Ok so I have been looking at the Titan Avalanche 2 horse bumper pull trailers. I found a straight load for $9200 and a slant for $8600. I have always wanted a straight load but I haven’t really thought of why I didn’t want a slant load. Can anyone give me their pros/cons of either way and which you prefer and why? Since the trailers are so close in price it’s not really a factor. Thanks!
How big are your horses, especially in length? Longer horses, regardless of height, have a much harder time fitting in most slant loads.
With slants, nearly all of them require you to unload rear horses to get front horses out. Most of them don’t have escape doors, even for the front horse.
Straight load for me, no questions asked.
I like the straight loads myself, bigger space for the horse, easier for me to use.
I have a QH but plan on getting a TB in the future. The other big diff between the two trailers is that the slant is 7’ feet and the straight is 7’4" which would def provide more height for the bigger horse. I think I will stick out and go for the straight load, since it’s what I always wanted anyways. 
I’ve hauled in a friend’s slant load once or twice. I’d NEVER own one. Yuck.
Cons:
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space is deceptively small, both width of horse and length-wise
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you must unload horse #3 and #2 to get to horse #1
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some horses really don’t like that big “scary” partition swinging towards them, and a nervous horse may use that as an excuse to escape. The horse isn’t locked in without the partition completely closed at latched. If your horse is wider width, now you’re pushing the big “scary” metal wall up against his side, hoping he doesn’t mind it sandwiching him in.
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back door is painfully tiny because every model I’ve seen uses the one side as a tack compartment. Every time we tried to use it, the horses didn’t want to load. After owning 2 straight loads and borrowing a slant load - the trailer with the best/easiest loading is the open stock trailer.
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they generally don’t have an escape door. Your horse better self load and stand quietly. Most seem to have little windows at each horse’s head to look in on them, but I’m not sure how useful that is.
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the angle they put the horse at is not really a natural angle. While it’s true a loose horse will angle himself or turn himself completely around, I’ve never seen that angle anywhere close to the angle the slant-loads force the horse to stand at.
Pros
No idea 
They must offer something good or people wouldn’t keep buying them.
http://www.equispirit.com/info/articles/debunking.htm see the part titled “Horses haul better in slant loads than straight loads” it talks about that “myth” and the pros/cons and what to take into consideration from the horse’s point of view.
Personally, I would never get a slant load
Love that link! It’s good. I am really remembering why I didn’t want a slant load again.
Hmm. Well, to each her own, but my bad loaders always were easier to put in a slant load, and I’ve not had any horse scramble in a slant, which I cannot say about straight load. With the slant load, you can walk them in, and walk them out. The nervous ones take to that much easier than the straight load process, and I prefer it to the awkward process of me scrambling out the human escape door when I’ve had to lead one into a straight. We have an an older step-up slant load with one big wide door. (The big door has a human escape door, but I’ve never had to use it.) Horses up to 17 hands have been very comfortable hauling in our 3 horse slant. It’s true that you can’t unload the back horse without unloading the front horse or two. But I have not personally found that to be an issue. Now with all that said, the trailer I’m currently using is straight load, because that is all Brenderup makes. Neither the slant nor the straight load is perfect.
personally I prefer straight load, but at the moment the horse I am hauling is a scrambler, so he gets the slant load.
Well I’ve been a traditional straight load person though I’ve only done my own hauling for about 9 years. Prior two horses, no problem in Str. Load bumper pull. (Brenderup) Now have a new mare, she has been fine except on corners where she has been scrambling around to the point of causing some minor damage to the trailer and scraping a leg. Took her in a ride yesterday in a slant load of a friend’s and she was AMAZINGLY better. So I’m off this weekend to trade in the straight load for a slant.
I was worried about space, but she fits well enough and can move her head around. She didn’t mind the panel coming closed. I also am a 1-horse hauling person, so I dont have to worry about moving one to get to the other. I also have a mental hauling limit of a couple hours.
OP - you will have plenty of room for the QH; and depending on the thoroughbred, should be ok there too - unless you find one the size of Zenyatta!!
I’m a huge fan of slant loads, and so are all four of my horses, even the ones that came from homes with straight loads. Just make sure you get the right slant – my old one was extra tall, extra wide. My horses loved it. They go in slants much more willingly than in straights.
I’m not as thrilled with my new one, but it’s OK. Not as wide, but my horses have plenty of room.
I really like it that I can take the divider out and haul one horse loose. I truly believe they are more balanced on a slant and can take turns and curves better. I also want them on a slant if, heaven forbid, I have to slam on the brakes. I know they’ll be more balanced and take the force on their shoulder/side instead of their chest and head!
But, too each their own;) Seems as if in the west, more people had slants and in the east, more have straights.
IMO a two horse slant load trailer makes a decent one horse trailer if your horse is over 15 hands. But for two, bigger horses? No way. Straight load is so much better, safer and roomier.
Personally I HATE straight loads and would never own one. Horses seem to love my slant- it is very roomy and airy and I’ve had several hard loaders jump right on it. My slant also is large enough for my 17.3 WB to fit in it fine. I also love that I can convert my 3 horse slant from a 3 horses to two boxes or one giant stall.
One thing that I would try to avoid in a slant though is the rear tack- I like to have a full back door.
my horse perfers a slant so that is what we have, he refuses to get into a straight hate them
That’s one reason I teach mine to “Point and shoot” IOW self load. Also since I am usually alone it’s safer
It really is personal preference. This is why I have a straight load: my long horse won’t fit in a standard slant. I also prefer the way he balances in a straight and the way a horse is never blocked in – I can unload who I want, when I want.
When my horse rides in BO’s slant, he has to ride in back stall to fit and even then, he swings his butt over so he is riding straight anyway.
I wouldn’t buy a slant load for anything, so there you go – and others will say completely the opposite, LOL!
I hate a straight load with a passion. But remember for those of us who train horses or move all kinds of horses (not just one or two pampered pets/show horses) a slant load and more to the point a STOCK TRAILER is the key to efficent and safe moving. Open up the back of slant load and 99% of horses will walk right in, even those that have had little to NO handling or previous loading issues. Trying to get a half wild horse into a front loading two horses is futile and an accident waiting to happen. But if you have only a few or even ONE pet/show horse who loads like a dream and you ONLY need to trailer that horse on a regular basis then a two horse straight load may work just fine. As for me, I’ll only use one if I have no other option, even when it comes to horses that load and travel like a dream.
Our business is young horses and our trailer is a 5 horse head to head with a side ramp and a rear step up. We have never had one single youngster, or older horse for that matter, have an issue loading in the rear straight load portion of the trailer. They just walk right in, first time, every time.
The older, small, two horse straight load trailers were a nightmare for horses, but so are too small slant loads. And slant load stalls are just too small, IMO, for a larger horse. I’ve know two horses who kicked over the divider of slant load trailers. You can’t get to any but the rear horse without unloading the whole lot, just a bad situation.
When we hauled larger horses in a slant load, they tended to get sore in the hindquarters from the way their butts get smooshed into the angle of the partition. That has never happened with a straight load.
to each his/her own. My first trailer was a straight load, next two have been slant and I prefer the slant. Many pros and cons for both, it’s what works best for you and your situation.
My current rig has a weekend package and I camp 12-14 times a year. I would hate to have my tack in the camping area, so the slant works much better for me. The stalls are wide and long enough for my 15 hand and the previous owner had a 16.3 horse who fit fine as well.
The better made brands tend to have the larger roomier stalls no matter if straight or slant load from my experience.
Slant load = hands down and my horses are over 17.1 hh
