Horsebox - please cross fingers for me

[Clannad48]

Well my old Renault Dodge 50 went to the garage to get prepared for plating yesterday - well first of all I had to take the battery off to charge it as it was totally flat - have you any idea how muddy and filthy I got - and OMG how heavy are those things and what a stupid place to put them - Renault Dodge drivers may know what I mean - put the battery back on - all went well until as I was leaving our yard I put my foot on the brakes and ........................ NOTHING HAPPENED. Luckily I was only going at a snails pace so could use the handbrake to screech to a halt - well after changing my underwear - and checking that I had some sort of brakes I drove it to the garage very carefully - luckily only a very short distance and no traffic to talk of.
I told the mechanic what had happened and he seemed to think it might just be a case of brake fluid problems as the lorry had been standing for a while, BUT it may be more serious (£££££££££) and by the way although my lorry's side skirts are the required height all the hinges on my front storage boxes stick out too far for the new VOSA rules so they have to be changed (£££££££££) - I mean all of 1 inch - how ridiculous is that.

Anyway - get back home and tell my daughter that we may have to consider not having the horsebox so we start talking about the possibility of having to get another one in the near future (anyone have this weeks winning lottery numbers ) ).

So if this is the case what sort of lorry would you buy to carry one large 17.1hh dutch warmblood who doesn't like to travel forwards or backwards and tends to move around quite a bit.

All helpful suggestions appreciated

 

[Spinal Tap]

Oh dear, this is a familiar story. These days I try to lend my lorry to people if I'm not going to be using it for a while, it' a lot happier working than stood. Either that or I take it for a enough of a run to get the engine temp gauge moving. I also try to let it have a bit of a blast (relatively speaking!) & jump up & down on the brake pedal a bit when I'm driving it unladen - I hardly use the brakes when I have a horse inside and it seems that they need some stimulation to stay healthy I've had an isolator fitted too since I've had it (although that fell to bits last weekend...don't get me started!!).

As for replacements, I have no idea what your budget is but certainly when I was last horsebox hunting, full up 7.5 tonners were cheaper than the more compact 5.5 & 6.5 tonners, there does seem to be quite a demand for them. My lorry is a leyland roadrunner & I'm very happy with it, nice to drive and spares seem easy to come by despite it being a touch elderly! For a big horse like yours you travelling herringbone would probably want something with a good bit of headroom & a decent bit of width to the horse area. Mine is 7 ft 6 wide and 7 ft 5 high, it takes my very long backed (7ft rug) mare & a friend no problem. Make sure the floor has got plenty of substance to it. I looked at a lorry for sale where the horse area was decked out in domestic tongue & groove floorboards

Good luck

 

[Clannad48]

Hmm I agree that there seem to be a lot of 7.5 lorries out there at the moment - they just seem too big to take just one horse - although this year (as long as the stupid mare doesn't go and injure herself) - I already have an isolator - I just think the battery may also need replacing - more £££££ - perhaps I will look at the roadrunner's - I am also going to chat to my mechanic and see if he knows of anything decent about - unfortunately I don't really want to spend more than £5k - Thanks for your input

 

[PinkHorsey]

I've just bought a Equi-Star 2 horsebox, fab box, easy to drive and plenty of storge, it even has a Reversing camera (so i can't run over the dog!) Have a look at their website, i think it is equi-star.co.uk They do a Hunter and a Hunter Plus, i bought the hunter plus and everyone admires it !