News article about trailer turning over

miss_c

miss_c

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http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/397/274781.html

A horrible thing to happen to anybody... (it happened to me and my horse was killed while the other came out with cuts and scrapes)

What annoys me about this article though, is that the fire and rescue guy seems to be saying that if you're only travelling one horse you shouldn't have the partition in!

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'When firecrews arrived the horsebox was on its side and had a central partition in, even though there was only one horse travelling in the box'

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I don't know about you guys, but when I used a trailer I would ALWAYS have the central partition in, even if I was only using one horse. I felt it was much safer, plus I didn't have the single breast and breech bars.

Ok, I can understand that the partition made it awkward to get to the horse, but I personally would want to travel my horse safely in the first place, not anticipating an accident like that. What are other people's thoughts on this?

Fortunately the horse was just bruised, and I hope it makes a full recovery and the owners and all others involved are not too traumatised. :-)
 
I agree about the wording, a bit odd isn't it. I would always use a partition travelling one, unless the individual horse found it easier to balance without it as some do.

Looks like a very old trailer in the photos, I bet the partition was very heavy!!! The horse was very lucky to survive.

Sorry to hear about your horse, how tragic
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I always travel one horse with petition in and wonder if in fact that did save the horses life - as without the petition it may have been thrown around the box breaking bones etc, the petition (much like our seatbelt) may have held it in place and secure until it could be released in a controlled manner.

fihunt - sorry to hear about your horse that must have been very distressing.
 
I agree with you all.

Even though they may have just been trying to explain, the wording does sound as though they are having a dig.

I too would always have a partion in when travelling 1 horse or pony, it gives them something to brace themselves against.

It is also a very valid point that the partition may have saved the ponies life, by stopping it being thrown around.
 
The partition staying in place was probably a good thing although clearly made the rescue more difficult
I often wish reports about these accidents were in the public domain as Im sure we could all learn from them including the agents who service our trailers.
 
We always used to travel one horse without the partition when we had an old Bahill as it was quite narrow. I would be very interested to know what the towcar in this accident was.
 
There's absolutely no way that anyone without possession of the full details of the accident can tell whether the towcar was at fault in this accident. It could be an unavoidable accident due to another road user or situation that would have had the same outcome no matter what the towcar was.

Poor horse and owner, glad they all got out unscathed. Well done to the rescue services.
 
I'm afraid I get very frustrated with speculation over accidents. A friend of mine died in a climbing accident a couple of years ago and the amount of ridiculous speculation and accusations that were thrown about on internet forums was really upsetting, especially when you knew they didn't know all the details (and no one really could know 100% of the details).
 
Old wooden floored Rice trailer, with solid wooden partition, approx height of horse in pic, 16hh...being towed by a Freelander????

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Thanks to everyone who has expressed concern over those involved. The horse's owner is a friend of mine, and we're incredibly thankful that everyone has escaped with minor bumps and bruises only.

Kizzy, the horse in the trailer, has a haematoma on one stifle. She's a very lucky horse. The vet put it down to her calm temperament - it could have been a different outcome had she panicked in the trailer.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Old wooden floored Rice trailer, with solid wooden partition, approx height of horse in pic, 16hh...being towed by a Freelander????

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Couldn't agree more. Freelanders should never be used to tow horses, they're hopeless vehicles even without a load, let alone with one. I'm glad the horse survived with comparatively minor injuries, time will tell how traumatised it is.
 
Glad the Horse is OK.

There is nothing to say it was the vehicles fault. Freelanders are perfectly capable of towing 1 Horse, legally up to 2000KG. In fact 1 Horse with a Freelander is often less of a percentage than 2 big Horses being towed by a bigger 4X4.

I have one, and it certainly isn't hopeless. I sometimes tow a short distance with it (one Horse 510), up and down hills with no issues. I also use a big van, which tows better than any 4X4, is bigger than the trailer. To say they should never be used is ridiculous and implying that the manufacturer knows nothing. It's also a pretty inconsiderate thing to say on this post seeing as a friend of the person involved has viewed it. I would never tow unsafely, and I've done a LOT of towing, including much more unstable things than Horse trailers. I have never had a problem with power or braking in it. Yes I have seen some unsuitable use of tow vehicles (ie small cars and 2 big Horses with small 4X4's) and that is wrong, but if you are within the legal limit then then it should not be outwith the vehicles capability.

Not all of us can afford to run a big 4X4 and the Freelander for a one Horse owner is a decent compromise.
 
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