Keeping a horse in the back of he lorry?

[GreenEyedMonster]

I am just wondering, and do not worry about this ever happening, but would it be totally I humane to keep a horse in a lorry if staying over a pt a show?

Im talking about a 3/4 horse lorry with the partitions taken out and a 14-15hh pony staying in it with bedding down, windows open and for the duration of a show...

innocent question ion only and I have no intentions of doing so mostly because I never stay at overnight shows and my mode of transport is a 30 year old rice trailer!

it just has me wondering...

 

[Auslander]

Don't see why not, if it has food, water and fresh air, and the space is comparable to a stable.

 

[STRIKER]

I would as long as it had all of the above as auslander has said, one concern might be it couldnt look out.

 

[horsefeed]

I have left my 2 donkeys overnight before with partitions out and ramp down so could look over back gate, they had 12ft9ft so comparable to stable, was when we moved yards and was lashing down and stable roof wasn't finished, the horses were fine out but there coats aren't waterproof. Obviously they had water, bedding, hay etc

 

[foraday]

Someone actually did that at one of the last shows at Towerlands!

Needless to say the lorry rocked all night and the poor horse seems very stressed.

Someone reported the lorry number plate and they were then told to leave without refunding their entries.

So it must have been in the rules somewhere for that particular society.

I must admit I haven't seen it before this or since tbh.

A lot of those new lorries have pull out sides with roofs that have ready made stables attached! Must have cost a fortune! But then you do need to be rich to stay over night at some venues with stables as much as 50 odd plus bedding!!!

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Years ago have done it with small M&M's under 12hh (and only the 1 at a time!)
Would never do it with a bigger one tho!

You would not believe how much they create movement tho..... even when getting down for a kip & back up again..
I was younger & more resilient then tho

 

[3Beasties]

I have left my 2 donkeys overnight before with partitions out and ramp down so could look over back gate

I've seen that done at an overnight show with Mini ponies. They weren't bothered at all an enjoyed watching the world go by.

 

[Suelin]

Most shows don't allow that. Rightly so.

 

[STRIKER]

Could you explain Suelin your reasons for why it shouldnt be done, esp if a show is expecting 50 entiries and will only have 20 boxes to let out, then what are folk from long distances supposed to do, travel at 1am in the morning to get to venue because their competition is at 8.30am and their journey time is 5 hours, allowing horse some rest time before competiting. Just interested in reasons.

 

[happyclappy]

providing they are used to it, somebody is close to keep ears and eyes alert and the show allows it, i do not see why not. i do not like to see horses left in horse boxes otherwise as i have seen horrendous accidents to horses left in unattended horse boxes.

 

[Goldenstar]

Some people at driving trials stable their horses in the lorry .
A 7.5 ton lorry is a comparable size to a portable stable so why not .
It's usually people who travel with the carriage and horse in the lorry and take a caravan for the people as it's noisy and rocky when the horse is in the lorry .
I know this because mine destroyed the portable stable once and had to spend the night in the lorry.

 

[ROMANY 1959]

When we do Polocrosse tournaments we pen the horses at the side of the lorry with elec fence and energiser, the pens are about 25 ft square. Can you not do this...

 

[Fides]

When we do Polocrosse tournaments we pen the horses at the side of the lorry with elec fence and energiser, the pens are about 25 ft square. Can you not do this...

This is what I have seen done a few times too

 

[Suelin]

Could you explain Suelin your reasons for why it shouldnt be done, esp if a show is expecting 50 entiries and will only have 20 boxes to let out, then what are folk from long distances supposed to do, travel at 1am in the morning to get to venue because their competition is at 8.30am and their journey time is 5 hours, allowing horse some rest time before competiting. Just interested in reasons.

Well if the show hasn't adequate stabling then frankly I wouldn't bother to enter. If they have 50 entries requiring stabling then they should provide temporary accommodation. Horse welfare is paramount. They don't ask to be in competitions do they? Further the horsebox is designed for travel not for living in. I feel that allowing the box to be used for overnight accommodation is open to abuse. Okay a mini shetland may have plenty of room but a big horse would be cramped imo. They need to be able to relax and frankly I don't believe the horsebox is the right place. Corralling is widely used in endurance so why it can't be used for other disciplines is a mystery to me. Yes I know that stabling adds a cost but again competitions aren't necessary for life and horses are expensive. It all comes down to priorities really. The priority is the welfare of the horse. Simple.

 

[DragonSlayer]

When we do Polocrosse tournaments we pen the horses at the side of the lorry with elec fence and energiser, the pens are about 25 ft square. Can you not do this...

It's what happens with Trec events. I've done this a few times.

 

[STRIKER]

Thanks suelin fair enough argument. I however wud have thought just for one night would be okay.

I spoke about the stabling as i was a livery once at a competition yard and i offered up my stable for the day as my horse was out in a field and a competitors horse was stressed in the box and there were no stables left for the competitors to hire. I must add the YO still charged the competitor for the use of my stable that i had already paid livery on, the mind boggles

 

[Goldenstar]

It is true that of course the driving horses that stable in there lorrys are used to it and the lorries are often specially set up for it .
I myself stabled a horse overnight in a trailer without a petition in an emergency when we took in horse who had been in a road accident in terrible weather so I put one of mine in a trailer ( no smaller than a stall ) .

 

[mudmudmud]

At mounted games competitions we make pens out of electric fencing around the lorry, the ponies live like this every weekend throughout summer and all manage no problems.

 

[fattylumpkin]

I'd either use a pen outside the lorry or a hi tie from the lorry roof Easycare has a great hi-tie that works really well, people in the endurance community swear by it.

 

[martlin]

I've done it before in a biggish lorry when there were fewer temporary boxes/tie up stalls than horses at a show. Heck, my grade A spent a couple of nights tethered to a tree and she survived and jumped really well.

 

[ChesnutsRoasting]

I can't see what the problem is? If the horse is comfortable & chilled what's the issue?

 

[Auslander]

This thread has just reminded me of a time about 15 years ago, when I had a horse who wouldn't load. I parked my lorry in the field with the partitions out, a straw bed down, both ramps open, and a big pile of hay in one corner. Came up the next day to find three horses, including the non loader, all asleep in the lorry - and they overnighted in it until I moved it out of the field a week later. Blimmin thing still flatly refused to load the next time we tried though...

 

[angelish]

Could you explain Suelin your reasons for why it shouldnt be done, esp if a show is expecting 50 entiries and will only have 20 boxes to let out, then what are folk from long distances supposed to do, travel at 1am in the morning to get to venue because their competition is at 8.30am and their journey time is 5 hours, allowing horse some rest time before competiting. Just interested in reasons.

because somebody somewhere will take the mickey
i don't see the problem with a small pony as long as it isn't getting distressed in any way but you will get some plonker who leaves a larger horse in a lorry over night or someone won't bother to take the partitions out and its too difficult to make rules that only ponies under 14hh can be left as long as the lorry is bigger than ?
and the partitions are removed etc

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

Driving people often do this, but they may have oversize lorries as they have to accommodate the carriage.
They are often ponies and very sane and sensible.
I understand the BHS want to ban the practice, more to stop neglect , not to curtail driving people,.

 

[spookypony]

Another person who regularly corrals at Endurance. Seems to me a thing other disciplines could learn from! Even at really, really big events, am always impressed at how calm the corral field is. The horses mostly just hang out and eat. And they are no less fit or hot-tempered than any eventer.

 

[Riz]

Had to do this at Hickstead once with a stallion-they hadn't got a suitable stable left for him when we turned up so we took all the partitions out & bedded the back down. He cribbed....you can imagine how much sleep we got as the box rocked from side to side!!!!

 

[katastrophykat]

Perfectly normal at driving trials, as Goldenstar said. There was a pony in an equitrek at the one I was at last week- settled and happy. My boys spend their time between a side stable and an electric pen.

 

[Tnavas]

Can't see a problem for a pony, after all most trucks take a 17hh+ Across the width of the truck.

In NZ temporary pens made of electric fencing are banned at the majority of shows (a few yrs ago some horses escaped in the night, caused a mass break out and several horses were injured or killed as a result. We hired temporary metal rail yards last week to house all the games ponies that came to us for pony club champs. We passed on the charge of hiring them to the competitor.

I've allowed my horse to stand in the truck during the day with partitions removed and just the gates across the back secured.

 

[Dry Rot]

(I don't stable in the lorry -- don't have a lorry! -- so don't shoot me!) But wasn't it normal for horses to be stalled? I think many still are but perhaps more so overseas…. A stall is a lot smaller than a lorry and only provides space for a tied horse. Cows would be tied like that all winter.

As for corralling, that sounds a bit better. But I wouldn't be brave enough to tether. Do a bit of Googling and you will find no end of stories where horses have broken away and bolted dragging a line and whatever it was fastened to, sometimes killing the horse and any unfortunates who got tangled up along the way.

 

[oldie48]

We've corralled ponies when my daughter was going through her polocrosse phase as everyone else did it. Pony was happy and very settled. I think if you were over-nighting in a lorry, you'd need to be very careful that horse didn't overheat or get very chilled, neither of our lorries had particularly great insulation in the horse area and would heat up or cool down quite rapidly.