Trailer for Draft and smaller horse

[Appy_challenged]

Hi everyone…
Looking for suggestions on hauling a Percheron 17.3hh with a smaller horse (14.2hh). I was able to fit them both in my Featherlite 2h bp with mangers - they fit fine but I’ll admit the Percheron looked BIG. The guy I bought her from said no problem with squishing them in - these draft types don’t mind… I have the partition in and everything went great for about a year. A few weeks ago the Percheron went down …I dunno why - slipped? Laid down? Not sure… It was tough to get her up and everyone started advising me to get a bigger trailer. I immediately went to buy a 3h but upon taking measurements it doesn’t seem like she’ll fit even if I give her two stall spaces she’s still left with about 9’ from nose to tail, in my current trailer she has 7’ stall then a little under 3’ for head (over the manger) I think she’ll be cramped. If I go for a large Kingston WB then I have the butt/breast bars too high for the smaller horse I typically haul her with… Any advice on what you guys are hauling with successfully? I did find an Oversized Adam (2h str load bp) for sale but it seems a bit overpriced and not sure it’s worth it to gain just 3" of stall space …
Any experienced horse people out there to give me some advice on what works and why …

TIA

[LCDR]

I haul a Clydesdale cross and a dainty TB mare side by side in what is called a warmblood trailer. If the TB were just a bit shorter I would think about having the breast and butt bars on her side re-welded to a lower position.

But maybe there is a way to make the bar heights adjustable? I just haven’t looked around for that option yet.

But the only horse to actually get head and neck stuck under the chest bar was the Clyde. But he is a loveable idiot. Thank goodness I have a trailer monitoring camera.

[endlessclimb]

I’d get a larger straight load, and put thicker padding and relocate the chest and butt bar on the smaller horse side.

[eightpondfarm]

i hauled my 18h Percheron in my horse/stock trailer. It is 7 feet tall at the sidewalls and about 4 or so more inches high in the center (a bowed roof). It has a stock wall divider 1/3. Back 2/3 is 7 x 6.8 and for a large horse riding at a slant it is plenty roomy. It was built by Titan. You can see some of their many options on their website.

[Edit]

[fivestrideline]

Get an oversized straight load - I have an Exiss that came standard with adjustable height butt and breast bars. I think this feature was common in a lot of the trailers I looked at (“newer” mid-high end straight load). Brenderup and the euro trailers all had them as well.

Otherwise, get a draft/oversize straight and have the dealer or a shop put lower bars on the passenger stall. Having had various customizations done, it won’t be terribly expensive unless you have a strange bar attachment system.

Lastly, a slant of any sort is going to be tiny for your draft. Same with all but an uncommonly large stock (and your draft will need to go in the front box, which is often smaller). Just because someone else had no issues doesn’t mean your scrambler will be fine - it sounds like that is what happened. They’re all fine until the day they absolutely aren’t.

[Appy_challenged]

Thanks - this sounds like what I’ll be doing. I have not seen any standard adjustable butt/breast bars but maybe I just haven’t found the right trailer yet, it will have it fabricated. The largest width I can find is 7’…height doesn’t seem to be an issue believe it or not most I’m looking at are at least 7’6".
Hopefully this doesn’t become her thing to do in trailers…I may have lost my nerve hauling all together after this.

[fivestrideline]

Get a camera for the trailer - they’re really quite cheap. It’s SO much peace of mind and you can see what she might be doing to get herself into trouble. That said, if the size/configuration of the trailer was the issue then she may never have another problem in something else.

[clanter]

@Appy_challenged

I have the butt/breast bars too high for the smaller horse I typically haul her with…

a second set of butt/breast bars can be added at the proper height for the 14.2h horse, We use our straight load two horse for both real horses and miniatures who are small as 6.1 hh

We just added another set of butt/breast bars (and added mounting to drop the center divider to their height). Total cost was well under $15.00

This allows us to set the butt/breast bars for the horse (center divider is lower if hauling only the smaller horses)

[eightpondfarm]

@Appy_challenged

Thanks - this sounds like what I’ll be doing. I have not seen any standard adjustable butt/breast bars but maybe I just haven’t found the right trailer yet, it will have it fabricated. The largest width I can find is 7

I am having my new one made to be 7’ 6" wide. I had the option of 8 feet but then i’d have to radically trim back a whole lot of trees on our half mile long driveway. But just so you know…there are MANY 7and a half wides out there. And Titan has the option available on all of their models.

[Appy_challenged]

Thanks! I have not seen any like this that were straight load and not a stock type trailer. I need to have a dressing room and we live in upstate NY and tend to travel almost year round so the open stock type doesn’t seem a good fit.

[eightpondfarm]

My new one is a 3 horse slant, but i changed the configuration so that it’s just two stalls instead. They can make straight loads though.

[fivestrideline]

Just FYI - most brands make a “draft” or “warmblood” size straight. My Exiss is 7’9” tall and 7’6” wide with a ramp and dressing room - many other brands make the same. 4Star, Featherlite, Shadow, Gore, etc. If you’re East Coast these should be easy to find.

Titan is a nice economy brand, but honestly you can easily find what you’re looking for used or without going custom! Many many brands make these big trailers with everything you need. Good luck shopping!

[LCDR]

I wondered how an adjustable chest/butt bar worked. I found this one picture on the Happy Trails trailer web site. Looks like you’d need to order the adjustable bracket and do some welding. I don’t find whether the adjustable bracket is steel or if it is aluminum.

[clanter]

we just used steel round tube that was sized the drop pins that we welded into place as needed

[Appy_challenged]

I really have not been able to find that width. The largest Featherlite is 7’, Gore’s XL is only 6’8, Cimarron is 6’10", I was looking at Adam “oversized draft” which was 7’ …I must have looked at about 25 different trailers. I did see an Exiss WB but again I think it was only 6’6" the Kingston WB is 6’8", homesteader has a Draft size but again only 7’ wide. My current Featherlite is listed as a “Warmblood” but when I actually got the tape measure out it was 6’4" with 33" stalls … All of these trailers are very tall that is true. I guess I haven’t been looking in the right place. Any links by chance?

[adultponyhunter]

I have that oversized Kingston WB 2 horse straight. Our 19h Clydesdale fits great, he’s very comfortable in there. My other two horses (ponies) are 14.2 and 13.1. The 14.2 guy is very comfortable with the height of the butt and chest bars - absolutely no problem. My 13.1 guy is pretty little in there, but since he ships on both sides (pending if he’s alone or not), I’ve never thought to have the bars adjusted.

The Kingston is really great for the big guys, it was the clear choice for us.

[fivestrideline]

I’m not sure your specs and budget but I found a few by Adam, Cimmarron, and 4Star on horse trailer world with just a few clicks. New, but it would give you models to look for.

A Hawk or a Balanced Ride are two other brands that do the build you’re looking for.

[LCDR]

Trailer width is limited by the DOT. Maximum allowable trailer width permitted is 8’6" (8.5 feet).

On a horse trailer that includes space outside the enclosed box for the wheels, tires, and fenders, so around 6’10" or so is the widest interior width you will find. That is, without the wheel arches encroaching into the trailer interior, or with a trailer deck above the height of the wheels, referred to as a deck-over trailer.

Kingston WB 2 horse BP has a 6’8" interior width so it is right at the maximum. Gore has recently introduced what they call an Extra–Wide, which is 6’6" wide inside.

[Appy_challenged]

Awesome - thanks!

[Appy_challenged]

Yes this sounds like the specs I’m getting from these dealers.

Thanks so much