Slant Vs. Straight Load?

[clanter]

@Nestor

I can drop the chest bar .

ever have a horse hop over a chest bar?

I haven’t because we refuse to have a trailer with chest bars after having to stop on a major highway to help a person whose horse had hopped over the front chest bar straddling the bar and was dying in the trailer since it could not breath with its weight compressing its lungs … even though it was just a two year old I still do not know just how I was able to drag that thing over the chest bar and out the front escape door but did… after getting the body of the horse over the bar it just sort of slid out the door like some liquid goo … laid on the side of the road for a minute or two then got up… after inspecting for injuries, it was reloaded and off they went

Others have have stories of horses putting their front feet into front mangers but I have not witnessed that

But once again it comes down to what style the horse prefers … but if it is a straight load it will not have chest bars

[2DogsFarm]

@ktm_here beat me to it: suggesting a stock or stock-combo trailer.
I’ve had all 3: BP straightload, GN slantload & now I have a stock-combo < which I never thought I’d want.

First trailer was a 2H straightload BP with a ramp I came to hate. It had hydraulic lifts, but still weighed a metric ton & as I mostly hauled by myself was a PITA to deal with.
Horses would walk on by themselves, leads over their necks, butt bar went up & then I’d tie them from the full-height escape door.
Zero extra storage on this trailer, Everything went into the SUV that hauled it.

Upgraded (?) to a 2H slantload GN.
It had full LQ, but for the sake of discussion remove that as storage & looking at the trailer alone:
My 17H++ WB was squished into the 2nd slot on a slant if I had to haul my pony as well.
If it was WB alone I’d tie back the partition so he had a larger space.
That left the only “extra” space a non-collapsible rear tack. I was not a fan.
Ate up space I’d have preferred giving my Big Guy.
This trailer was a step-up & it made my Life easier, plus, as someone else mentioned, horses naturally lower their heads stepping in.

FF to another 2H slant GN w/dressing room, also a step-up.
Plenty storage space & I camped comfortably with a mattress in the GN.
But still not enough room for a big horse travelling with another.

Then I got a Driving mini & needed to haul a cart.
Enter the stock-combo.
It works beautifully for my needs.
In a pinch all 3 of mine - 16H TWH, 13H Pony & mini can go in.
Cart goes in front, center gate closes & mini goes in the back.
I have also hauled:
*My 16H TWH with the gate latched open
*Mini & friend’s Shetland in back, my cart upfront, gate latched closed
*Mini in back, friend’s HaffieX & Shetland in front with the gate between the mini & others < this was a 5h haul & on the way home friend decided to leave her 2 untied. They arrived in fine shape.
I do tie the mini, but loosely enough so he can change position & ride as he sees fit.

[GoodTimes]

@clanter

ever have a horse hop over a chest bar?

I haven’t because we refuse to have a trailer with chest bars after having to stop on a major highway to help a person whose horse had hopped over the front chest bar straddling the bar and was dying in the trailer since it could not breath with its weight compressing its lungs … even though it was just a two year old I still do not know just how I was able to drag that thing over the chest bar and out the front escape door but did… after getting the body of the horse over the bar it just sort of slid out the door like some liquid goo … laid on the side of the road for a minute or two then got up… after inspecting for injuries, it was reloaded and off they went

Others have have stories of horses putting their front feet into front mangers but I have not witnessed that

But once again it comes down to what style the horse prefers … but if it is a straight load it will not have chest bars

Ever seen a horse try to jump out the window infront of them in a slant? I have. The side of the trailer had to be cut apart.
Pros and cons to each side.

Moral of the story? Don’t open windows if they are large enough that a horse may think they can fit through. If you’re worried about a horse going over the chest bar you can get solid ones that come up higher - more like the stalls that horses fly in.

[Nestor]

@clanter

ever have a horse hop over a chest bar?

I haven’t because we refuse to have a trailer with chest bars after having to stop on a major highway to help a person whose horse had hopped over the front chest bar straddling the bar and was dying in the trailer since it could not breath with its weight compressing its lungs … even though it was just a two year old I still do not know just how I was able to drag that thing over the chest bar and out the front escape door but did… after getting the body of the horse over the bar it just sort of slid out the door like some liquid goo … laid on the side of the road for a minute or two then got up… after inspecting for injuries, it was reloaded and off they went

Others have have stories of horses putting their front feet into front mangers but I have not witnessed that

But once again it comes down to what style the horse prefers … but if it is a straight load it will not have chest bars

Haven’t seen that. I have seen a horse “jump” out a window on a slant. It seems like they will always find something to get tangled in!

On the one I linked, you can remove the chest bars and just use the “doors” to keep them in their spot on the trailer.

[TrotTrotPumpkn]

If you ever want to turn a 2 horse straight into a box, or remove chest bars, etc. make sure the doors are designed to carry push pressure from the horse (like rear doors are). Most escape doors have very flimsy latching systems. Some trailers are designed so that the butt and chest bars help stabilize the hauling compartment too. I have an acquaintance who’s horse got a leg out an escape door on a Brenderup and it was very bad.

I am not in love with my two horse straight load, because I want to do the butt bar before tying the head and have had two situations now where I was loading or unloading and horses flew back (one flipped backwards over the butt bar). Yes, I can train my horses to self load, but two horses I have had on trial/lease didn’t. I can’t count on having someone home to hold a head every time I need to load a horse.

I also breed occasionally and a box stall or a slant that is designed to be opened up is better.

[Scribbler]

Point taken about the strength of the escape doors! One time, my friend walked on the straight load to load her horse, uneventful, but forgot to do up the chest bar when she exited the trailer by the human escape door. Nothing bad happened but after she was wondering if the chest bar was necessary.

Now thinking about it, I would not trust my escape doors to stand up to a horse.

Loading with other people, I’ve learned to have a verbal checklist I run through aloud.

[Texarkana]

Something that always makes me nervous is the construction of some escape doors on some slant load trailers. They are positioned directly in front of one of the stalls and usually have a breast bar/padded chain to keep the horse off the door. But… some manufactures still only use those chitzy RV latches used for dressing room doors. I’ve seen those type of latches pop open, can’t imagine what would happen if it did so with a horse traveling in the slant stall!

Better designs have the escape door latches reinforced with another bar style latch on the outside.

[TCA_Arabians]

We prefer straight load & step-up. I read an article a good while ago that discussed that straight loads are safer when breaking… particularly a sudden hard breaking. We sent a horse off to the trainer that loaded with no problem. He thought the trailer meant he was going to Disneyland. He fell off her ramp at a show and was injured. He came home thinking a trailer meant he was about to be tied in the front of the first car on a roller coaster. Took forever to get him to load properly again.

One of Mom’s tricks was to throw hay in the front of the trailer and just let a young horse go for it on their own in their own time. She’d also load a mare and let the foal follow. It wasn’t the big scary anymore.

[Janet]

I don’t have much experience with slant loads, but the experience I had was pretty negative.

My 16 h TBx QH was thought the compartment was too short. Also, she was used to leaning on the butt bar and/or chest bar, and there was neither, so she was a very unhappy traveler.

The many different straight loads I have used have all worked well.

[poltroon]

For a two-horse, a straight load is I think superior. You get good access to both horses, they travel more evenly, and they can have plenty of room.

If you have a gooseneck with a dressing room, that will have plenty of storage space for you already.

[Jarpur]

I personally much prefer stock combo trailers, dislike straight loads, and hate ramps. But I’ve got small horses. Plus, I’m non too big myself and sure don’t like bending down to pick up a heavy ramp (they’re heavy even with working hydraulics, springs, whatever) and having my head in that vulnerable position.

I know this is colored by the fact that, back in my boarding days, a friend of a fellow boarder was kicked in the head (and died) when loading her (deceased’s) mare. Sure, a freakish accident, but always in my mind when I owned a side by side with a ramp.

Plus, if one parks on uneven ground (when trail riding, for instance), a ramp can wobble.

It is true that, when loading/unloading a slant, one must step inside the trailer. But, the dividers have slam latches, so are very quickly fastened (more quickly than a butt bar, IME, and I had slam butt bars) and opened. When I had a straight load with ramp, I had to be inside the trailer to fasten/unfasten the horses’ leads and in a somewhat awkward position behind to deal with the butt bars, so that wasn’t really better, IMO.

Had the experience of hauling to a clinic where, when it was time to leave, the host’s dogs showed up as I was loading my horse. Had difficulty dealing with the dogs and getting the ramp up at the same time. My horse was a saint! If no ramp, I could have much more quickly shut the rear door(s).

[Xanthoria]

I’d never buy a slant unless I knew my horses would never go over 15h or the slant stalls were build unusually large, and even then it’s not a great ride for horses.

My trailer is a rear facing, straight load with a breast bar you can drop from the outside of the trailer for safety, and a side ramp so no backing out. And my 87" blanket wearing horse actually fits in it - no way would I try him in a slant.

Stall dims on my trailer are about 38" wide, 9’8" long, 7’6" tall. Width is adjustable - whole space can be opened up to 76" wide. Measure a trailer your horse feels comfortable in and use that as your baseline.

[Dressagelvr]

Slant loads have many, many issues, the top two being: they aren’t designed for anything over 15 hands and you usually can’t get to/unload each individual horse without disturbing others.

For safety, each horse in the trailer should be easily accessed and unloaded if necessary without disturbing the other horses.

For 2 horses, my ideal is a 2 horse straight load GN w/dressing room, but I’d actually prefer a stock trailer over a slant.

[GoodTimes]

For everyone who is encouraging a step up, I hope that in the event you ever need to trailer a horse with a leg injury you have access to a trailer with a ramp.

Just one more “what if” to think about.

[EmilyM]

i don’t think they ride comfortably for long distances in a slant. they are squished. Unless they are under 15.3

[rhymeswithfizz]

I much prefer straight loads, primarily for safety reasons. I have children who load their own horses and ponies, and when choosing a trailer, safety for my small people is paramount. We travel a TON to lessons and foxhunting, we bring friends and unfamiliar horses with us quite often, and horses have to hang out in the trailer a lot. I want my people to always be able to have an escape when loading, and I wanted to be able to physically get to each horse to water them or unload them at any time. I also dislike step-ups, backing out of those makes my horses anxious.

I also wanted a 3+ horse trailer. A typical slant was NOT going to work.

I ended up getting the Hawk trailer that is a 2-horse straight load in the back and a large slant in the front with a front ramp. Every horse is accessible and every stall has an “escape” door for loading. Horses and people love it.
http://www.hawktrailers.com/details.php?q=16
http://www.hawktrailers.com/images/lit/3H_GN_WalkThru_Slant_With_DRESS_FLOORPLAN.jpg

It is very similar to the Equispirit “Safeload” model, but cheaper.
http://www.equispirit.com/products/3horse.htm

[Foxtrot_s]

Lots of room for large horses in my 2-horse slant that was made for WB horses.

One point to consider is quite a few horses cannot travel on the right hand side of a straight haul - the cambre of the road puts them feeling unbalanced and I’ve had some panic. I’ve changed sides with the travelling companion and all was good, but if trailering lots of different horses, something to think about.

My horses travel every week several times, all year. I am their driver and they get used to what they know.

[CHT]

@GoodTimes

For everyone who is encouraging a step up, I hope that in the event you ever need to trailer a horse with a leg injury you have access to a trailer with a ramp.

Just one more “what if” to think about.

Our barn parking lot has a dip (for drainage) we can put the wheels in to make the step pretty much level with the trailer floor. Our vet clinic has a sloped entrance to the barn you can back up to with the same effect. I would think this would be better than a ramp for a horse with an injury. Perhaps not an option if you don’t own the barn though.

[CHT]

If I had two horses only, I would go with a straight haul with a chest bar and bum bar. I think it is safer for the horses. I like the chest bar better than a manger so they can move their front legs a bit.

Unfortunately we wanted a three horse trailer (to haul clients to shows) and a three horse (2+1) was much more expensive than a standard 3 horse slant. I only do short hauls, and my own horses are compact, so it was a reasonable compromise for us.

[GoodTimes]

@CHT

Our barn parking lot has a dip (for drainage) we can put the wheels in to make the step pretty much level with the trailer floor. Our vet clinic has a sloped entrance to the barn you can back up to with the same effect. I would think this would be better than a ramp for a horse with an injury. Perhaps not an option if you don’t own the barn though.

Also not an option if your horse gets hurt at a show, clinic, trail ride, etc.
I just wanted to mention it since I got called to trailer someone else’s horse last year for this very reason. Self loader who severely injured a hind leg, wasn’t weight bearing, and needed surgery. He wouldn’t get on thier step up and the veterinary college just has a regular parking lot so it would have been difficult to unload as well.
My two horse straight load has a rear and front ramp so he could just walk on and walk off.