Twice a week for hunting, I don’t bridle until I arrive and then I bridle on the trailer then back out my horse and mount and go…
The way my horse turns around to get off her step up, no. I know she’d scrape the side of the saddle. With a horse that backed off, probably.
In a prior life, saddle horses and pack mules hauled in stock rigs with saddles and pack saddles on; no bridles and no panniers. That all went on at the trailhead. Current life, saddled horses in a stock trailer, no bridles, heads tied. Note to self: use a muzzle or a sheet on the expensive neoprene pad so bored gelding does not chew up $75 worth of saddle pad in a 90 minute haul …
I have tied western stirrups together under the belly if a green bean or an unknown just to save some drama. And the expensive tack usually stays home.
I often do it but always put something over the saddle (cover or horse wears a blanket/sheet) so that saddle doesn’t get scratched and so that the stirrups don’t catch on something as horse is coming off the trailer.
I do haul with saddle/breastplate when I am traveling a shorter distance and/or when I am trailering alone with a horse that may be anxious/difficult to tack up once I arrive. I never trailer with the bridle on, however. And like Duramax, I put a saddle cover on or a fleece sheet on so as to protect the saddle and avoid catching stirrups when loading/unloading.
The way I see it, it is safer and I can bridle a horse on the trailer just prior to unloading, avoiding the concern that horse might be difficult to bridle out in the open.
I have done for short distances. I leave my saddle cover on to protect my saddle and to stop it getting hung up on anything.
The only thing to be aware of is that your saddle doesn’t slip back during transit if your girth is loose.
Almost always ship tacked. I ride two OTTBs currently, but have always done it with all my horses. I used to work for a polo player so maybe that’s where I got it. For fox hunting, my horse is completely tacked, minus the bridle, including boots and studs. I can bridle in the trailer, back out and go. I almost always have a sheet, a BOT or a saddle cover to keep the stirrups tight. I loop the running martingale up into the breast plate.
I also do this for lessons. I sometimes bring two to ride back to back, so not having to tack them up between means I get more instruction time.
I do it for convenience at the meet, but also I can take my time tacking up, inspecting the tack and boots for fit and wear on the horse. Like someone said above, making sure I have the right girth. I also find tacking up at home can be very relaxing for me and the horse. When I am at a 3 phase and I must tack between phases, I find I am more distracted and rushed.
Because I haul out 4-5 times a week, between shows, foxhunting and lessons, I could not have a horse that didn’t self load and couldn’t ride tacked. I often handle more than one by myself and I need to send one then the other into the trailer. I also need to unload them and hand them off. If I had to tie one and tack it up while the other waited, it would be a major issue for me. I won’t jinx myself and say I’ve never had a problem, but it’s a constant part of my process with multiple horses.
I haul my TB tacked up (saddle but no bridle). My draft x mare is big and I prefer to tack her when I arrive. She also fell once in the trailer and it would have been a nightmare if she’d been tacked.
I haul in a 2 horse straight load with saddle and no bridle. My first year foxhunting I would put the bridle on before I unloaded. Finnegan is pretty good about that now so I just put it on after I unload.
In the summer I put a heavy saddle cover on the saddle, cooler weather I cover him with a cooler or BOT mesh sheet since he is clipped. The girth is moderately tight. No fully tight enough to ride but tight enough the saddle won’t slip and the saddle won’t slide back.
I won’t do it for trailer rides longer than than 30 minutes. I almost always take the saddle off for the trip home. I did have one time that I was riding at the local park that closes at dusk. It was dusk when I got back to the trailer. The barn is literally 6 minutes from the park. I loosened the girth, loaded and took him back to the barn to untack.
The rider I was with has a Western saddle and she untacked as that was faster than tying up the stirrups. She mostly trailers untacked but if she trailers with tack she ties the stirrups up to the horn and covers the saddle.
I’ve done it. Freaked me out the first time but it was no big deal. 5 horses in a stock trailer. My gelding was sometimes difficult to load and antsy on the trailer but he was so happy with the group situation he was so well behaved for once. No bridles on any, just tack and halters.
If I’m traveling less than 30 min, I always have my horses tacked but no bridle, girth snug but not tight. If necessary a cooler or rainsheet over all. Since 90% of the time I’m alone, it seems safer to me to get everything organized in a quiet, familiar place. And I put the bridle on in the trailer too, just before unloading. I won’t ship bridled because I once saw a very nice polo pony come off the trailer with a broken jaw from getting a bit hung up. But I also witnessed a very nice eventing stallion run loose down a road next to a venue because he slipped the groom’s control in the process of taking off halter and bridling outside of the trailer.
I may be jinxing myself but in over 40 years of doing it this way I haven’t had any issues. (Must go knock wood and cross fingers!)
I used to do it when we had a stock trailer, especially if it was raining where we were meeting. No issues. I would never trailer with a bridle (I want them to munch on hay!) but did tack up everything but the bridle and load them in… but now I have a brand new Stubben Zaria and there is no way I am loading it up in there for my horse to ruin :lol:
There is definitely a safety aspect that needs to be considered; I had good luck in the past throwing a lightweight cooler or scrim sheet over the saddle/tack so the stirrups and girth do not get caught on anything.
I have seen a few times horses get the stirrups caught on something on the way out; once I even witnessed a horse try to panic on the way out on a slant and put a fresh rip on the seat of the saddle. I would not do it with a horse who does not travel perfectly, and would not do it in a slant… I don’t know if I would do it in a straight either, seems too much could go wrong.
Thanks for all the feedback, guys.
I don’t think I would trailer with the bridle on, I was just thinking I could groom and saddle at home. It’s no big deal to throw the bridle on after we get there, I’d rather he wear his head bumper with halter for the ride. He is coming up on 19 years old this April, and an OTTB - he loads/unloads and hauls like a proper old veteran and doesn’t act like a dingbat in new places. A cover or sheet is good to throw over the top.
Sounds like we will give it a try this weekend and see how it goes. I suppose I could also tack up in the barn we haul to, but I don’t really want to occupy a grooming spot and have to trek back and forth bringing in/out all my gear.
I used to do it occasionally, but stopped when our pony broke the saddle 
He is 12 hands, and for whatever reason, he decided to pick that day as the first (and last) time he ever attempted to back out under the butt bar. He went under but the saddle went over, then he panicked when he got stuck. It broke the canvas strap where the billets connect to the saddle. It was way up as far as the seat, and the saddle was pretty old, so it did not seem worthwhile to try to have it fixed.
That was probably 5-6 years ago and I haven’t tried it since. Obviously that scenario is way less likely with a horse-sized horse. I might try it again someday, but tacking up at home is really not any easier than tacking up once there for me.
I do it for the same situation you describe. As soon as the weather gets cold and wet, I tack up at home and haul to my lessons. Before my guy was used to coming and going to lessons, clinics, and shows (he’s off the track), I would tack him up and haul him tacked up, too. I haul by myself, and until he figured out it was all no big deal, it was just easier to deal with one issue at a time. I could deal with his anxiety without having to deal with anxiety AND having to tack up while he was airborn.
I’ve never had trouble doing it. I have a thick fleece with a surcingle that is too big for him, and it works perfectly over his saddle.
I do it for short trips (I probably wouldn’t do more than ~20mins, but that’s sort of arbitrary), I put on the saddle with cover and boots if I’m using them. I also often bridle in the trailer before unloading. I usually untack before coming home, but that’s usually due to having a sweaty horse since I don’t travel much except in the summer.
I have trailered around a half hour or so with a tacked up horse minus the bridle with no issues. If you are concerned why don’t you just tack him up in the trailer since you are using it as a box stall?
[QUOTE=Mango20;8967313]
That was probably 5-6 years ago and I haven’t tried it since. Obviously that scenario is way less likely with a horse-sized horse. I might try it again someday, but tacking up at home is really not any easier than tacking up once there for me.[/QUOTE]
No worries there, my trailer does not have butt bars. It had chains, but they have been removed since we re-configured the door latching system. It doesn’t have mangers, either, so it truly is a box stall. I call it his 1-horse luxury suite.
I always travel with the saddle on, girth snug but not tight. I personally don’t travel with a bridle, as I like my horse to eat and not get the bit dirty before hunting 
I have only ever heard of one horror story, and I doubt the outcome would have been different without the saddle. A horse tried to go underneath the chest bar, and got hung up. Saddle was cut off, and there was significant damage to the trailer and horse. Who knows, perhaps the saddle even helped stop the horse from trying to escape further.
I’d do it, and have already thought I might want to begin doing so when I go haul out to trail ride. I’d probably untack after the ride, as I would want to sponge/hose them off, offer them a drink, etc., to cool down, but I don’t have your rainy climate to worry about.
My horses load/haul/unload very well, and my combo stock trailer (which is lined with Rhino lining, like pickup truck bed liners) has absolutely nothing on which they could get caught.
Not uncommon to see cowboys hauling tacked-up horses around here, either.
