons of all trailer features

The authors moved from Trail-Et (what I have) to EquiSpirit and then I think some split off to form Hawk. I believe Hawk makes Equispirit now, as well as their own. Trail-Et went out of business, but if you can find an older one, they are solid trailers.

The things I find important are no manger, so the horse can move his feet forward under the hanging hay bags, and no center post so the divider can be swung wide for one horse (though mine like leaning on it) or everything can be completely removed to make a box – or to use the trailer for hauling other things.

[brooklyn1]

You might be interested in checking out the patented Double D Trailers SafeTack Reverse design. It lets your horse walk on and walk off facing forward, which is more natural and less stressful for them. The rear tack swings all the way out so that your horse has a wide open and bright interior to load on… making them feel less confined. If you have any questions at all you can schedule a free video consultation with our design team here.

[BroncoMo]

I realize this thread is a little older and brought up brought back up by what appears to be a trailer dealer. But I have some thoughts from having owned a claustrophobic one.

Granted this horse was nearly 18 hands and had some trauma from a previous owner, so take that for what it’s worth. He could take anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 hours and drugs to load in a slant. He could not turn around in a standard slant to offload; maybe if it was 8’ he could have. He had a ton of anxiety with trailering. My slant was all aluminum, so silver on the inside.

I got a 2+2 Balanced Ride that is 7’8" tall and reverse load. I had it painted white on the inside so it is very bright and inviting. All my horses haul tons better in it; I think the aesthetics inside, being straight load, as well as reverse load, have all played a part. Mr. Claustrophobic has zero issues loading now; he happily steps on and is very chill when we get where we’re going.

I see you’re looking for a slant load. If it’s at all feasible, consider a straight load. I would go tall if you can. You say your horse is 16.2, which doesn’t describe his length or head set. I’ve had 16.2 not fit in a standard slant because he is so big bodied. And if he has a high head set, he could easily feel the ceiling with his ears in a 6’9" trailer. Go with 7’6"+ if you can. See about a white interior. If you’re not planning on hauling others who may get snarky about neighbors, see if you can get partitions that are barred or have some type of openness to them, so that he can see through and won’t feel so trapped. Turning around to unload from anything that is narrower than 8’ will be difficult if the horse is long, and even if he isn’t long, that may contribute to claustrophobia and scrambling.

[hillary_again]

@BroncoMo, thanks for the advice! Did you have trouble getting your horse in using that side ramp? I don’t know if I could explain that to my mare…

[BroncoMo]

Not at all!! It was an easy transition for horses who have only ever known step ups, and teaching new ones. The only oddity is the front passenger side stall. It’s a tighter fit that requires them to think through how to go in and out. I usually just put the more broke ones in that stall since it’s a compound movement to swing in, or out. The less educated ones (career broodmares) get the easy-to-understand stalls.

[SonnysMom]

I have an Equi-spirit 2+1 XXL. I love it. The +1 has a huge amount of room. But I can swing the divider over to a slant for a horse or pony that need the support.
I like that I can easily access all 3 horses individually without having to off load another first like many slant loads.
I have hauled mare/foal combos in the +1 loose. Or a pair of minis.
I like that when I get back to the farm by myself I unload the +1 off first off the side ramp and then unload the straight loads off the side ramp through the +1 by myself. I feel that this if much safer.
I like that if I want to haul my horse in the straight load and move him up to tack in the +1 by my self I can.
Truthfully I was at a horse show and we fit 2 horses in the straight load and 2 ponies in the +1 to hang out between classes.

[Pezanos]

I have a Balanced Ride 2-horse bumper pull and the side ramp makes sense to most horses, I think mostly because they can see daylight out the back of the trailer so they “walk towards the light”. It’s a magical trailer.

[BroncoMo]

Mine has been life-changing. I think also with the axle being installed so far back, it balances the ride (ha, like the name implies). Aside from super nervous traveler (who still always gets on), I always get to my destination with more chill horses.

The reverse load and side ramp is very inviting to them. Even though they have to turn as they go up the ramp, they can still see through and that they have enough room to not get bumped around.

I like mine enough that I want a 2 horse goose as well for when I’m running around just one at a time.

[Pezanos]

I also love how easily it turns into a box stall for the extremely claustrophobic horses. I’ve never had a horse not load on to this trailer.