A Near Miss

[Sparklet]

Off to a competition yesterday - pulled lorry out and spotted a bit of flaking paint half way up the ramp. Investigated and my finger when through

The ramp is covered in that liquid rubber stuff and it had disguised the condition of the wood underneath and I must admit I had thought the outside of the ramp was lined in metal but obviously not.

My friend (who I share lorry with) had used it on Mon for a lesson. Only reason her boy had not gone through is because the damaged section was against the part of the metal frame and he must have had his foot across that.

Dead relieved that neither her boy or my girl were hurt but it does show how important it is to have a good poke about on a regular basis looking for damage.

 

[Super_Kat]

Sheesh, scary thought

kat
xx

 

[PiebaldHorse]

I remember my dad telling me about a while ago, there was a case of a guy pulling a large double horse box, the floor must have been rotten as it gave way, the driver didnt know and continued to drive, the drive behind (my fathers friend) managed to stop him.

However it was too late for the horses, he later found out that they were class A jumpers - ouch.

I guess it doesnt matter if its an international jumper or a family pet, would be horrible to happen at all

 

[MagicMelon]

Yeah Ive heard of a horses hind leg falling through the flooring in a trailer mid journey. They didnt know til they got there and found the horses leg had been dragged underneath. It was PTS immediately. It was a kids pony going to a little fun show too. Awful. ALWAYS CHECK RAMPS / FLOORING ETC.!!!!!

 

[miss_bird]

You had a very lucky escape and is a good reminder to all of us, as i am sure most of us tend to load and go and only check as the beginning of the season

 

[Ferdinase514]

When I bought my truck I had a REALLY good poke aroung and found the floor in the horse area was rotten, had it replaced. Lady who sold it to me had been hapily driving her SJ around oblivious.

 

[PeterNatt]

Although most ramps are a combination of wood and metal the metal is normally very thin aluminium so would not support a horse. Ramps normally need replacing about every 3 years depending on how the vehicle is stored/used. When they replace the ramp make sure that they seal the joint of the wood with aluminium with silicon all the way round to stop water etc penetrating in the interface between them. If this is not done then the wood will become wet and rot more quickly.

 

[Ferdinase514]

Oh yes....SEAL EVERYTHING!

Am constantly looking for leaks around windows etc. Is vry quick to fix but causes so much damage if left.

 

[Happy Horse]

Definitely check floors and ramps. When I worked at the equine hospital we had two horses brough in who's legs had gone through the rotten floor. Neither survived.