Following on from the 'scared to tow' post...

[KINDMARE]

I am also a nervous nellie travelling my horse, even though i have been doing it for donkeys years.
My big fear is breaking down! Not sure my girl would stand quietly for any long length of time on the lorry without becoming a pain.
So can we hear your breakdown stories - good and bad and how you coped with it. along with any tips and things you'd wished you'd had with you when it happened.

 

[Bobthecob15]

well mine is pretty awful! Driving along and hit a pot hole. Steering went bang...managed to stop without going in the ditch 6 inches from my wheel. Wheel was facing a different direction to the other 3!

We were luckily a mile from home, called the breakdown people who at first refused to come because they couldn't find a record of my policy....eventually managed to get them to come but paying £328 up front over the phone. So once they were on their way I unloaded the horse and walked him back up the lane to the yard (quiet lane thankfully).

Walked back to the lorry....first breakdown truck came within an hour and half...too small to tow the truck! Had to then wait for a bigger truck. In the end it was an 8hr wait from call to collection. Absolute pain in the bum! Eventually got a refund from the breakdown people who finally found our policy. Really bad phone signal too and my battery was super low!

Oh did I mention I had my 8yr old with me at the time too?! Total nightmare, my husband came and collected her and I waited on my own for 8hrs....no food or drink bar snacks I'd made for my daughter which didn't last long.

Now I never go out without plenty of food, water, blankets...and a phone charger!!

I honestly hate going anywhere now!

 

[Cortez]

I had a tyre blowout on the lorry on the motorway in Wales coming over from Ireland, going to Hartpury. I had two stallions on board, perfectly behaved and good mates. I was stuck for almost 8 hours, the police were lovely (I made them several cups of tea), but unlike at home in Ireland they were completely unable to give me any contacts for local roadside assistance. I didn’t know a soul, the AA were useless - can’t do anything if there are live animals on board, apparently, despite the policy being for a horse lorry - and I had to ring the show secretary who finally got a local PRE breeder to help me (to whom I am eternally grateful), they collected the horses, put us up for the night, and arranged a tyre change with their mechanic.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Well maintained and serviced tow vehicle and trailer, plus good breakdown cover (I'm with Equine Rescue Services).

Even for the shortest trip I take enough steamed hay and water to last 12 hours plus. Longer trips I take enough for 24 hours.

The number of people who break down with their horses then put out frantic requests for drinking water and forage is nuts ?. Just think ahead.

 

[Hallo2012]

Well maintained and serviced tow vehicle and trailer, plus good breakdown cover (I'm with Equine Rescue Services).

Even for the shortest trip I take enough steamed hay and water to last 12 hours plus. Longer trips I take enough for 24 hours.

The number of people who break down with their horses then put out frantic requests for drinking water and forage is nuts ?. Just think ahead.

yep.

apart from when i am going 20 min to hack (and know several people locally who could rescue me) i take massive haynets and full containers of fresh water.

 

[scruffyponies]

I nearly set my lorry on fire on the way back from a beach ride years ago. 4 ponies and 3 children with me.
A relatively simple thing (bearing went) but I heard the bang and thought it was nothing. I stopped when my friend behind me started flashing her lights, by which time smoke was billowing from the wheel.

Fire brigade came quickly (A27. no shoulder). They decided not to spray as likely to crack the wheel, waited until it cooled down then used the fire tender to tow us down a slip road out of immediate danger.

Because we were travelling in convoy, we managed to squeeze a pony in my friends trailer, sent the kids off with her and I settled down to wait in the truck. She came back (2hr round trip!) to get the other two, and some time in the small hours we were recovered to a yard in Portsmouth.

Bearing would have cost about £100 and been fixed in 20 minutes.
As it was , I had to buy a decrepit recovery lorry (from Devon) to get the replacement axle I needed to fix my 30 year old truck, and get the darn thing to Portsmouth. The logistics were a nightmare.

Lesson learned: if your lorry/trailer makes a funny noise, FFS stop and check it out.

 

[Sealine]

I was driving home on the M25 from a fun ride on my own with two horses in the trailer and I'd noticed my car felt like it was struggling a bit. I realised I could smell burning and left the motorway at the next junction at which point it I realised smoke was pouring out of the engine. I pulled into a layby and checked the car wasn't on fire. I wasn't in a position to unload both on a busy road on my own so I don't know what I would have done if it was! My husband and my friend (owner of one of the horses) came to meet me. By this time the car was no longer smoking although the burning clutch smell was horrific (car is an auto). Word had spread to the yard that I had broken down and a couple of people offered to come and tow the trailer but, as the horses were absolutely fine and we were only 15 mins drive from home, we decided to limp home on minor roads with my husband and friend escorting in front and behind.

Bizarrely this was caused by a new pair of rear tyres. Despite supposedly being the same size as the front tyres they were slightly different. I'd used 4 wheel drive at the fun ride to park at the top of a big hill in a field. I switched back to 2 wheel drive to drive home but the car couldn't engage 2 wheel drive properly and had constantly been trying to correct itself. The garage were initially flummoxed as to what had caused the problem. It wasn't a cheap repair but luckily they'd fixed it under warranty before they realised the cause.

A friend broke down in road works on the M25 when towing. Luckily she was towing a very small, quiet pony in a single trailer. Someone from the yard went in another tow vehicle to rescue her and the guys in the roadworks unhitched the trailer from one car and hitched it to the rescue car without her needing to unload the pony.

If ever I see a horse box or trailer on the roads I can't help but check the tyres are ok, no smoke/flames, horses look ok. If I ever saw anyone in trouble I'd stop if I could.

 

[scats]

Not too awful but transporting a new horse home a few years ago, a warning light came on on the dash while I was on the motorway. The next thing, my clutch went weirdly light and I couldn’t change gear.
Managed to get to the hard shoulder and by some miracle, we were just on a turnoff for the junction to come off before this happened, only a few miles from home.
Luckily i was actually with my dad so we swapped places and he managed to get the thing into second gear to set off again as we decided to limp it home. He eventually managed to jam it into third and we got it home. The gearbox had gone.

My brakes used to regularly seize on my wagon and I would have to pull in to let them cool, get rid of the smoke and unseize before I set off again! Eventually got them sorted as it was giving me cold sweats every time I went out!

 

[mini_b]

I am also a nervous nellie travelling my horse, even though i have been doing it for donkeys years.
My big fear is breaking down! Not sure my girl would stand quietly for any long length of time on the lorry without becoming a pain.
So can we hear your breakdown stories - good and bad and how you coped with it. along with any tips and things you'd wished you'd had with you when it happened.

I haven’t read the thread because this also gives me the absolute fear. I’m a nervous driver anyway but I tow all over and on the motorway…
Came to say, does your breakdown cover include animal recovery? I’m sure my cover with NFU can sort collecting livestock. Only reason I’m not 100% sure is my dad organises all the insurances. (Yes I’m an adult but it’s a fleet vehicle!)

 

[Tiddlypom]

Equine Rescue Services do recover the horses, inc liaising with Highways England and/or the police to close major motorways to facilitate a horsebox to horsebox transfer if necessary.

 

[asmp]

We went to collect my daughter’s new horse (only 2 years old). Drove 30 miles to his yard. When I got there I thought I could smell a strange smell but had no idea why. Loaded youngster and then on the motorway half way home I looked in my mirror and saw smoke. Pulled over onto hard shoulder and rang RAC in a panic. Youngster stood there quietly munching on haynet while lorries thundered past. RAC came quite quickly (this was some years ago!) and it turned out I had left the handbrake on the trailer and burnt out the brakes ?. The RAC man followed me to the next junction where there was a supermarket car park and made sure I was OK to carry on. He then followed me all the way home. (I think he lived nearby).

Another time my friend broke down on a bend on an A road. The police came and directed the traffic and I came to the rescue with my 4x4 and we hitched up the trailer and I took the horse home. I must admit I can’t remember now if the horse was unloaded and reloaded.

 

[asmp]

I haven’t read the thread because this also gives me the absolute fear. I’m a nervous driver anyway but I tow all over and on the motorway…
Came to say, does your breakdown cover include animal recovery? I’m sure my cover with NFU can sort collecting livestock. Only reason I’m not 100% sure is my dad organises all the insurances. (Yes I’m an adult but it’s a fleet vehicle!)

I think that one of the reasons I went with the RAC was because they’ll come out to a car and trailer. When I used to tow all over the country I did take out extra insurance with another company to rescue the horse if we broke down. As we now only travel locally I hope that a friend would come to my rescue.

 

[fidleyspromise]

I was lucky enough to be 5 minutes from the yard when the lorry clutch went. I unloaded and led my horse back to the yard (30 minute walk). We were headed to the vets and were beside the woods so no leading on the road although she would have been fab if we'd had to.
I led her back and my partner and friend went a 25 minute drive to pick up a trailer from another friend. We got 45 minutes with the horse when the brakes on the car were seizing on so we had to get another friend to come out with her car (from the yard) and take my horse and trailer onward.
We finally made it to the vets and I borrowed friend number 2's car to retrieve horse and trailer next day.

It now seems the recovery truck have dragged / damaged the back of the lorry when picking it up but they're not admitting liability so my friend is still without her lorry as it looks like she's going to need to claim on her insurance.

 

[ThreeFurs]

Its such a scary topic. See if you can attend some large animal rescue sessions? I was told always, if horse/s are safe on the trailer, leave them there, as many tow vehicle/tyre issues can be fixed with them safe inside. I know of people who have unloaded their horses on their own, beside six lane highways, and had the horses get loose.

I have also seen people do this; recently I drove by a mother and daughter returning from a hunt and one of their horses had fallen and got cast, so they immediately stopped, with part of their vehicle and trailer still on a country road with a speed limit of 100 k, and in front of a hill with a blind corner. And they were unloading the pony virtually out onto the road. Eventually Emergency services/police arrived and put out cones, and the second horse was extracted but, fark, there were horse properties everywhere in that area, any one of which they could've pulled into and closed a gate behind them.

ps as well as enough horse/human food and water and a 'breakdown kit' - I also trailer always with a four way wheel brace and a float wheel changing ramp in the back of my truck. Touch woood wood wood a million times I won't need them. the brace is to loosen nuts on wheels. Second, the ramp enables you to change the tyre with horses on float. You just drive unaffected wheel on to ramp and it holds the blown tire up a bit.


And a useful link. On What to Do if it happens
http://www.cyberhorse.net.au/safetowing/breakdowns.htm

 

[Birker2020]

I am also a nervous nellie travelling my horse, even though i have been doing it for donkeys years.
My big fear is breaking down! Not sure my girl would stand quietly for any long length of time on the lorry without becoming a pain.
So can we hear your breakdown stories - good and bad and how you coped with it. along with any tips and things you'd wished you'd had with you when it happened.

I broke down way back in about 2000 when towing back from a fun ride with my horse Billy at the time in the trailer, 50+ miles from home. A plug had come out of my radiator in the car and all my radiator fluid had leaked. I rang the AA and they came out but couldn't fix it at the roadside so said it needed to be towed to a garage for repair. They said they couldn't tow the horse though. We'd have to leave the horse in the trailer at the roadside (a verge on a busy stretch of dual carriageway by the motorway junction). I said no way was I going to do that, so rang a friend who kindly said she'd come out with her 4 x 4 meet us there, and hitch up to her vehicle and drive back home with my horse so my car could be towed to the garage for repair.

After 20 mins of waiting impatiently for my friend to arrive the AA man said he'd changed his mind and he would tow me to the garage after all. I rang my friend to stop her coming out but her phone was on voice mail, by which time the AA had hitched me up to his truck - he had one of those metal fixed towing hitches like a long plank of metal to stop you going into the back of him. So this was attached to my car, my trailer was behind the car. So all in all we must have been over 20 foot long. The AA man was going over small mini islands straight and not wide as you would with all that behind you, with no disregard whatsoever for my trailer so my poor horse was like a pea in a pod getting thrown everywhere and the trailer tyres going up the kerbs, it was a terrifying experience and not one I'd ever wish to repeat.

Luckily my horse and I arrived at the garage unscathed. My phone rang after a while and it was my friend telling me she'd arrived to pick me up and couldn't find me! Awkward.......

I decided when I got home to join the OHTO in case it should ever happen again. As it happens I never broke down again after that. I think the AA aren't allowed point blank to tow livestock now, but back in 2000 it was at their discretion.

 

[Lyle]

When I was about 18, my dad and I were headed to a 3DE with 2 horses in our old horsebox. Whilst on the Freeway, I heard a strange bang and pffffft noise. Trying to sound casual, I looked at Dad and asked "what was that?". Dad, sitting bolt upright replied with "I didn't hear anything", but I was not fooled as he was clutching the steering wheel in a white knuckled grip. Moments later, a fellow motorist pulled up alongside, honking his horn and pointing to the rear wheels. "I think that man is signaling us" I said, as my father remained ram-rod straight and staring directly ahead with the whites of his eyes showing. He eventually conceded to pulling into the emergency lane. We both hopped out to examine the damage; a blown inner rear wheel tyre. Standing on the side of a major freeway, we both looked at each other, to which dad exclaimed "What do we do now?". Urghhhhh. We limped off the freeway at the next exit, which split into a left or right fork. "Left!" I yelled, as Dad veered right. Luckily though, as around the next bend, like emerging from the shimmering haze of the desert, was a Heavy Vehicle tyre repair. centre. We waited 2 hours in the heat to have the tyre changed, we parked the horse box in the shade and lowered the ramp, however it wasn't a safe place to unload. The horses were watered and hayed. Eventually we were on our way, and continued our 4 hour journey, with 2 hours of delays.

 

[Cowpony]

I was on a fast dual carriageway on my way to a stay-away competition when my husband said something smelled hot. I looked at the dials and the engine temperature was off the scale. We weren't far from a slip road, so I came off and there was a filling station. I parked up in an area where I wasn't going to be in the way, and rang the rescue service. They took about an hour to arrive, but the pony was happily munching her hay, and we could get coffee and snacks from the garage. Turned out the water hose had split. Luckily the rescue guy happened to have some hoses on his van and adapted one to fit. We were very lucky. He'd taken it off a lorry he'd been repairing and kept it in case it came in useful.

We set off again, but about 20 minutes from the competition venue I suddenly lost all electrics and the engine died. It was now almost dark and we were on a single-lane slip road, with no lights or even hazard warning lights. I threw open the bonnet and my husband said the rescue guy had knocked a particular part of the engine, with lots of wires going in. I knocked it a couple of times and went to get my hazard warning triangle. I was just setting it up when the lights came back on! We got to the venue 3 hours late, which wasn't actually bad.

We went home avoiding all fast roads, and once back at the yard a friend who knows about engines sorted the loose wiring for me. He said if a wire had touched metal it would have started a fire! Shortly after that my husband, bless him, told me to buy a new lorry.

I can definitely recommend the Anthony D Evans rescue service. If the lorry hadn't been fixed they would have sent transport for the pony, and they were pretty quick.

 

[Supercalifragilistic]

Had a blow out on the M4 many years ago on my way to an event. It was a huge bang when it went, it certainly made me jump! Luckily it was about 6am at the weekend so the motorway was quiet and I had breakdown recovery.

The main problem was that I had no idea where I was because my plan had been to drive to the end of the M4, which was still a good hour or so away. This was before smart phones and sat nav! The breakdown guy (when he found us) managed to replace the tyre with the very chilled out horse still onboard (a very experienced Adv horse, he had been of planes, ferries, everything).

The venue kindly held back my dressage judge so I still managed to compete despite being a couple of hours late. Sadly without warming up though, it made for a very very sharp test ?

I’m now very good at keeping track of where I am even on long motorway drives, although it’s less relevant now with smart phones…