Horses travelling in the 3.5 tonne rear facing lorries?!

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zoelouisem

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Have any of had issues getting horses to load and how do yours travel in these small boxes. But it came out a few people have had issues at our place.
I only ask as we couldnt load one today and i wouldnt normally stop but didnt want injured horse or people.
 
Mine travel really well in mine. My mare wouldn't load at first, however we took it slowly and took her round the block a few times. We've now had her up and down to hospital on 3 hour each way drives quite a few times and she loves it. She runs in and eats her haylage on the way.
The gelding loves loading, but he found it difficult travelling the first couple of times. Probably because he had always travelled facing forwards, but now he too travels well in it.
They never travel together because of the weight restriction, but they are both really chilled when they have to go anywhere on their own.
The horse area, if they are converted properly should not have any less room for the horse than any other horsebox! Mine has probably more horse room than my friends 7.5t where the horses always look squashed up together.
 
I have had issues with them in the past - the type with the flip up top outer door are the worst, like an ice cream van. In general I find that my horse will load better on a forward facing two box, he seemed to be used to loading and turning a certain way and didn't cope with turning the other way. Also they tend to be a bit claustraphopic looking which does not help, I used to open up the back door to help.
 
I have heard that there are a few that struggle to load initially as they are used to loading while turning left and in the rear facing 3.5T, they have to turn right. They soon get used it though.
 
My mare is great in mine, she self-loads, travels quietly and stands in it fine at events. She's nuts when she gets out but that's another story! I think if it's a proper horse-sized 3.5T build not a van conversion, the horse has just as much room as in a traditional box travelling sideways, no more or less claustrophobic, just facing a different way. I think some horses and people find it tricky at first to load and turn right but if you can switch to lead from the right as you load, that helps. I've taken a couple of other horses too who've never been in a small truck with no problem, they get the idea pretty quickly.
 
Yer we had a real issue today with a horse that loads/travels fine in a trailer and a big lorry and has travelled in this lorry once before, went on after about half an hour lasst time. Today we tried for an hour but stopped when she decided to rear and fell over as its just not woth injuring the horse or people. It was a brand new rented box, but i wasnt impressed with the amount of room to be honest. Ive always always been on big yards with very big boxes and the only time ive travelled in a trailer is with very small ponies. So not had any real loading issues usually after 5 minutes of gentle pursuaton ive been able to get them in big boxes.
 
Mine doesn't travel forward facing fullstop (trailers or lorry) and lorries with side partitions are expensive to hire so for the last three or four years we've hired 3.5 rear facing lorries and he's absolutely fine in them. They're easy to drive and aren't claustrophobic inside (though hay will get all over your stuff at the back). I prefer the Renault models to the Equitrek version as the finish is much nicer/thorough. I have however heard of someones horse on another forum rearing up and over the partition so she's paid to have it customised slightly.
 
I travel all sizes of TB's in them at work. We have a new box which has the small half ramp, low to the ground. I'm lucky that most places I visit have built loading ramps to accomodate this set up. So loading for us is generally easier, however, at home our ramp is too high to use, but it's very rare that I have issue loading mares, and they all travel fine.
With younger animals though, I have found that the lack of ramp sides means that if they start messing about during loading, they are in danger of coming off or putting a foot off the side of the ramp. That would probably be my only complaint though, and as long as you load carefully, it's not an issue.
 
Mine had always loaded well and travelled in anything forward or herringbone no probs.... until I tried one of the van conversions....I personally didn't think there was enough room, neither did he, he panicked....the first few times he loaded well then when I actually tied him up and took him out for a drive he got into a right state, was wobbling all over the place and managed to put his back out....they are all different - mine obviously didn't like travelling rear facing.....after 2 trips on the rear facing conversion he now wont load at all into anything, which is a shame as he was so good, so now I am working on it with something he feels more comfortable in....
 
When I first got my Renault van my mare would not load and normally she had loaded herself in my old lorry - Bedford TK. After a couple (and I mean only a couple!) of attempts to load my friend suggested it was because she was confused with having to load and turn right when she was always used to loading and turning left. So all I did was walk her on and faced her the wrong way to get her used to the vehicle. The following day I did the same then walked her on and loaded her the right way then immediately took her for a ride. No trouble since and she travels great in it. My 2yr old that I unfortunately lost in 2009 travelled great in it and my current 3yr old went for his first trip in it on his own yesterday and loaded dead easy and travelled without a fuss. There is more room length and width wise than there was in my old Bedford. The only thing lacking is headroom (had 18hh once in my old lorry) but no less than an Ifor 505. I don't even travel my mare with a tail bandage these days as there is so much room behind her compared to 7.5t lorry. The ride is also very good as the wheel base is good and vehicle low. In fact when I still had my old Bedford before it was sold someone on the yard commented that the Renault had a longer wheelbase than the bigger lorry.
 
I hire 3.5 tonne, the're the Theault (rear facing) and I had never had any throuble getting anything in or out of one and I've traveled foals to 16.2 plus. The ramp is really low so you are not as worried if they slide off.
http://www.atacanter.co.uk/horsebox_hire_services.htm
Very sturdy and stable and a rear door large enough to get something out if you needed to. I have used other horsebox conversions but they are not as good.
 
honetpot said:
I hire 3.5 tonne, the're the Theault (rear facing) and I had never had any throuble getting anything in or out of one and I've traveled foals to 16.2 plus. The ramp is really low so you are not as worried if they slide off.
http://www.atacanter.co.uk/horsebox_hire_services.htm
Very sturdy and stable and a rear door large enough to get something out if you needed to. I have used other horsebox conversions but they are not as good.
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It was one of these lorries we had today, Its not actually my horse its a friends shes had her onto a trailer this afternoon straight away no problems so i thinks its these types lorries shes never had any problems before with any other transport. Shes made the decsion not to use one of these anymore as she doesnt want a total non traveller.

This is the luxary of just having my daughters 11.2 hell go in anything and if all else fails pick him up and put him in it!!:D
 
I hate them, my mare i had to travel in one last weekend, she could not balance in it at all and so i had to drive along at 5mph and on a good straight bit of road got up to 10 mph but she still went over about 20 times, thankfully the other horse stood there like a rock.
Never ever would i use one again unless it was a major emergency
 
miss_bird said:
I hate them, my mare i had to travel in one last weekend, she could not balance in it at all and so i had to drive along at 5mph and on a good straight bit of road got up to 10 mph but she still went over about 20 times, thankfully the other horse stood there like a rock.
Never ever would i use one again unless it was a major emergency
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Must admit when i was tring to put her i couldnt really blame her for not wanting to, theres not as much room in it to manauve and the turning and having to change lead side is alien for the horse, we did 2 trips one for the first class for my pony and even he was hesitent although did go straight on as thats his nature but he did neigh and wobble alot and usually hes a rock.

We then were supposed to take 2 horses although ended u 1 as we left the unloader behind and she wasnt paricually good i didnt actually feel particullary safe with her hoofers right behind my back and she kicked around alot.

In my honest opinion they were designed for ponies but when the new laws came about taking the lorry tests theyve been made more room for the horses by turning them. When i competeted 10-15 years ago and these laws werent in you never saw people pulling te big horses out of the little lorries. Only ponies.

i know alot will happlily travel in them but since today, even chatting to a few atthe show and some at home there was about 10 people that had issues with loading horses onto these lorries.

Just wanted to see if other had issues really out of interest.
 
I also did not feel safe in it at all, it shook like it was going to go over and frightened the life out of me and this was only with a 16'1" tb and a 15'3" tb that kept falling over, and each time she went down and tried to get back up the whole hing felt like it was going to go over.
I did have to travel 2 x 16'3" ID mares in it after and to tell the truth i was crapping myself only for the fact i know they are the most fantastic travellers i did it, but it did make me think god forbid if we had to brake sudden or if one of them really kicked out i would have more than half a ton of horse on my head.
I hired mine from atacanter and i cant knock the van things for the easy of drive, but i will never used one again
 
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