Dangerous transport - would you report it?

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Switchthehorse

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I was at a competition the other weekend and saw a transit van parked in the horse box park. Fine i thought

Out the back of it were a couple of pallets.

Imagine my horror when i later saw someone encouraging their horse to walk up the pallet 'step' into the back of the transit van?!!!?

I have seen some pretty unsafe horseboxes/trailers and overloaded vehicles in my time.. but this real took the biscuit!!

Should i have reported it? I feel the guilt now but at the time i was told not to interfere as it wasn't my problem.

The van hadn't been adapted AT ALL as far as i could see!? couldn't even see partition between horse and drivers seat!?????!
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there's any law that says vehicles have to be specially adapted for horses. As long as the van can take the weight and the horse isn't trying to climb in the drivers seat, there's no law against it.

I won't travel my horses in the poorly maintained boxes that quite a few people I know, use. Seems to be a blind spot with a lot of horsebox owners.
 
Switchthehorse said:
Out the back of it were a couple of pallets.

Imagine my horror when i later saw someone encouraging their horse to walk up the pallet 'step' into the back of the transit van?!!!
Click to expand...

How did you not laugh- I'd have wet myself! I did once have a gentleman arrive to pick up a little first ridden pony my boss at a riding school had sold with an estate car.... I didn't maintain composure on this occasion!
 
Construction of vehicles
Vehicles used for the transport of horses shall be designed, constructed, maintained and operated so as to:

avoid injury and suffering and to ensure the safety of the animals
protect the animals from inclement weather and extreme temperatures
prevent the animals escaping or falling out
ensure the air quality and quantity appropriate to the species transported can be maintained
provide access to the animals to allow inspection
minimise the leakage of urine or faeces
provide a means of lighting sufficient for inspection of the animals
provide sufficient space inside the animal compartment to ensure that there is adequate ventilation above the animals when they are standing in their natural position

Vehicles will also have anti-slip flooring, partitions strong enough to withstand the weight of the animals, and fittings designed for quick and easy operation.

Vehicles in which horses are transported shall be clearly and visibly marked indicating the presence of live animals.

All vehicles must be constructed, maintained and operated so as to allow appropriate cleansing and disinfection.

Vehicles used for the transport of horses for over eight hours must be inspected and approved by an authorised body.

No horse may be transported on a journey in excess of eight hours, except in an approved vehicle.

In an approved vehicle, horses may be transported for 24 hours, provided that, at eight-hour intervals, they are given liquid and, if necessary, fed. At the end of the 24-hour period of transport, horses must be rested for at least 24 hours.

Taken from this page here: http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/cgi-bin/glos/bus1item.cgi?file=*BADV640-1001.txt
 
Nothing funny about that, tragic ignorance or neglect I'd say.
Report to VOSA, they're really hot on lorries and should be on other vehicles.
 
The Xmas Furry said:
Construction of vehicles
Vehicles used for the transport of horses shall be designed, constructed, maintained and operated so as to:

avoid injury and suffering and to ensure the safety of the animals
protect the animals from inclement weather and extreme temperatures
prevent the animals escaping or falling out
ensure the air quality and quantity appropriate to the species transported can be maintained
provide access to the animals to allow inspection
minimise the leakage of urine or faeces
provide a means of lighting sufficient for inspection of the animals
provide sufficient space inside the animal compartment to ensure that there is adequate ventilation above the animals when they are standing in their natural position

Vehicles will also have anti-slip flooring, partitions strong enough to withstand the weight of the animals, and fittings designed for quick and easy operation.

Vehicles in which horses are transported shall be clearly and visibly marked indicating the presence of live animals.

All vehicles must be constructed, maintained and operated so as to allow appropriate cleansing and disinfection.

Vehicles used for the transport of horses for over eight hours must be inspected and approved by an authorised body.

No horse may be transported on a journey in excess of eight hours, except in an approved vehicle.

In an approved vehicle, horses may be transported for 24 hours, provided that, at eight-hour intervals, they are given liquid and, if necessary, fed. At the end of the 24-hour period of transport, horses must be rested for at least 24 hours.

Taken from this page here: http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/cgi-bin/glos/bus1item.cgi?file=*BADV640-1001.txt
Click to expand...

I think this only applies to horses being transported for economic purposes and the specs for specially constructed horse boxes.
In theory, you could transport a privately owned horse in any vehicle as long as the height is sufficient and the horse wears a halter -and the vehicle is able to carry the weight and the welfare of the horse isn't compromised.
 
Sounds like a van I once went somewhere in with a pony when I was a kid. It was an old bread van they hooked 2 planks on the back for the pony to walk up into the back door and there was a pole behind the front seats he was tied to and was looking over our shoulders as we went along. Totally illegal now , I'm sure, maybe it was then too, back in the 70s but we survived.
 
Hey missus,

I was at the show too and while i was waiting for my test sheets a Judge said she'd see that person loading in the car park and was telling the event organiser about it... i think they had a rough idea of who she was and where she's from.
 
Hoofing-it said:
How did you not laugh- I'd have wet myself! I did once have a gentleman arrive to pick up a little first ridden pony my boss at a riding school had sold with an estate car.... I didn't maintain composure on this occasion!
Click to expand...

I must admit my initial response was video it and post on youtube. Seriously though, i'd have reported to the police - a loose horse in a transit van sounds like a recipe for a serious road accident.
 
dogatemysalad said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there's any law that says vehicles have to be specially adapted for horses. As long as the van can take the weight and the horse isn't trying to climb in the drivers seat, there's no law against it.

I won't travel my horses in the poorly maintained boxes that quite a few people I know, use. Seems to be a blind spot with a lot of horsebox owners.
Click to expand...
I am sure all vehicles have to be loaded safely, no bulkhead and insecure load [horse] is dangerous.,
 
Yes I saw a traveller asking a tiny pony to walk up a plank into a pick-up once, brave pony!
One of our owners had a re cycling clothing business and his shetland [it was a regimental mascot] travelled all over the county in it, mind you it was 1970's and pony was surrounded by clothing and also there was bulkhead.
 
Foals and livestock are travelled loose.
It isn't possible to tie every animal during transit.

I'm not agreeing with travelling horses in any old crate, but we shouldn't assume that the law prohibits it, unless the vehicle isn't road worthy.
 
armchair_rider said:
I must admit my initial response was video it and post on youtube. Seriously though, i'd have reported to the police - a loose horse in a transit van sounds like a recipe for a serious road accident.
Click to expand...

Absolutely- my comedy take on the situation was just a reflection of how I would have reacted, but definitely a serious safety issue there!!

Has anyone ever seen those converted renult vans? They take upto about 14hh I think and i swear the horses head can be seen beside the drivers! A bit like the bread van styly!

Hopefully it's just a one- off and they're not in mass production?! :-/
 
The dealer that I bought my cob from makes regular trips to Ireland to source new horses. It's fair to say that many Irish horses are not pampered to the same extent that English ones are, so the dealer has got used to seeing some unusual sights.

Even she was gobsmacked though, to see a mare and very young foal travelling on an open sided flat bed trailer :eek3:. The mare was tied to the ladder rack at the front, whilst the foal was loose.
 
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