Cheshire Chestnut
Well-Known Member
Towing two horses today, mine and my friend's horse. Both good travellers and get on well with each other, never a problem in the past. About 3 miles from home the loudest sickening noise came from the trailer and the whole thing shook. I stopped but it was on a huge sweeping bend on a country lane and there was no where to stop safely so I just pulled a bit onto the small verge and put my hazards on. My friend ran to the jockey door to find her horse on his knees fallen over in the trailer with his leg stuck under the partition (even though it looked impossible to fit a hoof under there), with his shoe all twisted. He was panicking and managed to move the partition and crush my pony to the other side of the trailer. My boy stayed fairly calm considering but he was frightened too. It then started thundering and an absolute downpour of rain commenced.
There was no room to take the horse out of the front ramp so the back ramp was the only option, however when i went to lower it, he freaked again. Right on cue (as if in a nightmare) a huge lorry came and didn't see us until last minute and the slammed on it's breaks, skidding next to us in the river of a road. Both horses where going mad in the trailer so I put the ramp back up, scared incase one ran into the road of fast traffic. I called 999 and the police came within minutes, thank god. They closed the road both ways so we could get the horses out safely. It was still thundering and lightening, horses tense and hysterical. One police officer (who seemed to know a bit about horses) helped with the ramp and lifting the partition off the horse's leg, while the other two card blocked off the road. My friend stayed in the trailer holding her horse and trying to carefully guide him down the ramp. He then sat down on his hocks and rolled off the trailer backwards, it was horrific.
To cut a very long story short, I took my horse back to the yard in the trailer whilst my friend stayed with the police in a nearby field with her horse. He wouldn't go back in the trailer so I got dropped off, the farrier removed the twisted shoe and we walked the 3 miles back down the road with his bridle on in the pouring rain, it was the longest walk ever.
We both managed to hold it together until we got back to the yard and then burst into tears. Both horses are uninjured, apart from a few minor cuts and the farrier said a bruised hoof sole. I never ever want to experience that again. Still don't understand how it happened but I guess it was just an unlucky accident. Just so glad everyone was ok, it's frightened me a lot Don't even know why I'm sharing this really, suppose I feel it's my fault somehow as I was the one towing.
There was no room to take the horse out of the front ramp so the back ramp was the only option, however when i went to lower it, he freaked again. Right on cue (as if in a nightmare) a huge lorry came and didn't see us until last minute and the slammed on it's breaks, skidding next to us in the river of a road. Both horses where going mad in the trailer so I put the ramp back up, scared incase one ran into the road of fast traffic. I called 999 and the police came within minutes, thank god. They closed the road both ways so we could get the horses out safely. It was still thundering and lightening, horses tense and hysterical. One police officer (who seemed to know a bit about horses) helped with the ramp and lifting the partition off the horse's leg, while the other two card blocked off the road. My friend stayed in the trailer holding her horse and trying to carefully guide him down the ramp. He then sat down on his hocks and rolled off the trailer backwards, it was horrific.
To cut a very long story short, I took my horse back to the yard in the trailer whilst my friend stayed with the police in a nearby field with her horse. He wouldn't go back in the trailer so I got dropped off, the farrier removed the twisted shoe and we walked the 3 miles back down the road with his bridle on in the pouring rain, it was the longest walk ever.
We both managed to hold it together until we got back to the yard and then burst into tears. Both horses are uninjured, apart from a few minor cuts and the farrier said a bruised hoof sole. I never ever want to experience that again. Still don't understand how it happened but I guess it was just an unlucky accident. Just so glad everyone was ok, it's frightened me a lot Don't even know why I'm sharing this really, suppose I feel it's my fault somehow as I was the one towing.
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