Breakdown recovery experiences?

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yethersgill

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Had a rather stressfull weekend, when horsebox broke down due to a dead fuel pump and ended up being recovered by our breakdown company.
Strange thing was we were not offered transport for the horse and she ended up being towed back home tilted in the horsebox!!!!!!

Is this normal?

Luckily she stayed calm about it all and came of the box just tired and stiff.

Anyone had a similar experience or is it more usual for horse
to be transported in another horsebox?

Thanks
 
I was recovered and insisted that they brought a box to take the horses home i wouldn’t allow them to tow with the horses still inside.

My policy stated it would send a box for the horses so i insisted that happened and i have an 18hh so they had to send a very big box.

Check your policy I wouldn’t be happy to have my horses towed home.
 
That doesn't seem right to me, we are insured with NFU, when horsebox broke down they sent on time to recover the box and a horsebox to take pony home.
 
Thats doesn't sound right? Who is your breakdown company and do you have specific policy to take the horses home?

I have car & trailer. My car would be covered by my normal RAC breakdown cover. I am looking at adding their "trailer assist" to this (that would take the horse and/or trailer home seperately)
 
I had an argument with Anthony Evans when they wanted to send a tow truck that would tilt the nose of my van up to 45 degrees, with the horse facing backwards... so his nose would have been pointing down to the ground, for a 2 hour journey. It took ages but eventually they sent a flatbed so that he could travel flat. They nearly refused and it would have cost me £500 for the flatbed, no way i was letting him travel at that angle. In fairness once we sorted it out they were very good and got us all home ok. Had to wait for about 2.5 hours while it was sorted out and then the truck was an hour away.
 
Thats interesting angela_l_b! As it is Antony Evans we are with
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we were asked if we had anything to sedate the horse with......... if this is normal for them I think we will have to look at NFU!

Thanks for your replies everyone
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Strange thing was we were not offered transport for the horse and she ended up being towed back home tilted in the horsebox!!!!!!



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i think you will find that it is illegal!??
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i'm with ESS..and that is the first thing asked if i'm ever in trouble..."do you have horses on board"?
 
I agree its not legal.I'm with KBIS and they always ask if you need transport for yourself and the horses,it must have been awful for you!
 
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hmmm I did wonder if it was legal to do that! When we reported the breakdown we did tell them there was one horse and two humans!

Have had a look on their website and although it does mention towing horsebox etc home there is nothing about separate transport for horses. Looks like we will be looking for another breakdown/recovery service!

Thanks again
 
Hmmm I'm glad your mare survived it ok. I am going to look at the small print later, as I am a bit worried that this is their policy! They did agree with me eventually but as i said, it took a bit of an argument. Thankfully I was safely parked by a nice yard where the people gave me tea and lent me a loo, and let me put my horse in one of their stables, and even said he could stay overnight if necessary (Rumer Stud in Warwickshire - they were fab) so if i had lost the argument I could have just got the van home and got the horse later. But i would hate to think of having that same problem and having to wait so long by the side of the motorway.
 
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That doesn't seem right to me, we are insured with NFU, when horsebox broke down they sent on time to recover the box and a horsebox to take pony home.

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I'm glad to hear this as I'm with the NFU and often wonder what the service is like
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I'm with Anthony Evans too - can you point me in the right direction as to where there is proof that this is illegal - don't doubt you - would just like to have something that I can keep in the box in case I'm ever in a towing situation
 
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I'm with Anthony Evans too - can you point me in the right direction as to where there is proof that this is illegal - don't doubt you - would just like to have something that I can keep in the box in case I'm ever in a towing situation

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i dont have proof..hence my use of question marks...

but the fact that this INS CO are condoning such a practice would make me look elsewhere so i wouldn't need proof personally..
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I have just spoken with them as obviously no body would accept this as safe recovery of their horse! The person I spoke to was quite surprised about what I said and gave me assurances that if I needed towing and had horses on board it would be towed flat.

I suspect they probably sub contract out recovery so thought having proof that horses can not be towed like this legally would be handy to keep in the box should the situation arise.

However I would be really interested to know if this company is just saying one thing when questioned and doing another when assistance is required
 
so they ARE saying that horses wont be removed from broken down vehicle.....i'm certainly glad i'm not with that particular INS CO.....

you can tow a trailer flat, yes, but certainly not a lorry..its front wheels need to be up for the towing vehicle to steer, and the half shaft needs to be removed for it to actually be towed..

if the above isn't done, then the vehicle has to be reverse towed..ie the rear wheels are lifted.
 
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was going to get the husband to phone later but you have beaten me to it! Thanks for doing it and reporting back
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I am pretty bludi horrified!

JM07, yes they did disconnect the drive shaft otherwise my mare would have been going backwards and downhill!
Was asked if we had anything to sedate my mare, so sounds like this particular driver had done this before
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Must stress the company have been fantastic for previous fixable breakdowns, but after experience of their recovery method we will be changing our breakdown cover!
 
To be fair to them it was how they would get you off the motorway if the box wasn't fixable - personally I would prefer that my box was towed off to a safe place to unload than on a busy road!

Also as I know a friend broke down and was towed home (three hour journey) I asked who she was with and it is NFU - so they tow with the horses in too. She was also towed flat
 
Just to add - it is illegal to unload horses on a Motorway!!!
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Just as it is against (almost) any Lorry breakdown company's Insurance to tow with horses on board.
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Some of the drivers don't know that as it happens so rarely - especially if they are called out after hours and the office is closed.

If you break down on a Motorway, and there are horses that have to be transferred to alternative transport you HAVE to contact the police. They then make the decision - which probably involves CLOSING the Motorway for a while!!!!!!! (Happened to us!)
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so they ARE saying that horses wont be removed from broken down vehicle.....i'm certainly glad i'm not with that particular INS CO.....

you can tow a trailer flat, yes, but certainly not a lorry..its front wheels need to be up for the towing vehicle to steer, and the half shaft needs to be removed for it to actually be towed..

if the above isn't done, then the vehicle has to be reverse towed..ie the rear wheels are lifted.

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That can't be true JM because I've been towed in my old Bedford on a solid tow shaft, with all wheels on the ground an a perfect ability to steer from myself and the tow man. I also get towed on and off showgrounds all the time (which I confess is different).
 
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so they ARE saying that horses wont be removed from broken down vehicle.....i'm certainly glad i'm not with that particular INS CO.....

you can tow a trailer flat, yes, but certainly not a lorry..its front wheels need to be up for the towing vehicle to steer, and the half shaft needs to be removed for it to actually be towed..

if the above isn't done, then the vehicle has to be reverse towed..ie the rear wheels are lifted.

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That can't be true JM because I've been towed in my old Bedford on a solid tow shaft, with all wheels on the ground an a perfect ability to steer from myself and the tow man. I also get towed on and off showgrounds all the time (which I confess is different).

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only what i've been told by a lorry mechanic SC.....untold damage can be done if towing a lorry that is broken down ie unable to start/clutch gone etc without removing the half-shaft and towing flat....

maybe those old Bedford's were made of sterner stuff eh,??
 
MADHOSSY - when we called NFU they were brilliant, asked if we needed a vet to sedate pony, then sent out someone to recover lorry and a horsebox to recover pony, we didn't even have to ask. Following that they sent out a customer questionaire asking us what we thought of their service. Would certainly not let pony be towed in, even though she is very good.
 
This sounds like a horrible experience. It's completely unsafe to tow a horsebox with the horses inside, and certainly not best practice for horses or owners.

Here at ERS we ALWAYS provide alternative tranport for your horses if we can't fix your vehicle. No low loaders or towbars!

Debbie MacMorran
Managing Director
Equine Rescue Services Ltd
 
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