Loose horses in stock trailers here all tend to stand at a slight slant, head and so front end to the left, butt to the right.
One or more, even packed in there, that is how they choose to ride.
Letting the horses tell us, well, that is their answer.
[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 
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.[/QUOTE]
i miss my stock daily - one thing i always noticed when i stopped to get gas or unload them… they would be turned around, facing the end of the trailer - if you were at the ramp looking towards them, their shoulders would be on the right side of the trailer and their hindquarters always slanted to the left.
i never figured out why, but all of them did that. guess it was easier to withstand the bumps in the road that way? they never faced forward (in the direction the trailer was going), ever.
Horses new to trailering will turn around in a stock trailer and face backwards because that is how they will exit the trailer, where the gate is.
We train horses to not turn around, but back out of the trailer, that is why they stand looking forward, but do stand sideways, butt to the right.
Make a trailer with the entrance and exit in the middle or front, closed in behind and I expect horses will choose to stand looking forward.
[QUOTE=Bluey;8623759]
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.[/QUOTE]
I was taught the same but a year ago or so my older guy started scrambling really badly on right turns, no matter how slow I went, and moving him to the right side of the trailer resolved it completely. Horses, always trying to disrupt our plans…
I was told from childhood to put the heaviest horse, or if only one horse, on the left side of the trailer. To assist with not having the trailer go off of the road back in the day of trailers with less stability than the trailers that we have now. With a a slant, it’s not an issue.
[QUOTE=Bluey;8624345]
Horses new to trailering will turn around in a stock trailer and face backwards because that is how they will exit the trailer, where the gate is.
We train horses to not turn around, but back out of the trailer, that is why they stand looking forward, but do stand sideways, butt to the right.
Make a trailer with the entrance and exit in the middle or front, closed in behind and I expect horses will choose to stand looking forward.[/QUOTE]
except none of mine were new to trailering… all OTTBs, successful ones too, and then used daily for PC meets/lessons trailering off farm at least 1-4x a week… they never, ever faced the direction we were going. ages 3-22, all used to trailering and all good travelers. i’m a pretty cautious and experienced driver, but they did it no matter who was driving so i don’t think it was piloting errors :winkgrin:
it is easier, i think, for them to balance when facing backwards if you brake suddenly. brake suddenly while they’re facing forward (direction you’re travelling) and they’re more likely to flip or stumble forward.
[QUOTE=beowulf;8624340]
i miss my stock daily - one thing i always noticed when i stopped to get gas or unload them… they would be turned around, facing the end of the trailer - if you were at the ramp looking towards them, their shoulders would be on the right side of the trailer and their hindquarters always slanted to the left.
i never figured out why, but all of them did that. guess it was easier to withstand the bumps in the road that way? they never faced forward (in the direction the trailer was going), ever.[/QUOTE]
Maybe for the same reason when standing in a windy paddock/field they don’t like/want the wind in their face.
Wonder if they turn around to take a pee?
My favorite old horseman always told me to put a single horse in a straight load on the left. He said the same stuff about crown of the road, etc. But he said that to him the more important point was that if you accidentally put a tire off of the right side of the road (which is, of course, the only side you can do that on here in the US) you’re more likely to be able to correct and not get sucked off the road if you have the horse on the left side. I can’t think of a time I’ve been driving at high enough speeds on a road without a decent shoulder (or multiple lanes) where that situation is a real possibility, but I always stuck to the rule with that thought in mind.
Interesting ideas either way! I may move her over to the left since I’m paranoid about dipping off the edge.
I posted pictures of how I have my divider configured to give her more room and half the posts told me I was going to die a certain death with her on the right and the other half told me to sell my trailer and get a different one!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/20892581@N04/25880775924/in/dateposted-public/
Driving in Missouri I pity the horse on the right. The dang rumble sfrip is always inside the white line. ALWAYS.
[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]
My big guy, I have always hauled on the right side for these reasons.
I have a 2 horse straight load gooseneck pulled by a 3/4 ton Diesel. If hauling on one side or the other is going to put me in the ditch, then I don’t deserve to drive.
I was in a near head on with my rig. I was able to get enough out of the way that the oncoming car hit the left side of my trailer. FORTUNATELY my horse was on the right side. Shook up. Needed chiro afterwards. But car didn’t hit him.
[QUOTE=mjhco;8624517]
My big guy, I have always hauled on the right side for these reasons.
I have a 2 horse straight load gooseneck pulled by a 3/4 ton Diesel. If hauling on one side or the other is going to put me in the ditch, then I don’t deserve to drive.
I was in a near head on with my rig. I was able to get enough out of the way that the oncoming car hit the left side of my trailer. FORTUNATELY my horse was on the right side. Shook up. Needed chiro afterwards. But car didn’t hit him.[/QUOTE]
Thank goodness you were both ok! I’m getting to be fairly terrified of driving in general, regardless of whether or not I’m pulling a trailer. Several times now I’ve had to swerve off the road to avoid a head on crash (were they texting???) and about a month ago, we had a driver come up behind us so fast he almost rear ended the trailer. He swerved at the last second to go around, rolled his car, and was killed when he was ejected from his vehicle. His rolling vehicle PASSED US (we were doing about 55) in the oncoming lane (thank god no one was coming towards us!). The police estimated he was going around 100mph. How we didn’t get hit is a miracle we still ponder. Drivers are so careless - it’s scary just going to the grocery store some days!
I normally put a single horse on the left or a heavier horse on the left. However, I frequently load my horse first and then go pick up a friend’s horse. The friend’s horse is a good bit taller and heavier than my horse. The first couple of times I would load my horse on the left, unload at friend’s and reload on the right then load friend’s horse.
Now I just load my horse on the right so part of the ride there is no horse on the left. However the trip between my barn and friend’s barn is pretty flat, mostly with shoulders and not to heavily crowned.
I have loaded poor loaders on the right if that is the side I can get them on for that trip. In the long run I want to teach them to load on either side but will take what I can get.
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