I’m looking to upgrade from my much loved 1994 Trailet New Yorker 2H straight load trailer to a 3 horse trailer. I own three geldings and would theoretically like to be able to take all somewhere at the same time, although typically I’m only hauling 1 and sometimes 2. My concern is that my 5 yo Irish Sport horse 16.1, 1450 lbs and kind of long-bodied, wouldn’t be comfortable in a slant load trailer. The 2+1 configuration is nice but seems large if I typically only have one on board. Is there a slant load width/brand that accommodates a bigger horse? I use a F250 super crew to tow. Thanks!
Go to an 8’ wide trailer and that will allow more room. There are also “warmblood” sized trailers with wider stalls for larger horses. Another option would be to go with a 4 horse slant and remove a divider and allow two slants for your bigger horse.
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I’m a draft owner, so I’ve had the same questions, and have concluded that I’d rather not even try to do slants. My boys are in the 16-17H and 1700-1800lb range, not even the biggest of the drafties. But one got all skinned up when transported by a pro shipper who claimed her slant was sized appropriately for drafts. When I upgraded 2 years ago, I ended up with a Hawk straight load that is truly oversized, even taller chest and butt bars. Love it.
But since I am a draft owner, and seriously addicted to looking at online ads of all kinds, I happened to spot this one this morning … i’m in no way affiliated with the seller, just happens that it sounds like what you might be looking for. (I’d pay close attention to the axles tho before buying.)
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I also have drafts and we ended up with a Trails West “warmblood” sized three horse slant with the heavier duty axels. There is enough room for our Belgian and Percheron who are about 17-1800lbs each. Bonus we can fit a horse and one of our carts in the trailer too.
We’ve done the remove a panel add a panel dance and it’s so much easier to just have stalls that fit the horses to begin with.
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I have a 2 horse slant right now and a big ISH (17.2, 1500 lbs). He rides in both spots. He can be squeezed into the back stall for short trips but not something I’d want to do for very long hauls. Similarly in my coach’s 3 horse slant, he has to ride in the back 2 spots.
Im honestly not sure even going to an 8 foot wide trailer would be long enough for him. My next trailer is definitely going to be a warmblood sized straight load. More than likely I will go with 2+1 style. I think straight loads offer a lot more space for the big guys.
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How long are you hauling for typically?
I have the standard size 3 horse trailer, and I have hauled bigger horses in it (17 hands & 84" blanket size) for short hauls (up to 45 minutes). They can’t stretch out their neck, but they haul fine and load/unload fine, so I feel ok hauling them for those shorter distances. I agree that opening up a stall would make it more comfortable, so perhaps look for a trailer that makes taking out or adjusting the dividers easy. Our old trailer had options to widen or narrow up a stall.
I bought the standard size because my own horses are little and I didn’t want to spend the extra for the occasional big horse I haul for a client, and I rarely do a long haul.
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Thanks all for the responses. @CHT I usually haul an hour or less each way for lessons or rides with friends, but events are usually at least 3 hours away. One of the things I miss but wasn’t aware of when I lived in Virginia, so much is close by. In the Midwest it seems to take forever to get around to cool events. My “reasonableness” gauge for a haul is 5 hours or less!! So I want the big boy to be comfy.
If you are doing longer hauls, I would definitely go with the 2+1. It is way easier to offer the horse hay or water, or to let them stretch their neck down, in the straight hauls. They are just way more expensive.
I have a Trails West for my draft cross- 16.2hh 84" blanket, 1450lbs, and she fits so nicely in this trailer. Basically it’s a two horse slant on a three horse frame, the stall is wider of course, and since the slant is slightly steeper it’s a lot longer. She has room on her sides, and doesn’t hit the back of it. I looked up the specs- it’s 135" on the diagonal versus the normal 129", and 47" wide versus 41".
If you purchase an 8 foot wide slant with the “warmblood” extra length slant stalls you will be absolutely fine. I have trailered warmblood horses 17.2 in my slant trailer with no problems at all. BUT the trailer definitely needs to be 8 feet wide, nothing narrower.
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I have draft crosses and just this summer traded in my custom Merhow 3 Horse Slant which I ordered with longer, wider stalls to accommodate my big boys, and they still grew out of it. One 17hander in particular kept getting a pressure sore on his right butt cheek unless I opened up the last two stalls just for him. I now have a 2+1 and trust me, you won’t regret the extra storage space or notice the added length. It’s a 4 star and I ordered it so that I can fold back the interior gates in either direction and pull the center divider out and easily haul all 3 big boys should I have the need. But it’s perfect for hauling 2 large horses with room to stash an extra tack trunk, buckets, hay, shavings, whatever in the +1 area when only hauling one or two horses, which is what I do most. I LOVE this trailer. I second guessed the hell out of the purchase, but I’m glad to have it. You might be all right with an 8 footer, but generally the big horses do better in straight stalls so they can stretch their necks down properly when needed.
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I have a 2+1 for mine because I like having the side ramp. The only slant he fits in a single stall these days is an 8’ wide one, but there’s still not a lot of extra neck room. It’s fine for shorter trips.
My 3 horse is 2h straight load in the back and a slant in the front. We got it extra long and wide, so there is tons of room. Technically a 2+1 I suppose! My friend has a 17.2 ISH beast and he fits in there comfortably.
Here are photos and layout. We get compliments everywhere we go with this!
http://www.hawktrailers.com/details.php?q=16
