I posted a picture of my trailer set up and some random internet stranger said I needed to load my horse on the left side because I’d end up in a ditch otherwise. Thoughts?
Right now I load her on the right because the escape door is on that side but the divider is swung over so she actually rides on a slant. It’s a 2 horse straight load.
I’m very curious to find out the answer to this. I’m currently looking at a trailer that is an “either load” offering the option of a standard forward facing slant, OR a rear facing slant,meaning their heads would be on the right side of the trailer.
Generally you want the horse on the left in a two horse trailer because roads crown in the middle, so you are putting it in the higher side, for better balance, less fishtailing chances if you have to swerve when driving down the road.
When trailering one (on a two horse straight load) I load them on the left, when I have two - the heavier on the left.
Having the heavier part of your load closer to the center of the road is likely safer, have just always trailered this way.
Left
But wouldn’t that also send me into the traffic in the left lane or the wall? If I’m worried about ending up in a ditch to the right wouldn’t the same thing happen only with the retaining wall?
Also, does it matter if she’s riding on a slant?
In a slant, you want them facing left (head on left side) because a horse’s center of balance/weight is primarily on their front legs.
As Bluey said, roads are crowned, meaning the horse riding on the left won’t send you into traffic, just keep the trailer centered on the road.
OK! I’ll see if she’ll load on the left.
Left if alone and if with another horse then the heavier horse goes on the left like others have said. I work in engineering and we crown the roads in the middle (centerline) so there is a downward slope off to the right shoulder. So if the trailer breaks free and the single horse is on the right it’s going send the trailer off the edge of the road.
I was told by the Hawk dealer when I bought my new trailer last spring that it doesn’t matter on the new trailers. They are balanced to carry the load on either side just as well (I believe older trailers are balanced to have the horse on the left side). She recommended loading a single horse on the right side for two reasons. 1 - people pass on the left so it’s not as stressful for the horse to see/hear the cars rushing past and 2 - if there is an emergency and I have to unload the horse, it’s more likely I’ll be pulled over on the right side shoulder. So the horse and humans will be further off the road and in a safer position to unload.
[QUOTE=Tiffani B;8624038]
I was told by the Hawk dealer when I bought my new trailer last spring that it doesn’t matter on the new trailers. They are balanced to carry the load on either side just as well (I believe older trailers are balanced to have the horse on the left side). She recommended loading a single horse on the right side for two reasons. 1 - people pass on the left so it’s not as stressful for the horse to see/hear the cars rushing past and 2 - if there is an emergency and I have to unload the horse, it’s more likely I’ll be pulled over on the right side shoulder. So the horse and humans will be further off the road and in a safer position to unload.[/QUOTE]
I always load my horse on the right side for the same reasons
On the left. I learned to do this just in case you hang a wheel off the edge of the road.
lol, this debated on been going on for as long as I can remember. Had it just recently when I loaded a horse on the right side. Some I load on the right for the same reasons already given. Especially when using the Interstate. Trucks whipping by can startle the crap out of some horses. Newbies especially. For me it depends on the horse
As a rule I load a single horse on the left. Why, for the same reason just about all people do. That’s the way we were taught and or saw. If 100 trailer people were asked why we load a single horse on the left side as a rule. Maybe hand full will be able to give some sort of reason/s. The rest will say because that is they way were were taught and or have always seen.
Yes, roads are crowned but the vast majority it is very slight and hardly noticeable. As far as better balance for the horse I don’t see what difference it makes if the horse is on the “high” side or the “low” side if you think about it. I don’t use slant load trailers.
I would be interested to read/see the detailed specs for a trailer’s suspension as to how it is “engineered” to compensate for the “crown”. Load or unloaded all of the trailers I have looked at from behind on level ground look the same. Can it be done sure but it seems to me it would add a lot of expense and be more involved than just adding a “bit more” to the left suspension.
“So if the trailer breaks free and the single horse is on the right it’s going send the trailer off the edge of the road”
Wouldn’t this be better than into on coming traffic?
If a trailer “breaks free” no matter what side the horse is on it is not going to end up well. Do trailers break free, I would think some have. But I would bet 99.9% never do. I can live with those odds and drive trailer a single horse on the right side completely worry free. Well, not completely, my dear departed mother in heaven above would be shouting down to me, Larry how many times did I tell you how to load a horse???
IMO OP do as you want. Just be prepared for people to give you crap about it.
This would be an excellent question to give to Myth Busters.
Thanks Gumtree! I’ll make up my mind.
I posted pictures of my conversion and got no helpful advice on that but lots and lots of lectures about how I was in imminent danger with my horse loaded on the right.
I wasn’t sure if there was an actual reason or if it was one of those old wives tales people pass down.
For the record, my trailer is a 1982 but it doesn’t appear to be balanced in one direction or the other.
Anytime I hear this conversation, I love to toss in “Well, what about stock trailers?” because in a stock, the horse can position themselves however they darn well please. And no horse has ever stayed on left because I asked them too 
Of the few horses I transported in a open stock trailer, one leaned against the right wall for balance, one positioned herself against the front wall, the other stood smack in the middle. None of it made a difference in how the trailer pulled.
I’ve trailered with horses on both sides, and found very little difference, for what it’s worth.
This debate is kind of like the “do you feed horses grain before riding?” debate. You always get people who dogpile you with safety lectures.
I think if your horse loads fine on the right, and stands quietly and happily while moving, put her on the right. No need to change things and potentially get a horse who shifts around a lot because she’s nervous about the extra noise.
You load on the left because many/most roads are crowned in the center and slope off toward the outside (for water run-off).
If you load the horse on the right then you are putting weight on the side that is already a small amount lower and the trailer is (slightly) more likely to tip to the right around corners, etc.
A horse on the left counterbalances the cant of the road and makes the trailer better balanced.
ETA: I see that others have already answered the “crown of the road” reason. So just add me to that number who were taught that and still believe it. I wince when I see a single horse on the right side.
The high side (closest to the middle of the road) L/R depends on where you live !
[QUOTE=Abbie.S;8624199]
Anytime I hear this conversation, I love to toss in “Well, what about stock trailers?” because in a stock, the horse can position themselves however they darn well please. And no horse has ever stayed on left because I asked them too :)[/QUOTE]
My old QH stood dead center, butt against the front wall, facing backwards :). He’d share his ride with other horses, no problem, but this was his favorite, solo method. He was older than me, I figured he knew best :winkgrin:
[QUOTE=Lord Helpus;8624206]
You load on the left because many/most roads are crowned in the center and slope off toward the outside (for water run-off).
If you load the horse on the right then you are putting weight on the side that is already a small amount lower and the trailer is (slightly) more likely to tip to the right around corners, etc.
A horse on the left counterbalances the cant of the road and makes the trailer better balanced.
ETA: I see that others have already answered the “crown of the road” reason. So just add me to that number who were taught that and still believe it. I wince when I see a single horse on the right side.[/QUOTE]
yes, the “crown” reason has been given and has received a lot of fan fair. But is a case of perception trumps reality. Most secondary roads have little to no crown. Most roads in country/rural areas fall below “secondary” roads and are lucky to be level. Crowning is expensive to engineer and build.
Interstate highways are “crowned” but they are multi-laned and the cant is ever so slight on the majority of them. Hardly enough to make any difference to how a horse is balanced in a trailer nor would it have much if any effect on how the trailer tracks.
I’ve driven rigs with a trailer cam in them. On the highway and good secondary roads the horse is standing not much different than if it was standing in a stall. So IMO and observation the " counterbalance" theory doesn’t hold water.
I have helped load tractor-trailers and they are not loaded with the heavier stuff on the left. But I have not done this as a “job” just an observation. There maybe times when the weight and type of things being loaded is taken into account by the load master.
Most turns are banked some more than others. So I don’t see how what side of the trailer a horse is put on has any effect on this. If a horse is loaded on the right side and the turn is to the right the horse will be on the “low side” turn to the left and the horse will be on the “high side”.
People can believe what they want, load a single horse the way they perceive it to be the most “safe”. But it is not unsafe to load a single horse on the right. Considering all of the “safety stickers” that lawyers require companies to put on just about everything it seems to me that every trailer would have a BIG safety sticker on the tailgate or inside saying “Load a Single Horse on the Left ONLY”.
All that being said I am the first to admit it feels awkward/uncomfortable to load a single horse on the right. ONLY because that is the way it was drummed into me.
The same as not allowing a horse after heavy training to drink as much water as it wants because it will tie-up, colic. This was disproven a long time ago. But I can still hear my mother/trainers yelling, "Larry don’t let that horse drinks so much he’ll tie-up/colic and may die. The vet bill will come out of your paycheck.
My older horse began having issues in the trailer about 7-8 years ago when hauled on the left. He would scramble in the turns. We switched him to the right side and he hauls just fine now. I never had any issues with having just one horse on the right side, although like many of you, I was taught that a single horse should go on the left. I hauled him alone for several years without problems; now I have a second horse that goes places and usually they are together, so it’s no longer an issue!
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