Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Hello Susan & Jerry,
I do not think there are any safety issues having horses ride backwards.
Every time I have hauled a horse (3-4 different horses) loose in a stock
trailer they always turn around and ride backwards. I always put the most
nervous horse in last on a slant load because it usually has more room
and no close wall for him to scramble against. Put the problem guy in
last and lock the back then turn him loose and let him chose. You might
get in the trailer by yourself and have someone give you a ride to see if
there is something going wrong with the trailer, also pull up the mats
and check the floor with a sledge hammer. I used a stock trailer one day
that had a big piece of loose rubber mat on the rear wall. It looked fine
until I parked on a steep slant to hose it out and the rubber swung away
from the wall. Maybe the horse box is filling up with exhaust? Seems kind
of strange after 9 years, did you get a new truck and change driving
habits like 75mph now instead of 55 like before or add some portable
panels to the trailer that are making a lot of noise?  Good
Luck,
Don Huston


At 07:40 PM 1/15/2006 Sunday, you wrote:
> I've read many articles how horses
> like riding in trailers backwards vs facing forwards. Just wondering if
> anyone who has a slant load ever loads their horses backwards or not or
> even if it's not recommended somehow due to safety issues. 
>  
> I'd like to try it with at least one
> of my guys who seems to be more and more nervous in my 3 HS load that
> he's ridden in for the past 9 years.