Keeping a horse in the back of he lorry?

[Orangehorse]

This was banned by our show society. People were turning up a Hartpury (so masses of room!) and leaving the horses on the lorry to save stabling fees.

I know some driving/trec people use an awning on the side of the lorry for temp stabling and I have penned for trec, ((and hardly slept as I had to keep popping out to check!) but the numbers would be different. Think of a busy show ground with hundreds of horses, compared to a driving or trec competition - and maybe a slightly different type of horse?

 

[pennyturner]

If the horse is fed and watered, calm and relaxed, so what if they're stalled in the lorry overnight? No different to bringing them into old fashioned stalls overnight at home, and much better than spending most of every single day in a stable, when you really want to be in a field.

As others have said, perfectly normal in the driving world.

 

[Tnavas]

Also reduces the spread of diseases too

 

[ester]

I'm not sure re the different type of horse, at driving trials you get some seriously smart and relatively hot warmbloods and certainly a big enough showground/plenty of horses at nationals - combination of side stables, electric fence pens and gazebos (inc stallions), side stalls - so all tied and horses stabled in boxes. If you wander around at night you won't hear a peep and I think it really does show what we don't always give horses enough credit . iirc I think some sites don't allow electric penning though- some vague memory from perhaps sandringham last year? and req rubber matting to protect the ground.

 

[honetpot]

The main reasons for using for using a lorry as a stable , its not made for it. A normal stable has a very basic construction which is braced by the floor, and roof, most of the metal is visible, it has an exit that's easily visible and the method of opening and closing doors is pretty much standard. Horse boxes are made for horses travelling in a confined place, usually the horse behaviours are restricted, there is lots of hidden metal and exposed metal in their construction, the bracing points of the horse compartment are usually positioned at points at the most stress. They are not built for a 500kg rolling over and its leg hitting the box 6ft up the wall where there is no extra bracing, so the leg goes out the metal or grp outer skin. If you ever look under the skin of a lorry the walls are relatively thin.
H&S at shows. You are walking round the show ground and you here thrashing from a box, looking through a small window if you can get that high you see a horse panicking loose in the box.
You do not have the horse on the list at the SM office so you have no contact details. How you get in a strange lorry to asses the situation further without letting the horse out or causing damage to the box, the horse is not at eye level its 5ft up a ramp. Never mind the possibility of opening a strange box and the ramp dropping on you should you not be able to find the owners.
Boxes with stable attached that are used as temporary stable make the animal easily viewable and accessible should an emergency arise.

 

[Goldenstar]

The ramps are usually left down when horses are stable in the lorry , the petitions are moved or removed depending on how the lorry is set up .
My horse was tied on a rope and log system ( like at old fashioned pony club ) but lots of people leave them loose .
My horse completely mangled his very expensive temporary stable but was perfectly happy in the lorry .
Lots of driving trials don't allow electric fenced pens but they are commonly used at club level.

 

[honetpot]

The lorry is still being used for something it was not designed for with additional risks that are not in a normal stable. and the showground has to think of everyone's H&S.
If your horse is injured by temporary stabling provided at an event there will be some insurance cover, if your horse damages its self and your lorry and you are truthful on your claim form I doubt that the insurance would pay up.

 

[Goldenstar]

The lorry is still being used for something it was not designed for with additional risks that are not in a normal stable. and the showground has to think of everyone's H&S.
If your horse is injured by temporary stabling provided at an event there will be some insurance cover, if your horse damages its self and your lorry and you are truthful on your claim form I doubt that the insurance would pay up.

Who cares about who pays up if my horse is injured I certainly don't it's a complete irrelevance to me .
And I would never expect a show to be able to provide a temporary stable that could keep in a determined Clydesdale / welsh D and would never dream of expecting them to pay .
A lorry is designed for a horse to stand in my horse was standing in the lorry what's the issue ?
Btw the stable he destroyed was a very expensive purpose build portable attached to my carriage trailer far more robust than a wooden portable stable .

 

[honetpot]

Who cares about who pays up if my horse is injured I certainly don't it's a complete irrelevance to me .
And I would never expect a show to be able to provide a temporary stable that could keep in a determined Clydesdale / welsh D and would never dream of expecting them to pay .
A lorry is designed for a horse to stand in my horse was standing in the lorry what's the issue ?
Btw the stable he destroyed was a very expensive purpose build portable attached to my carriage trailer far more robust than a wooden portable stable .

The showground has not only your H&S and that of your horse to asses, they have to do risk assessments to get insurance cover and providing evidence of good practice and stable management will be part of that or they will not get cover.

 

[Goldenstar]

The showground has not only your H&S and that of your horse to asses, they have to do risk assessments to get insurance cover and providing evidence of good practice and stable management will be part of that or they will not get cover.

There no evidence that keeping a horse standing in a transporter designed for that purpose is bad practise .
And as say at driving trails no one turns a hair .

 

[honetpot]

Also if its left on a transporter does it fall under the, http://www.britishdrivingsociety.co.uk/information/wato.htm
as its been on for over eight hours?

 

[Goldenstar]

Also if its left on a transporter does it fall under the, http://www.britishdrivingsociety.co.uk/information/wato.htm
as its been on for over eight hours?

Who he said he was on the the lorry for more than eight hours ?

 

[magicmoose]

From the BHS Code of Practice for the Welfare of Horses and Ponies at Events - "Under no circumstances should any horse be kept stabled in a trailer or horsebox overnight"

The code of practice is endorsed by:
British Eventing
British Dressage
British Showjumping
BRC
Trec
Endurance GB
ABRS
RDA
UK Polocrosse
Pony Club
Mounted Games Association
British Breeding

So the vast majority of disciplines consider it bad practice.....

 

[ester]

do they give any reasoning magicmoose? From reading the lack of solid reasoning is why the british carriage driving did not adopt it.

 

[Goldenstar]

From the BHS Code of Practice for the Welfare of Horses and Ponies at Events - "Under no circumstances should any horse be kept stabled in a trailer or horsebox overnight"

The code of practice is endorsed by:
British Eventing
British Dressage
British Showjumping
BRC
Trec
Endurance GB
ABRS
RDA
UK Polocrosse
Pony Club
Mounted Games Association
British Breeding

So the vast majority of disciplines consider it bad practice.....

Really all I can say is that when I have seen it done at driving trials it works well and of the locations for driving trials are chosen for people to be able to stable their own in a huge variety of ways events do not provide stabling other than at the top level.
I had really no choice he had mangled his portable it was 11.45 pm ,pouring he was fully clipped and it was the choice of standing with in the rain all night or standing in the lorry .he was as happy and relaxed all night from the moment I put him in he settled .
We on the other hand had a less good night.
He was used to lorry stabling that's how his previous owner stabled him ( he jumped electric fences ) . I don't why he decided to trash his very nice portable stable he was a bit like that .
I solved the issue at future event by using electric fencing inside the front of his portable stable that sorted him.

 

[Wagtail]

I think a much better solution is to take electric fencing and build them a pen at the side of the lorry. I have seen this done a few times.

 

[ester]

whereas that concerns me much more - it usually isn't electrified and I'd be much more worried about them getting tangled in it/pulling posts out as it then isn't solid than them in a lorry.

 

[Goldenstar]

A pens fine .( but that's usually were horses get loose from) and I think not allowed a higher level driving trials until you are away for three night in appalling weather and the horse is knee deep in mud leaving patches of the kind landowners fields looking like the Somme or you in Scotland with the poor horse being driven mad from dawn to dust by midges .
I really think it's something having seen it a driving trials that people are well able to decide for them selves .
Non of my horses would have been happy in a tiny pen .

 

[STRIKER]

Or those metal sheep hurdles with the foot weights for umbrellas so they cant be blown over and electric fencing

 

[Goldenstar]

whereas that concerns me much more - it usually isn't electrified and I'd be much more worried about them getting tangled in it/pulling posts out as it then isn't solid than them in a lorry.

At driving trials it must be electrified that's the rule but it was where escapees usually came from .

 

[ester]

I think sheep hurdles depend on size of hooves, you can get the taller versions too - ah I wasn't sure about that GS, have mostly seen penning for MGA which I don't think was.

 

[YorksG]

Being a little cynical I think most venues which don't allow the use of transport as stalls, do so as they can then make profit from leasing stables. Electric fence pens are far too vulnerable to escapees, to my mind.

 

[pennyturner]

I'd think it's much safer to have a horse stabled in a lorry which is familiar, than in a strange 'temporary stable' which is new to the horse, and therefore much more likely to cause an issue.

Mine don't travel very much and are used to being out, but they know my trailer, and I could keep them in it overnight either loose or on a log without a fuss. They'd be much more bothered by a strange stable.

 

[STRIKER]

Too many folk in power these days make decisions without consulting with the man in the street i.e the horse owner, the one whom it would apply to and who knew their animals, and you get those that dont know any better so just agree on what they think is the most popular

 

[magicmoose]

I can understand why shows ban it. While there are owners who may have a sensible horse and suitable box, there will always be one who has a big horse in a tiny, unventilated box in hot weather, or heaven forbid a lorry fire while cooking in the living.

 

[STRIKER]

Or break through the lecky fencing and run into a road get hit by a car

 

[MagicMelon]

TBH I think its kinder to do this (assuming the space is big enough of course), than leaving horses standing stock still in a narrow partitioned bit for HOURS at a show which I see all the time. The horses can't move so must get stiff as hell and bored to death, this is why I tie my horse up outside. Personally, I wouldn't leave a horse on a lorry overnight even with lots of space as I just dont see how the space would be enough (I like extra large stables) but would consider it with little ponies but nothing bigger.

I think more places should allow electric fenced "paddocks" IF the horse is sensible and the owner stays nearby (as in, in the lorry overnight so right beside the horse). I asked to do this at a little BE event as my horse was far happier outside, he stressed being stabled anywhere new, they refused so I had to pay for a stable and he was pretty miserable all night... Obviously I think these "paddocks" should only be allowed in a closed field.

 

[maree t]

We go to mga competitions . Al the ponies are penned outside . At some comps there are 400 ponies corralled . We have a travel energiser which is brilliant. We use 5 foot posts aswell. Some events have stabling only Cricklands being one and there is always plenty . If not then with partitions removed cant see the problem. There are risks in life with everything but I would do this if necessary .Our ponies travel a lot and are chilled and used to it ,

 

[Hoof_Prints]

My friend did this at all all day/evening show. Horse point blank refused to go near her temporary stable so they had to leave her in the lorry. Horse was much happier and stood looking over the doors at the back of the lorry (wasn't fully shut up) . On a side note, not to do with shows- I bought a pony from Ireland and he'd been stood at the back of a lorry, in a partition for 32 hours