Teaching Someone How to Trailer a Horse

[oldernewbie]

If you were going to teach someone how to haul horses, what would be the major steps in the process? Assume that the person is an experienced adult driver but just bought their first trailer. They have an appropriate towing vehicle. Where would you start and what would you hope they’d learn at each step? When would you feel comfortable that they could handle basic towing over decent local roads with stints on the freeway here and there.

(Naturally there is a story behind this but that will have to wait )

[clanter]

taught our kids by putting a nearly full cup of water in the center console to teach them how to handle the rig without sloshing water everywhere. It gave them a visual point on what their actions were doing and how it would affect a horse in a trailer.

Also, all our were taught to back a trailer using our manual transmission truck

[Displaced_Yankee]

I was taught by taking a ride IN the horse area of a trailer (no horses and many years ago, 80’s kid here). Few tight turns, a quick brake tap, slow braking, quick acceleration and I understood. Just as a human without seeing what is coming up makes it so hard to balance. Then imagine your a horse with no concept of trying to pull into traffic, what a red light is, etc.

(It was a short trip, never too fast, just enough to prove a point around a few local roads. We didn’t go hours over the highway or anything)

[c0608524]

Neat question!

I’ll be honest, when I learned to pull my trailer I just hooked it up to my truck for a week and it went everywhere with me. We live in a fairly quiet area but a variety of roads so I started in the subdivision, then moved to a country highway and eventually onto the provincial highways to practice. It went grocery shopping, friends houses, etc. I truly think the best way to get comfortable towing is to practise enough it gets “boring”, and second nature.

That being said…

1. Driver needs to know how to safely hook up and secure the trailer.

2. Driver needs to learn how to do a circle check, and get in the habit of doing it every single time prior to hauling.

[2DogsFarm]

All these with no horse onboard:
Find a large, empty space - like a parking lot after hours - where they can practice turns, accelerating, braking, without dealing with traffic.
Step 2 would be driving on an unbusy road, learn how to slow for intersections, turn wide.
Lastly go out unloaded into actual traffic, learn how nobody wants to be behind the trailer, deal with getting cut off, braking at lights, changing lanes.
Both city & highway.
Last of all load a horse & practice the difference in feel from hauling empty.
All 3 scenarios if possible.

I got thrown into the deep end when friend had me haul their trailer (put to their truck) full of jumps, on a highway. For a relatively short distance, but
Whiteknuckled it, but it taught me what a trailer behind me felt like.
Also how a truck handled, as I’d never driven a pickup.
To this day, some 30+yrs later, I still suck at backing
So, if you can, practice that too.

[NaturallyHappy]

Does anyone have advice as to how to negotiate a round about? I haven’t had to, but I do wonder how…

[Kyrabee]

Slowly . No really…it is just a series of arcs/corners. Just slow down. If more than one lane, take the outside one.

[cayuse]

We used to have to negotiate one several times a summer and it was always busy. It always seemed to sort itself out. It never looked like it was going to but things have a way of working out.

[rulex]

You could also see if there are any trailering clinics offered in your area. Often taught by professional haulers with a wealth of knowledge.

[Scribbler]

I had only driven compact cars when I bought my first truck and trailer. I hadn’t even ridden in pickup trucks!

For me the most challenging aspect is backing up into parking areas. Especially when you need to back up around a corner.

Also doing up away bar hitches

I was lucky to have a mentor that got me started right and made sure that I got compatible ball hitches etc before I understood the real dangers of incompatible hitches.

[pompeiii]

As someone who learned about 10 years ago, I was terrified so the thought of trying to be even more careful (cup or water or something), would have made me even more nervous than I already was.

My suggestion? Just start driving unloaded. In the beginning, I drove up and down my driveway (I have to backdown my driveway). One I was comfortable with that, I drove around the nearby development. I just repeated all of that over and over and ventured out further into traffic. Eventually I worried less.

[atr]

As well as towing, teach them how to safely load a horse. I see some really eye-poppingly scary stuff.

Largely the order of things–butt bar before tying head in a straight load, things like that, but my particular bug is people standing on the ramp behind a horse when they do up (or drop) the butt bar–and also lifting or dropping the ramp whilst standing underneath it rather than at the side.

[oldernewbie]

Thank you for all the useful replies.

I consider myself an experienced, safe, and sensible hauler. (I also taught my twins sons to drive at the same time, so I have nerves of steel!) I was asked directly for advice. I suggested a step by step approach as someone described above - go to the high school parking lot, then back roads, then the highway, all empty. Then load the horse and go around the block etc etc. Well, all that was for naught - first trip was with horse, on a freeway. There were loading problems. Yikes!

I knew this was going to happen, but hey, I tried. I even made bets with my hubs that all my suggestions would not be taken seriously. Thankfully everyone made the round trip safe and sound. I did have another talk with the new trailer owner today and tried to make my case again, after gasping in horror! I may have at least gotten an admission that there needs to be some serious loading practice before the next trip. The horse is probably a great loader, but you know that sensor they have that picks up everyone’s urgency to leave??? The one that connects to the “hell no” button?? LOL! I think he’s got her number, honestly.

You know the saying “Good judgment, that comes from experience. And experience comes from bad judgment!” I’m cool with that except when there’s another living being that you allegedly love a lot involved. Try to at least stack the odds in your favor, eh?

[risuenaVT]

My friends with trailers who insist on me being able to drive a trailer, take me to the local high school parking lot on a weekend. It’s mostly empty, there are some obstacles, but nothing catastrophic.

That said, I have only had one session driving a goose neck around the high school lot, but everyone I have told about this experience is like, “Yay, you can drive my trailer in an emergency!” And meanwhile, I’m like “Um, are you insane?” As long as I don’t have to do any backing up, yeah, there’s a chance I can make it work, but also…

But yeah, unloaded trailer in a large open space with obstacles. They will learn! They will also make mistakes

[tabula_rashah]

I really like the “drive like your grandmomma is in the back seating holding a bucket full of hot gravy on the way to Thanksgiving” lol

When I was learning, I had to take a ride on the back roads (aka hilly and very curvy) in the empty trailer and then my boss at the time set up a cones course in the field and turned me loose with the truck and trailer- told me don’t come back in to the office until you can do the whole thing without touching a cone. When I’ve taught people how to drive and specifically back up a trailer- it’s like no one understands what mirrors are there for. Use your mirrors people, use your mirrors

[NancyM]

Well… we tried to help. But it’s not easy. People don’t listen, when they don’t understand, and aren’t really “horsemen”… just “horse owners”.
I learned as a kid, from my parents, and started driving myself to lessons, clinics and shows at 16, as soon as I got my driver’s license. I was taken to the local grocery store parking lot (when grocery stores were CLOSED on Sundays), and learned how to back the rig up… etc.
Our friends (who we don’t know well) decided they needed a horse trailer in case of local forest fires requiring evacuation. Our first advice was that their truck was not capable of pulling a horse trailer, especially with two horses in it. They needed a bigger, heavier, more powerfull truck. But they said that that was not an option, and they just wanted a light trailer, that they felt their truck could pull. So they found one on line, and drove to another province, and bought it. But they BARELY made it home with the trailer… overheating the truck etc, without a single horse in it. Just empty. Then they wanted me to come over and teach them how to load their horses into this trailer. That hasn’t happened yet, and I’m not looking forward to it. These are VERY intelligent people, in other fields of study. And not with huge financial barriers to doing things correctly. So this is why I read this post.

It’s strange… how folks can be so skilled and proficient in their own field of study, and so hard headed about learning things and taking advice in other respects. Even when they ASK for the advice. Some folks just have to learn the hard way I guess.

[tabula_rashah]

yep- absolutely!
The amount of people who seem to go with the thought of what can I get away with in regards to trailering vrs what do I need to for myself and my horses to travel safely is mind boggling to me.

[Spudsmyguy]

@NancyM

Well… we tried to help. But it’s not easy. People don’t listen, when they don’t understand, and aren’t really “horsemen”… just “horse owners”.

I do better at backing when being left alone. I once backed a 4 horse trailer with a large truck camper out of a horse camping spot, which was heavily treed, and around the trailer next to me so I could pull straight out, all while using just the side mirrors. Got it first try, never had to get out to check and didn’t hit any trees. I was very proud of myself.

[oldernewbie]

I told my former trainer - me backing a trailer is like making sausage. You really don’t want to watch the process, just enjoy the end result For the life of me I can’t use the mirrors very effectively but if I can watch the movement of the trailer I can back it just fine. So I open the driver door and maneuver around. It looks ridiculous I know but I get the job done.

[B-burg_Dressage]

I hauled empty a few times then went for it. It’s not really that complicated? Drive/brake slower. Take wide turns. Leave more space. Don’t get yourself into a spot you can’t get out of. I was a bit nervous the first few times out but have gained confidence. Now it doesn’t bother me to hook up, load up, and leave as a team of one.

I guess I’d been the passenger hauling with my mom for a long time then friends before I got my truck and trailer. Knew to double check tires and truck/trailer connection. Wasn’t new to loading or anything. The horse handling aspect can be a lot more nuanced than pulling a trailer. Trailer will follow the truck while a horse will often not follow a human onto a trailer.

Of course, there are people I know who have been hauling their horses forever who I would rather not have haul mine, so experience doesn’t always equal wisdom.