Horsie Jumper breastbar of Ifor williams trailer - ideas please

[hackedoff]

My noble stead (NS) decided to jump the trailer breast bar on the way back from a completion. Fortunately this happened at the motorway services rather than in transit and even more fortunately a very nice Polish lorry driver and a motorway policeman helped me sort it out. Said beast ended up climbing of the breast bar and back into the same partition but facing backwards! She was cross tied at the start of the antics. Amazingly other than some lumps to NS which have gone down and to the trailer below the roof there are no lasting injuries.

I have removed the partitions and bought a single breastbar so she can travel slant wise and am currently practicing short journeys with her. She isn't bothered about loading and seems to travel well but wants to be out as soon as we stop, so it gets a bit exciting at junctions. I am practicing leaving her in the trailer for a short while before moving off or unloading with the hopes of breaking this habit.

Does any one have other suggestions? She travelled well in a backwards facing lorry with a wall in front of her so I am considering a fautrus oblique trailer or some way of building a removable full length barrier in my trailer.

Bloody horses!

 

[PorkChop]

Yikes, glad she is ok, she obviously has a brain!

You are doing all the things that I would do tbh.

How long have you had her? It can take them a bit of time to learn to travel in a different direction, and I believe horses do prefer yo travel backwards.

I would keep doing what you are doing - certainly see if you borrow a different trailer, but it does sound more of an impatience problem rather than feeling unstable whilst moving.

 

[HipoH]

A couple of ideas having had the pleasure of owning a habitual breast bar jumper!

1. When tying up loop rope under the breast bar and clip onto beastie (very useful emergency measure) not mad tight but just enough to prevent them getting their head high enough to go orbital.
2. Re-educate Beastie in other words stop using the front unload option and "re-programme" beastie that the exit is backwards by always reversing them out, it takes a while but is probably the best cure.
3. If you've got an older IW with the allen key quick release breast bar fittings then get a re-chargeable cordless screw driver/drill with the appropriate sized key and keep it in your vehicle (charged up), as I have discovered its impossible to undo the bracket on your own with half a ton of pony on top of the bar.
4. Have the old quick release system changed to the new eyelet system as these are easier to do with a bar than the other ones and not expensive to get the conversion done.... cheap for peace of mind in my case.

A combination of all of the above worked for me!