Trailer dilemma--Horse is getting hurt in my new dream trailer--what to do?

[Old_Mac_Donald]

My horse started scrambling in my 2HSL when on the right (our centreline) side. Left (gutter) - fine.

So when two go, he goes on the left. By himself, I pull the back of the divider over to the left and secure it to the wall, take the bum bars off and he travels with his head to the right of the stallion divider and his tail touching the left wall - a single slant. Or I take the divider out and he travels the same.

I had another mare with the same issue, and used to haul her and her grown daughter without the divider at all. They leaned on each other, happy as.
He was diagnosed with hock arthritis.

Something to consider.

[Old_Mac_Donald]

@Sun_Hill_Farm

What method did you use to anchor the divider to the side? How did you keep it from banging around?

Electric fence tape and a pool noodle cable tied over the lugs. Lekky tape is the best.

[Sun_Hill_Farm]

So, unexpected development. Yesterday I tried step one of the protocol–keep everything exactly as it was and watch with the camera. I put the camera in the trailer, facing Maresy. I had a clear view of the divider and her hip at all times from the driver’s seat. I drove down our very bad driveway and steep, rocky road, made turns onto the pavement, got up to 50 mph, went down another dirt road and made a tight turn to head back, accelerated hard uphill, another right turn, then a left, the up our hill, which jolts both trailer and truck around quite unpleasantly, even at slow speed.

Maresy did not lean on the divider even once

What am I to take away from this?

I think what I should take away is that I simply didn’t give her enough time to adjust to the new trailer. It arrived, I was eager to put it into use to see if I was safe to sell the old trailer, but I had long trips I had to take–45 mins to the trainer, down a bad road to get to our regular exercise ride, and then, I took her on a three hour haul, one hour of which was up an incredibly bad road, and then all the same in reverse two days later.

I noticed the leaning from the start, but the wounds weren’t there until that last haul, over a road so bad that even with my transmission locked in first, I had to ride the brakes for an hour to get back to a decent road. I had never been to this location before and didn’t know the road was that bad.

So I think she may be okay so long as I go back to building her foundation with the trailer–load her every day and take her on super short rides, then gradually increase the distance and difficulty.

Also, if horses balance better facing in reverse, then I may have to be extra super polite with my driving (I always am, but maybe now even moreso) with her now riding facing forwards so as to give her more confidence with her balance.

The trailer as it is configured is what I need, and I’d rather not jerry-rig a way to open the divider to the side as it is sure to rattle around. Plus the mini can’t ride in there with the divider pushed to his side, and I don’t want Maresy getting used to that setup and then pitching a fit when I have to straighten the divider again.

So fingers crossed that it’s just that she needs time and opportunity to get familiar with the new trailer and I need to be a more sensitive driver. And hopefully she’ll be as relaxed in there as she was in her old trailer before I have to travel down another bad forest service road. Or I could take the divider out just for those trips.

I’m leaving the camera back there until it is too cold for the battery to work any more. And we’ll see how it goes.

And the chiro vet is hopefully going to make it out here today and will assess her fully to make sure this isn’t a physical problem with her.

Thanks for everyone’s thoughts and ideas! I learned a lot!

[Sun_Hill_Farm]

Further update: Chiropractor came and found her back very sore. Adjusted her. The very next day I found her with an eye nearly swollen shut. Emergency! Our vet is two hours away. I had not yet had time to do a gradual intro to the trailer–oh well! Loaded Maresy up for the long ride through the mountains–a very challenging drive in the best of conditions. Got her to the vet–she didn’t lean on the divider! Got her home–she hadn’t been leaning on the divider!

I’m good to go, methinks. She needed that chiro adjustment. And next time we’re going to do super-bad roads, I think I’ll push the divider off to one side so she can choose to ride at an angle, if she likes.

And I get to keep my Hawk!

Anyone want to buy a 2017 Maverick 2H slant BP? New high grade floors, insulated roof (polyiso foam), and rustoleum sprayed undercarriage. Two year old tires in great shape.

[PamnReba]

Once you described how bad the road was on the trip where she cut her hip, it made me wonder if a hard jolt sent her into the divider and she wasn’t leaning at all? If you didn’t have a camera on her to know for sure that’s what was happening, I wouldn’t have thought leaning was the culprit at all. You’ll usually see rub marks on their sides from the divider if they lean a lot, or just get up against it. Subsequent rough roads did the same, until she got used to balancing herself differently again.

Regardless, sounds like she’s made the adjustment, so good luck moving forward! Hope that she continues to do well in the new trailer!

[Sun_Hill_Farm]

PamnReba,
I don’t think it happened quite like that–there were signs she was leaning on the divider before we went on the trip with the rough road. However, what does make perfect sense is she needed opportunities to relearn how to balance in a forward-facing straight load. And it appears she has. Thanks for the good wishes!