We started out with a two horse straight load
bumper pull, xtra tall ,xtra wide Circle J. This worked well for us for
several years, but as our herd grew we needed to go to a larger trailer.
We kept the bp for emergency use. I have one horse that has trouble
in the straight load. She could not ride on the drivers side of the
trailer, she scrambled around and one time I found her stuffed into the
manger up to her elbows! So we started putting her on the right side and
that solved the problem.
We have a goose neck stock trailer which is
primarily used for our cattle, but we have used it for the horses. I don't
recommend it for long hauls as it is very rough riding.
3 years ago we bought a 3 horse gn slant load Exiss
and I love it. We didn't get the living quarters one, but we camp in it
anyway. The horses ride and load in it great, it pulls very nice and we
got one with a lot of opions:emergency front stall door, sliding vented
windows on the right side, mats, drop down doors with bars and screens, bag
feeders and it has the removable tack room bar that can go in the back or be
moved to the front. I love it and I think the horses appreciate the room
and nice ride. I notice when I go to a show that my horse is a lot more
rested and relaxed when we use the big trailer.
We tie our horses in, but only really do that to keep the horses from
trying to "visit" over the dividers. They can't really visit in the
big trailer but in the two horse trailer I would have one horse that would
scrunch herself up just so she could swing her head and neck over the divider
and that always scared me. She is a big horse and I don't know how she did
it, but she is also the one who smushed herself in the manger. By the way,
she rides beautifully in the big trailer...no problems.
Good luck with your search for the perfect trailer
for your needs. It took us about 6 months of research and lots of looking
before we settled on ours.
What is the latest thoughts on
trailering horses? Straight load, slant load, reverse load, reverse
slant, open stock - tied, not tied. I'm thinking that the
suspension on the trailer has as much to do with horse comfort as
anything.
Experiences, input are welcome, especially regarding
having your horse arrive at a ride in good shape and ready to go after
300-500 miles or more, some of which is paved, but somewhat rough
road. We're considering a new, high quality trailer (read
$$$$$) with divided open stock sections. However, adding slant
horse dividers is an option as well if there is a compelling reason to do
so. Does it just depend on the horse? Or is there
more? Thanks in advance,
