Advice for towing horses?!

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XxCoriexX

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Hi All!

I have passed my trailer test and the lovely trailer is due to arrive next week or the week after! I will admit I am a mix of excited and nervous! My mare isn't the best at going round corners and tends to make a lot of noise in the back! So with that in mind I would like to ask

What is some advice you wish someone had given you when you first learned to tow? I know all the basics but from personal experience what have you learned?



thanks
Sarah
 
WHy don't you get whoever gave you the tuition to pass the trailer test to give you tuition on the best way to drive with your horse on board? THen they can point out any issues as they occur.
 
I learned how important it is to drive carefully when towing, by being transported to PC rallies in the back of a trailer! I'm sure that this was illegal even back in the 1970s, but it was very revealing! A friend's dad used to give us lifts, but he only had a tractor to tow with :), so it was in with the horses or nothing, up hill and down dale in deepest Devon.

Is your mare used to travelling in the brand of trailer that you have just purchased? Do you know if she is happiest with or without a partition?

Get a CCTV system and have a passenger to monitor it, so you will know how your mare is travelling. (I have a Trailer vision system, and I wouldn't ever travel without it now.)
 
Don't accelerate out of corners or roundabouts until the trailer is completely straight. Smooth changes are your horse's friend, or better still an automatic tow car.

Check everything before you leave, then before you pull out onto the highway jump out and check everything again.
 
Turning, braking and accelerating must be smooth and gradual. Go out a few times without the horse, put a bucket of water on the floor of the box and try not to spill any! If you find you have a number of cars behind you, pull over somewhere convenient and let them pass, as it's much less stressful than feeling hassled by the idiot driving too close behind. If you feel flustered, don't be afraid to pull off the road for five minutes (horse permitting!) and take your time. If you're going out somewhere, get everything organised the night before so you are not worrying and can concentrate on driving. Leave plenty of time to get where you are going.

Basically, relax and practice practice practice! With reversing, I find it easier to think of steering in the direction I don't want to go, so I want to go right, not left, so I steer left. Sounds odd, but it works for me..

Plan ahead when you are driving, look out for potholes and drains and try to avoid driving over them. Be especially careful on roundabouts too.
 
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Re potholes etc ... remember that your trailer wheels may not be following the same path as your vehicle wheels

Do you know anyone else nearby who tows horses and can go out as a passenger with them a couple of times?

Maybe take their horse and yours as well as sharing the driving if at all possible = IDEA?
 
Can you get someone to come in the car with you who is experienced with towing horses? Lots and lots of practice especially with reversing.
 
Long slow braking, give yourself plenty of space between cars, just don't do anything in a hurry, you have another life on board who can't tell you they are unhappy unless they create a physical fuss!!
 
Hi everyone thanks for all your advice! I was totally fine about it until people started telling me horrow stories about trailer unhitching and rolling over etc! my mare is very noisy round corners so isn't the best to have as your first time horse haha!

I take you advice and see if someone will come out with me!

not sure im brave enough to take someone elses yet!

xx
 
I think everyone should go in the back of the trailer themselves (minus the horse obviously) to really feel what the horse feels. It makes you drive very carefully! OP, have you tried taking the back section of your partition out? Ive had two horses who started to "fall" going round corners, as if they lost their balance (just heard crashing about), as soon as we took the back section out they travelled beautifully. I still have one of them, and I totally forgot to take out the back bit last time I travelled him so he was banging about like hell round every single corner until I remembered, took it out and silent as a lamb for the rest of the way!
 
One bit of advice I was given when I got my first trailer was to assume every green traffic light might change so approach slowly. If it turns to Amber as you're approaching you are not going to want to slam on your brakes and if you keep on going your trailer may go through on red (woman who told me this got fined!)
 
To tow a horse you need to be smooth & steady. Extend you view, look further ahead that you possibly would normally. When you see a junction or island etc in the distance prepare for it. Brake smoothly, get into your lane early, change gear smoothly. When going around a bend have the correct gear, don't roll around the corner take it under power. I'm not talking accelerating I mean under drive so that the car & the trailer sits nice & level & doesn't wobble around the corner. The horse will feel more level & comfortable. The more you go out the more confident you should become, but don't become over confident, take your time & you should be fine. :)
 
Find out WHY your mare is having difficulty on corners!

Either the driver is going too fast and you need to investigate at what speed she is quiet at! If at all

If she is not standing still then you may need to take the partition out

For practise do put a bucket of water in the back or indeed stand in the back (cctv needed) and actually feed what your horse feel!

I would as others have suggested go back out with the person who taught you with the horse on board when you can deal with the issues as they occur

i am sure it will be ok
 
I used to tow an Equi-Trek Star Treka triple axle trailer and my goodness you knew you had one of those behind you.....

Tips ... my advice is to always drive looking as far ahead as you can, to endeavour to pre-empt the need for braking too much. The change of a traffic light ahead for instance to change red should ALWAYS be assumed and thus get your foot off the gas well before you need to start braking....

Two, don't worry about those behind you, they can take care of themselves, concentrate on your role and the comfort, safety and security of your animals.....

Three, as said before here, take corners really slowly, this exerts the second most heavy inertia one the animals after braking.

Finally, use your drivers side mirror to try to keep your trailer's wheels on or just slightly off the centre white line (if there is one), that way the kerbside should take care of itself, but obviously do keep an eye on things on the left hand side as well.

I wish you all the luck and confidence in towing, very soon it will seem like second nature.....really it will.
 
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