Asked this question on another thread but then i thought I might get some more answers here. Looking at getting a stock trailer to haul my horse(s) in as well as our occasional cow.
My question is given a choice between a 16ft w 2 8ft compartment or 20ft w 2 10ft compartments which would you chose and why?
Thanks
M
16’ is standard cowboy rig, that you can pull with most anything and bounce all over rutted dirt roads and pastures.
Many here prefer single torsion axle, as it is easier to pull in mud and hard going.
Single torsion axle is rougher riding, so if you are hauling a lot, you may still want double axle or you may end with some sore horses bouncing in there too long, other than down the highway.
If you are going bigger, you need a bigger pickup, no getting by with the lighter ones.
The bigger ranches have all kinds of trailers, the smaller ones get by with one 16’.
Thanks Bluey
M
I use a 16 foot stock trailer and I have actually ridden in mine going up and down our horrible horrible road and down a washboard road and it was a rather smooth ride. I didn’t have to hold on and was able to stand in one place without bracing.
I can fit 4 good sized horses in mine with no problems and my Dodge Ram can pull it without a problem fully loaded.
I love a stock trailer because I can do SO much with it. We fill it with trash and take it to the dump, fill it with lumber or ATVs and horses, with feed and I can keep my dog in it when I am riding and he is contained, cool and not under foot when I bring him with me. I have hauled furniture, Arcade Games, Pool Tables…the list goes on and on.
I can also camp in it!! Sweep it out, throw a run down, a inflatable pool filled with blankets and pillows and BAM instant camping, no tent needed.
How wide are the trailers, 16ft long, 5ft wide is very different than 16ft x 6.8ft!!
Without walking all the way out there… Mine is likely 16x6.8 My guys can turn around and I can walk between them and the wall if they are standing wall to wall.
Yes to 16 x 6.8 Like you say there is room to turn around etc. In a narrower trailer the horses are cramped.
Does anybody make a smaller stock trailer? I only have one horse.
And what about the height? It seems like they’re often short.
And what about support? There are no butt bars, chest bars, or dividers to lean on. How does that work out?
I leave mine loose. and they enjoy riding backwards and looking where they are coming from. They don’t have any trouble standing and ride well without any stress. I throw some hay on the floor and they are happy.
I haven’t had any trouble getting mine in, but they are 14 hhs and 13hhs so it is plenty big for them. I can put a full sized arcade machine in it… which are about 6 feet and I have room to spare. So I would probably say mine is 7 feet tall.
Our neighbor and his son right now have, all GN, a 14’, a 16’ and a 20+ stock trailers and uses all three regularly, plus occasionally my 16’ also.
[QUOTE=Cindyg;7257008]
Does anybody make a smaller stock trailer? I only have one horse.
And what about the height? It seems like they’re often short.
And what about support? There are no butt bars, chest bars, or dividers to lean on. How does that work out?[/QUOTE]
I honestly don’t think they need as much “support” when they can stand in a position that is most comfortable and stable for them. Just a theory.
Yes there are lots of smaller stocks with only one box stall size compartment. They are great size trailers, in a pinch you can haul two horses, you can use it as a “box stall” and it is still great for moving furniture, etc.
One thing you have to watch when purchasing stock trailers is the height! Many only come 6’6 high. Make sure you check or special order if you have to.
And what about support? There are no butt bars, chest bars, or dividers to lean on. How does that work out?
Generally, that works out great. Especially if you can haul them loose.
It means that a horse that doesn’t really fit in a diagonal divider, doesn’t have to squeeze himself in there.
You can haul horses at a diagonal, forward or backward, just by tying them that way. You don’t have to have the dividers.
And one guy I know, if he has to deal with fussy problem horses (he retrains them, so gets some now and again) that bite or otherwise harass their neighbor in the trailer: he just ties them alternately facing forward, and backward, so nobody has a bite-your-face fest en route.
In our neck of the woods, many outfits have ‘geldings only’ because anyone, at any time, might have to throw their saddled horse in the trailer next to an unfamiliar, saddled horse and go.
There are plenty of mares who handle this just fine, and geldings that won’t, but in all it tends to work well, if you have horses that are used to being turned out with a herd-they have the skills to work it out themselves, generally.
I’m not too fussed about the height, 6’3" seems to be plenty until you get past 17 hands. At that point, a horse with his head held in a natural position will have his ears folded over at the ceiling.
But if the horse is cool with loading, unloading, tying, etc they won’t brain themselves on the ceiling, and they won’t get ‘sore’ from riding with their head in a funny position- as long as they aren’t otherwise crammed into a slant divider that is too small.
We have an 18’ by 5’ wide trailer to bang around in the forest, my 14.1 QH mare has a harder time turning around in there than my 16.2 OTTB. But I think I’d go for the width, it’s just more comfortable for them to turn around.
I have a 6 1/2 foot tall trailer, which is fine for my 15.1 and under geldings. It’s only a 12’ long trailer, which is all I needed.
You (the OP) know better than we which has more use to you, the 16’ is plenty long for 4 horses.
CBM how long is your big beast of a trailer? it’ll hold what, 7-8 horses on a slant?
Ours is 20 feet long, all open. We’ve been on some rough roads and the lack of something to lean on hasn’t bothered a horse yet.
Ours came with a divider to make it two 10’s but we took the divider out and I don’t even know where it is right now…? We just put animals in there and haul them places. <shrug>
We’ve had up to nine horses in there but that’s not recommended! Usually we have six or seven and it’s very comfortable.
And they can lean on each other. 
Oh, the divider is nice if you are hauling cattle and horses together.
Our old beater trailer (18’ long but 5’ or maybe 5’6" wide) barely fits four horses, four 15 hand horses are sardines in there. You have to open up the space over the gooseneck for the two front horses to haul ‘straight load’ with their chests against the front wall of the trailer, noses in the gooseneck.
Anyway, the center divider is low and insubstantial, I’ve had DH’s mare in the front, sassing the bull every time he stuck his head over the divider (in order to try to climb over it). She kept him in the back compartment, not the gate!
So if you’re hauling cattle with horses, you’ll want a nice substantial divider gate.
How many compartments, you’d have to determine yourself. Our big stock trailer has three compartments, that’s plenty and handy if you are hauling cattle and horses, if you have to drop one off here and two off somewhere else, etc. But one divider, two compartments would work for most people, most of the time.
We’ve had up to nine horses in there but that’s not recommended! Usually we have six or seven and it’s very comfortable.
And they can lean on each other.
Yeah, you can load a lot of horses, loose, in a stock trailer. They generally don’t step on each other or hurt each other, unless they are already confirmed ‘trailering problem’ horses or completely unsocialized. And often, the problem horses’ problems go away when you load them down an alley, loose, into a stock trailer with a horse companion they know, as you would haul cattle.
Our horses were tied, head/tail. We don’t like hauling loose though we could have with that big of a load.
We also never haul the cows and horses together but definitely the divider would be recommended if we did. We just try not to-our cows are all horned and we’re usually doing something totally different if it’s cows or horses in the trailer.
If you’re only hauling one or two animals and haul loose though it can be nice to have the divider so they don’t start running laps and start tipping things around…
Digging out another old thread
There just isn’t such a thing as the perfect trailer!
What we are doing dictates what trailer we use.
We have a little 16’X5’6" trailer for just hauling a couple of horses. Narrow trailers are handy for following in the ruts of old, rough dirt roads.(same width as a pickup.)
We use the 20’X6’ brush buster with a cut gate for hauling plenty of horses or catching/hauling a few cows with horses.
Also have a 20’X6’ aluminum trailer for hauling cattle to the sale that don’t fit on the big wagon or hauling horses to town. The aluminum trailers don’t hold up on the dirt washboard roads like a good 'ol steel trailer will.
Our personal trailer is a 24’X6’6" aluminum with a tack room and center cut gate for going to shows/ropings/rodeos. Or hauling a few steers and horses down to the arena to rope.
While our personal trailer is great for day trips to the arena, rodeo, show or hauling a few cows to the sale, which is what we mostly do. It can be used for over night by throwing a bedroll in the gooseneck to sleep for an overnight trip, not living quarters, but works for how often we need to do so. It is not ideal for loading cattle in the middle of a pasture but if needed to do so we could.
My suggestion to anyone buying a trailer trying to fit multiple uses is- prioritize how often you use your trailer for what you need it for the most and put those features needed the most first.
We have a 14x6’8"x6’6"H. It hauls three just fine. I have a couple of burly 15.3 geldings and they have plenty of room together.
I tie them so they can stand however they want and almost 100% of the time they ride facing backwards. If I were replacing my trailer I would get a stock/combo with a small tack area in front so I didn’t have to stuff all my tack up in the goose neck. I also frequently haul a couple of mine tacked up if I am just going on a 15 or 20 minute trip. They are easy haulers and saves me loading an unloading saddles–I know–really lazy!
Mary
