bit odd - Using horse to pull trailer full of hay? Is it ok?

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Anna2015

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Moving to a new place soon. They have a load of bales of hay for their donkeys that are stacked right by their donkeys so with their hands and wheel barrow they feed... My horses stables are a good walk away ( a very good walk)

I looked at buying a cheap quad but really cant afford £2000 as I would then need a trailer which is a few hundred.

I need the bale moved from there passed by my stables into the next field as this will be used as their winter field. Once a week. The only idea I can think is a 4ft box trailer that people use camping. Is it possible to fill this with hay, buy a horse harness, connect her to the trailer then lead her in hand walking to the 2nd field? I have a 16hh 18 year old very well behaved TB mare and a 3 year old 14hh stocky native. If this would work which horse would be best to use or is this idea very stupid?

(Im not talking about loading the trailer with a full bale as I wouldn't even be able to get the bale in. I was thinking of opening it and filly the trailer and doing a few trips.)
 
Not that I know of... that's why im asking if its a silly idea. Thought just putting on a harness.. connect it to a trailer. Halter on horse and lead by hand?? Would this not work?
 
Is it a round bale? I have rolled bales a fair distance - they are OK once you get them going.

Unless the horse was used to driving then it would seem to be a recipe for an accident to me. I think I might resort to those large IKEA bags or a tarpaulin and just drag it.
 
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Yes the huge round ones. I did think rolling but the 2nd field is on a bit of a slop and I didn't want it picking up speed lol
 
You can break anything to harness, pretty much, but you need to do it before you hitch them to the trailer! Buy a cheap harness, bung it on, lead around for a bit then progress to long lines, then attach a tyre for them to pull so they get used to something 'chasing' them.
I can't see a conventional 'car' hitch working though, too dangerous IMO.
 
With a normal box trailer and horses that are not broken to harness (and unblinkered and unbitted), no that won't work. Well if it does you'll be very lucky.
 
damit.... They are going their tomorrow... so looks like its going to be me and my little old wheel barrow.. until I find another bright idea!
 
You could have a huge disaster on your hands! Even using an experienced driving horse it could go horribly wrong, if the trailer got moving forward a bit how would you stop it running into the horse with no shafts and britching. To think of using a horse not broken to drive makes me go cold, you and your horse will end up in one big mess!
 
Can't you get a farmer to move as many as you will need into winter field, put pallets down, tape off with electric from horses and more pallets on top (to let air circulate) then tarpaulin.
 
Holy crap don't do it! Breaking to drive takes a while, their base reaction to something dragging along behind them is to RUN. And they will run blindly until that thing is no longer dragging behind them. Could be very nasty.

Trying to think of an alternative but I've got nothing. Do you know anyone with a horsebox who could move it?
 
Anna2015 said:
I can when the farmer brings the next load but they already have 30 bales stacked for the donkeys
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If they need the 30 bales over the winter for their donkeys why dont you just order a load to be delivered directly to somewhere more convenient for your own use, otherwise get a trailer put a tow bar on your vehicle or get a friend with a landrover or similar and move it that way, no horses need to be involved, the idea of trying to get a horse to pull it doesn't bear thinking about.
 
Hi, I've been working for a while with my cob to do a similar thing. We finally have a harness, and last night he dragged one feed sack of hay in a dumpy bag to the field - success!

However, in your situation, I think I'd be inclined to invest the couple of hundred quid it would cost you for a harness and 2nd hand box trailer in a large, tipping wheelbarrow, or as someone else suggested, a motorised wheel barrow. Seems like it would be a lot less time and effort - especially in winter when your horse is covered in wet mud and you take an hour getting him clean enough to harness and then harness him!
 
OMG NO! Absolute disaster - do not just hitch up an untrained horse to a trailer! It's not a bad initial idea you have, actually. It's just very poorly planned, the horse needs to be trained and you need a suitable vehicle - you cannot attach a car trailer straight to your untrained horse.

If you really want to do this then you will have to train your horse to drive. As per the setup you will need a normal trap, and what some peope do is attach a towbar to the trap so that you can attach a trailer behind that. This enables you to drive the horse as normal and carry the hay behind.
 
Just buy a few round bales from the farmer, have them delivered to your field, and leave the donkey's 30bales where they are. I really hope this is a joke, no one can be this mindlessly stupid.
 
If you get one of those builders bags from a builders merchants that half a tonne of aggregate comes in - you can buy them empty for about a tenner I think - you can stack it with hay on top of a normal wheelbarrow and take down about 3 to 4 slices plus in one go (this is what we can fit in from a square bale). So as you have to walk to the field anyway to see to your horses, and it's down hill I can't think it'd be much extra effort? Just make sure your wheelbarrow tyre is pumped up and it's easy.
 
Builders' bags, green waste bags, tarpaulin, wheelbarrow (motorised or not) - any of these options, but not an untrained horse and handler.
 
Great idea !! Get your self and horse trained, get a good two wheeled cart the right tack. Charge others for hay delivery, horse drawn poo pick, weekly shopping, other peoples weekly shopping, kids to school, drunks from pub ,or to pub if banned, go for it i can see this idea has legs !
 
I'm another who's wondering if this a serious thread or not........... :(

I sincerely hope that it IS a mickey take TBH because if OP IS serious then there could be a mega disaster just waiting to happen.

Firstly, if you are intending to drive any horse or pony, then they need to have been trained for this purpose. Even the most placid of horses is liable to go crazy if suddenly put between shafts and has something trundling along behind it; their natural reaction would be to run away from the encumbrance, which could be VERY dangerous indeed (obviously).

The other danger is the suitability of the vehicle; my understanding is that this would be an ordinary vehicular trailer with a ball and socket hitch??? In that case it would be TOTALLY UNSUITABLE to hitch up to a horse - the first and most obvious thing being that shafts would need to be built-in to enable the horse to tow it!!! Secondly there is the whole issue of whether the trailer would be safe anyway; imagine a scenario where the horse is pulling it, and the outfit are going down a slope, say, and the weight of the bale (and they are HEAVY), starts to basically push the horse down the hill away from itself! How dangerous is that going to be!!

OP: if you are serious about this idea then you need to get your horse broken to drive. Personally I'd be inclined to get hold of someone in your local British Driving Society who will be only too pleased to either come out and get you started themselves, or recommend someone who can help you. You will need to start your horse with groundwork, i.e. long reining, in the first instance, then progress to pulling a tyre, then, if all goes well, in a safe space such as an arena - and with a helper - hitch up. But you cannot rush this process and if you do you could be putting your life at risk basically, and risking serious injury, or worse, to your horse. It really is something that has to be done properly and I personally would recommend that if you are considering this it would be a good idea to either send your horse away to an expert to have the job done properly, or get them to come and work alongside you.

On a positive note: you could have a lot of fun if you DO put your horse in harness - it will increase their saleability value by a huge amount plus often for ponies or horses that for whatever reason need a change of use, it provides the ideal opportunity for them. Also you might find that family/OH become more interested and its something everyone can join in with.
 
I'm confused. Are some of the 30 bales already earmarked for you or are you going to buy the from the YO?
If they're already earmarked, I'd pay local farmer to move them for you by tractor. If not, just buy your own and get them delivered straight to your field. Get some pallets and a tarpaulin (or buy haylage as it's easier to store) and fence it off.
 
Sounds daft but when we used to need to move largish quantities of hay around (had 4 horses in a field half a mile away from the barn!) we used to fill an old king size duvet cover and use that to drag the hay about.

Surprisingly light and you can't get loads in!

Probably a lot less dangerous that surprise breaking your horse to drive tbh!
 
Get yourself a hay knife, cut the bale at 12 o'clock to centre of bale, lift off leaves and transport with your wheel barrow. Simple!

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