Ridecamp: Re: [RC] trailer preferences: stock or 'horse' trailer

Horses learn to "use" the partitions in a horse trailer for support.
Once they relax and become accustomed to the particular trailer you are
using, be it straight load or slant load, the partitions make it much
easier for them to keep their balance. They lean against the partitions
and the front of the stall on curves and stops which allows them to keep
their balance without moving their feet. 

Ride in the back of a slant load sometime with an experienced horse for
a few miles and observe how he handles curves and stops.

Except in an emergency, I will not haul my horse in a stock trailer with
other horses unless it has partitions. Shipping boots or equivalent leg
wraps and foot protection are a good idea in stock trailers.

Stock trailers ARE cooler....but there are ways to add additional
cooling to a horse trailer such as enlarging the overhead vents if you
pull a lot in an extremely hot climate. Consider a slant load with
window guards so you can travel with the drop down doors down. You can
also make window guards from stall guards if your trailer is not
equipped with them.


Jim, Sun of Dimanche, and Mahada Magic


"Snodgrass, Bonnie" wrote:
> 
> I've seen too many horses fall down in stock trailers and the drivers
> frequently don't even know it happened. There is nothing  to stop a horse
> from staggering around the interior of a stock trailer, that doesn't have
> slant dividers, until they come up against the sides.


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