Trailer Butt Bars/Bracing

[riverrunak]

I apologize if this has been posted previously.

I have an Adams two horse straight load that I bought brand new almost two years ago and one 16.1hh TB that likes to brace against the back butt bar/doors above the ramp. Over time he bent the bracket on the door above the ramp because of the pushing against it to the point that I could not latch the top door to the side of the trailer when open or it would scratch the paint. I just had this bracket replaced so it is good as new. Now, how can I prevent my horse from bracing against the door (butt bar is up but does not help) so that this does not happen again? Any suggestions?

I hope this is easy to understand.

[Mango20]

Can you modify the butt bar attachment so that it’s far enough forward to keep his butt away from the doors (if there’s still enough room for his body). Other than that, I don’t know how to stop this behavior. I haul a 12 hand pony in an extra wide/tall trailer with huge stalls, and he still leans on the butt bars.

[Sister7]

He is bracing to help his balance while you are driving so I wouldn’t try to stop him. Leaning against the back door/ramp sounds like a safety issue. I would have the trailer modified to give him something safer to lean on. Probably replace the button bar with a beefier one and move it forward enough to not touch the rear doors.

[Highflyer]

Probably not what you want to hear, but I “solved” this by taking the top doors off the trailer for the summer to increase airflow and ended up just not putting them back on. I was having issues not only with the top doors getting bent but also with poop getting squished between the horse and the top doors so that when I opened them it hit me in the face. You really only need to have that happen once at 6 AM on a day when you know you won’t be home for 14 hours to make you rethink having horses.

[flashwhitelock]

velcro

[QUOTE=riverrunak;8014945]
I apologize if this has been posted previously.

I have an Adams two horse straight load that I bought brand new almost two years ago and one 16.1hh TB that likes to brace against the back butt bar/doors above the ramp. Over time he bent the bracket on the door above the ramp because of the pushing against it to the point that I could not latch the top door to the side of the trailer when open or it would scratch the paint. I just had this bracket replaced so it is good as new. Now, how can I prevent my horse from bracing against the door (butt bar is up but does not help) so that this does not happen again? Any suggestions?

I hope this is easy to understand.[/QUOTE]

I agree putting another butt bar in further forward that they can lean on is optimal but if it is not optional, try getting the heavy duty velcro squares that are self sticking. Put the rough loop on the door bracket. It’s just enough that the horse can balance if they need but it’s not comfortable. Doesn’t take long before they train themselves to balance in a safer matter. You don’t want them leaning on the doors or the ramp. It’s not safe.

[kookicat]

Can you travel him facing the other way?

[clanter]

stop the sudden acceleration ? or climbing steep hills?

My thought is the only reason for bracing on the butt bar would be the horse being rocked backward

I have seen horses that just set on the bars

[cheerio280]

[QUOTE=Mango20;8015045]
Can you modify the butt bar attachment so that it’s far enough forward to keep his butt away from the doors (if there’s still enough room for his body). [/QUOTE]

An easy way to do this might be to build up the padding on the butt bar- wrap in batting or foam as thick as you need, cover with a layer of vinyl, and secure the ends with heavy duty tape. It’s a quick fix, and if it works you can always sew the vinyl up so it’s a nicer-looking cover.

[netg]

[QUOTE=clanter;8016066]
stop the sudden acceleration ? or climbing steep hills?

My thought is the only reason for bracing on the butt bar would be the horse being rocked backward

I have seen horses that just set on the bars[/QUOTE]

It’s how my mare chooses to brace. She has to back up pretty far in her (slant load) stall to get her butt to the wall, but she does it as soon as she is in, and stays there. She was born to sit, so I think it kind of fits with the rest of her build/movement/breeding… Some horses just do it!

[Highflyer]

The horse I had did it from day one, as soon as the trailer started to move. He sat down and stayed sitting until the ramp was down. He also did it in a variety of trailers/ drivers (I never had the opportunity to haul him backward though) I hauled him once in a slant load and he sat on the wall instead.

[riverrunak]

Thanks, everyone! After reading through I do think it is just how he feels comfortable trailering. He has done it on straight loads, stocks and slants. I will try some of these ideas and see what happens. He’s 21 so any habit is probably not going to be fixed, I just wanted to see if there was anything to lessen the damage because he can’t be the only horse in the world to do this. I don’t want to have to replace the bracket every few years and would like to reduce the risk of the ramp/doors failing while traveling.