Or those of us who buy horses who are older with bad habits that are just hard to break! 
A work-in-progress still gets to go on trail rides.
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My trailer with the 9’6” stall is an EquiTrek. They’re being sold in the US by L&D Trailers and probably others.
I am alone 90% of the time. I really don’t think straight/slant/stock is safer than the other, it just depends on the horse.*** All of them have pros and cons, and those can be exacerbated depending on the specific issues of the horse.
The only style I think has a true benefit for the single user is head to head (or 2+1) where you back in to stalls, but the size of the rig is going to be prohibitive to many trailer owners.
The best thing you can do is teach them to load into what you have.
***Obviously some trailers are never going to be ideal to use alone, like an ultra heavy ramp one person can’t lift or an unwieldy door that can’t be secured. But I don’t think a well constructed straight v. slant v. stock makes much difference in the end.
How many hours does it take to teach a new skill? Not that many. But, if the old method is reinforced over and over, well, it gets set that much more solidly.
I think my point was missed! But, oh well, carry on … just don’t ask me to trailer/with your work in progress unless you’re also willing to hang out for me giving your work in progress a half hour tune up
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No worries. I have my own trailer. And if my friend needs trucking with their work in progress we just plan our timing accordingly. No need to jump in provide a tune-up for them.
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Dang, you must be the world’s best horse trainer. Can fix 16 years of habit in a few hours. I should hire you!
In reality, he knows to stand. I ask him to stand every time I trailer him before I lower the butt bar and he willingly does. He also has a moment every time I lower the ramp where he goes backward a few steps and bounces off said butt bar. Not sure how to fix it while I’m in the process of lowering the ramp.
But hey, I just bought a new slant load with no ramp so maybe my problems will be solved all on their own since now he can turn around and walk out–no backing into the butt bar (or chain in this case)!
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Definitely not the best horse trainer, but stuff like this IS actually easy. Butt bars are not for sitting on or bouncing off of, it’s easy to teach, but whatever, carry on because it’s easier to say I can’t than figure out an actual solution. Takes less time and patience too.
That sound you didn’t hear? Jets overhead 
I got a 2 horseTitan Avalanche. It is taller and wider than the older Turnbow straight load that I had.
I’d say that you wouldn’t want a huge horse in the front even with that (my 16hh OTTB fits comfortably), but the second stall is huge as I opted for no back tack.
I like slants better than straight loads generally speaking. Never had a horse turn up sore from hauling in either style. My OTTB took forever to get confident on the straight load but hopped on the slant load the first time I practiced with him. Plus–I’m small and don’t want big horses so the extra space is a non-issue for me.
Edited to add: My OTTB is a 78 blanket.
I am not a brilliant trainer. I don’t have any unrealistic expectations of my horses, like they should happily prance onto the trailer halter less and stand for hours on end unsecured.
But… I have yet to encounter a horse in my life that I can’t load reliably and alone. Will it always be pretty? No. Are there horses out there beyond the scope of what I can handle? Probably. But I haven’t owned them. And I have owned quite a number of horses with all sorts of trailering trauma and prior issues.
I don’t have any secret apart from patience and recognizing what I need to set myself up for success.
I don’t say this to make anyone feel bad. Quite the opposite; I say this to encourage people. If I can do it, you can do it.
Some of the big problems I observe with people who own horses with trailering problems:
- They don’t practice. The morning of the show is the worst possible time to address a loading issue. Plus then you can’t break it down into baby steps.
- They don’t set themselves up for success with the right tools/equipment. I never try to load a new or problem horse without a chain shank, a dressage whip, and a bucket of grain within arm’s reach. The chain shank is for control, the dressage whip is to encourage forward movement, and the grain is for reward and/or bribery. Having to stop and go get those things reinforces the idea that if the horse balks, he doesn’t have to get on the trailer.
- They get emotional, nervous, or aggressive. This kind of circles back with #1 because it’s a lot easier to keep your emotions in check if you are practicing on a quiet afternoon with no expectations.
Most of my “training” is just standing there while gently tapping the horse on the bum with the dressage whip until they go forward. If they are nervous, there will be a lot of baby steps and reassurance. If they are doing naughty things like trying to bolt, rear, or kicking, the pressure with the whip increases until they stop. When they get on the trailer, there is a big bonus of grain and hay ready for instant reward. It might take 2 minutes or it might take 2 hours. But I will win without a lot of hoopla. And it will take progressively less time with repetition.
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Let us know when you’re giving a clinic. I’ll bring my horse, you provide a straight load trailer. I taught 4 horses to self load into my Brenderup, but this one… 
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Some of us do work on trailer loading regularly and still have problems. I get that I’m clearly not doing it right because my horse will still not stand on the trailer for more than 10 seconds without backing off. I’ve watched videos, I’ve read books, I’ve worked with my trainer. But apparently I’m just bad at it.
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I will admit, I care very little about fixing the dude who bounces off the butt bar as I lower the ramp. I just tap him forward and ask him to stand and he does. He’s a saint in every other way so I give him a pass on this minor infraction. Certainly seems like a low-key situation compared to having another horse who defies the laws of “all you need to do is practice and gain confidence”.
We all feel pretty good about training them until we meet one that doesn’t quite fit. I’ve taught this guy to self-load calmly and he stands wonderfully until I ask him to back out, which he does nicely. Seriously a perfect gentleman. I practice loading more often than I actually haul him places. Yet, once a year or so it takes hours to get him on and he gets dirty about leaving the situation and he has to get the lesson again.
Ironically, once he’s on, he stands wonderfully again and starts munching hay like he wasn’t just a horse kite flying backwards moments before.
Moral of the story–horses are complicated creatures and if training them were really that simple we’d all be riding at the top of the sport with our calm happy partners who never even thought about saying “no”.
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At a minimum, you need a solid divider at the head area to keep your horse from bothering others, no matter what type of trailer you have. For a slant, you’d want 8’ wide, which is getting you into a lot of trailer territory for your truck as it is. Some 2H BPs have a side exit ramp but you can’t load that way (teaching to self load would be easier than teaching to back up a ramp).
After many years of hauling alone in a 2H BP straight load, having to have good loaders and unloaders, I bought a 2+1. I typically load and unload from the side ramp. Plus I wanted a side ramp to quickly roll in trunks and equipment and easily load hay and such without needing another set of hands to load larger things into my dressing room. You’d want at least a 250 truck for that though.
I don’t personally find slants to be that much easier for loading. You are still in a bit of a tough spot for a minute if they don’t self load. But with a wide enough trailer, you could turn around to lead out forward at least. But you are still opening the butt end first.
I don’t have experience with those reverse load type setups but maybe that would be an option in a smaller package.
Thanks-I agree about the 8’ wide getting dicey, and I appreciate the feedback about slants not being that much easier for loading–I don’t have that much experience with them.
Regarding the discussion about self-loading: my mare is 5 and DOES self-load…usually. As others have said, it’s a work in progress. There are days where I have to lead her on, and once on, she stands fine. There are days where she wants to come off too fast and days where she waits. I haul her 4-5 days a week so we are constantly practicing. I would say she’s consistent about 85% of the time.
I am known to my husband and my friends as “The Goldilocks of Horse Trailers”, as I have owned 9 in the last almost 30 years. I started with a 2 horse straight load, and it progressed from there.
I currently own 2, a living quarters and a 16’ gooseneck stock trailer. I have owned the stock trailer for almost 10 years, and the only way I would sell it is to replace it with the same trailer, but with a small dressing room at the front.
This trailer has a swinging center divider with a sliding door in it. The swing gate can be opened from both inside and outside the trailer. There is an escape door in the front of the trailer and the rear swing gate also has a slider in it. With this set up, there is always an “out” for the human involved in loading.
With the swinging center divider in place, it makes 2 8’ stalls. The gooseneck also has a calf gate, which closes the neck off and provides a place for storage. Not as handy as an actual dressing room, but still provides storage.
This particular trailer is a step up, which has worked well. I have loaded a totally feral horse on it twice, very safely, and was able to get him safely to his next destination. And when I say feral, I mean not able to even touch or halter this horse.
Trailers have as many features and options as you can imagine, but for me, safety of both the horse and human is of the utmost importance. Find what works best for you, your horse and your level of comfort.
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If you’re in SW Ontario, I would totally do it!
Sharing a funny from my horse park visit this weekend. Miss Mare was all NOPE! at an obstacle new to her - a narrow trench with about a foot of water at the bottom and a narrow building over top. Picture a very narrow covered bridge type deal but instead of a bridge it’s covering a water-filled trench. Horse park owner says to me, “She self-loads, doesn’t she?” “Of course!” “Send her through, I’ll catch her.” I hopped off, looped her reins over the saddle and said my normal, “In you go” for trailer loading and she marched on through. As she hit the middle of the water, her face completely changed, “Oh, I can do this! I am a smart horse!” She came out the other end just as calm as could be. I hopped back on and she repeated it with me on her as though she had never said NOPE!
Apparently self-loading can be used for other things besides loading in a trailer LOL! Horse park first and we missed getting video 
but there are plans to repeat next time we visit. Now that we know she’s going to stop at the human at the other end and not run wildly through the park there will hands available for taking video.
I’m in Chicagoland. We could meet in Michigan! Or if you ever decide visit around here, I think I could borrow a straight load trailer…
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