3 horse lorry. How much space needed for 3 16.2hh horses in comfort?

[charliebo]

Thinking of adding living to my basic horsebox. At the moment it has a tack area and room for 3 large 17hh horses or 4 ponies (comfortably). If I were to encroach on the horse space to create a bigger living space, what would be the minimum space needed for 3 16.2HH horses (in comfort)?

 

[ecrozier]

I was told between 3' and 4' per horse....but weight is more of an issue then space I would think?

 

[MandyMoo]

i thought it was 3.5ft per horse, 3ft at the very least - but the horses comfort is more important than a nice big living! lol xx

 

[ecrozier]

Yep Mandymoo that rings a bell actually - minimum 3'0, ideally 3'6. That was what I was told by a horsebox builder.

 

[flyingfeet]

I made mine 3ft2" and have a 9ft 6" horse area

Although my lorry came in too heavy so will never be able to carry 3 16.2hh's

 

[ecrozier]

CotswoldSJ, you built on a DAF LF didn't you? Do you mind me asking what length your living is? We looked at a few options and I am keen to go with 12' horses 8' living or thereabouts, OH wants 11' living 9' horses!! If we build we may go on the 10t chassis but just wondered what split you had decided on for yours?

 

[henryhorn]

Our living area is 6 feet and pretty tight especially if you need to sleep overnight.
I would go for your option rather than his...
One tip the caravan people use to stay under weight is don't put an oven in the living part, they weigh quite a lot.
We don't carry three big horses anymore having discovered with our water tank full we are likely to be just over the weight with three.
Ours is a DAF and unladen the weight was 5.5 tons. By the time you add the weight of people (yes they count!) horses, tack/rugs/water etc you really struggle to stay under 7.5 tons.

 

[flyingfeet]

I got a long wheel base DAF and made sure the middle horse would be dead centre over the back axel.

The living area worked out at a 6ft bench plus 700mm cubicle, so living is around 2.5m (8ft 2" ish). The horses got 9ft 6" , total box length is a shade under 18ft

I don't consider the living small, as it can seat 5 people (three on bench and two on cut through seat)

 

[ecrozier]

Interesting thanks guys! Because I am HGV qualified we will most likely go for 10 or even 12t so weight shouldn't be an issue, but HH that is interesting, sounds like minimum 8' to be comfortable, we do want to be able to stay overnight, not all the time but often enough for it to be important! So maybe we compromise and end up going 11' horses 9' living or thereabouts - not enormously bothered about full length of vehicle as long as stays under about 26ft, current one is 24ft and fits everywhere I need to go!
Sorry to hijack post op!

 

[charliebo]

Think I may have to sell a horse! Was thinking 11' horse area and 7' living with sink, hob, seat and bed in luton.