Pony wedged on tack locker

pedilia

pedilia

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I have a Ford Iveco, my connie has taken to rearing up in the box and has managed to get himself wedged more than once on the tack locker. It means that someone has to put themself in a very dangerous position to help him down.
My old connie and a freinds TB have both managed to do the same.
Has anyone with a lorry of similar design had the same problem? Any ideas on how to stop it happening?
 
My mare used to do this, thankfully she seemed to grow out of it. I tried numerous things to stop her and nothing worked although various suggestions included moving tie rings to high/low positions, tying her very short, putting a hay net or similar behind her so she couldn't make room to come up, giving her more/less room. I also considered building the tack locker up so it was higher or sloped but then I was worried she'd get in more of a mess if she managed to punch through a false top.
Luckily mine isn't a panicker she'd just stand there with one or both front legs stuck on the locker and then I'd open the partition or doors to give her enough room to angle her body and sort herself out. She'd just slide along until she reached the end and could put the leg down again. If I was to have another lorry after experiencing this I'd put the tack locker under the seating in the living.
Having spoken to a few people it seems that it is not an uncommon problem, If you can I'd just perceiver, invest in some high quality tough travelling boots and bandage under them too and then leave him to it hopefully like mine he'll realise it achieves nothing and stop bothering eventually. This worked for us and we travelled her loads to try and make it boring and normal, she used to go on the lorry at least once a week even if it meant I just drove her round the block.
Hope you can sort something out.
 
Not sure how high your tack lockers are but having recently viewed lots of wagons I am amazed at how low or sloped some of the tack lockers are.
Im probably in the minority as I like tack lockers in the horse area as long as they are high. They get rid of the gap left between the main part of the partiton and the head side wall of the wagon. My last wagon didnt have them, had fantastic 5ft high partitions with head dividers but there was a big gap under the head divider which screams exit to me. A horse transporter once looked at my wagon, said very nice but pointed to this gap.
If your tack lockers are lowish then building them up may help.
 
This isn't the first reported accident with tack lockers. IMHO they reduce the amount of free standing space as they contribute to any pre-existing claustrophia issues and are an absolute menace. A foot through a tack locker rarely has a totally happy ending.

In order to avoid this kind of accident in the future I would take them out. Simple as that.
 
It's sounds quite common then, it really worries me. Here is a photo of the tack locker, the horse inside is. 16hh.
StormloadingAug09043.jpg
 
My horse had always been fine travelling in lorries, until we tried to put him in one with a tack locker. He couldn't get used to the idea that he had a lot less foot space and completely panicked.

I wouldn't ever give them the time of day now.
 
FWIW, my experience of horses is that they will not naturaly feel secure without a foot clearance to a line perpendicular to their nose.When it feels the need (eg ,a tight bend in the road ) it will step out to that distance or till it hits the locker. On stepping short it may panic and try to climb the locker.Remove the locker!
 
Mike007 said:
FWIW, my experience of horses is that they will not naturaly feel secure without a foot clearance to a line perpendicular to their nose.When it feels the need (eg ,a tight bend in the road ) it will step out to that distance or till it hits the locker. On stepping short it may panic and try to climb the locker.Remove the locker!
Click to expand...

We hadn't even started moving when mine panicked. If you think, in a stable, although they may have banks, they can always put a foot through them if necessary. Mine couldn't get his foot as far as the line of his vision, hence he panicked.

Ditch the lockers. Made for the owner's convenience and spawn of the devil.
 
A friend recently transported two horses very long distance with a transporter. Their lorries are fitted with what sounds like a neckstrap, attached to a leadrope, which is secured to a ring in the floor just in front of the horse's front legs. They just slip the neckstrap, which is non restrictive, round the horse's neck and it is there should they start to rear. Apparently it works really well, usually a rearer will only try once and then give up. Would something similar be worth a try. Apologies if this is a poor description, I haven't seen it for myself, this is just what my friend told me!
 
Mike007 said:
FWIW, my experience of horses is that they will not naturaly feel secure without a foot clearance to a line perpendicular to their nose.When it feels the need (eg ,a tight bend in the road ) it will step out to that distance or till it hits the locker. On stepping short it may panic and try to climb the locker.Remove the locker!
Click to expand...

Rueysmum said:
We hadn't even started moving when mine panicked. If you think, in a stable, although they may have banks, they can always put a foot through them if necessary. Mine couldn't get his foot as far as the line of his vision, hence he panicked.

Ditch the lockers. Made for the owner's convenience and spawn of the devil.
Click to expand...

Totally agree!!!

Seen it so many times.

Hate lockers!!! Would never have them in a wagon.
 
Mine seem to travel fine with tack lockers however they are nice and high so all but a tiny pony would bang his head on the roof before getting on the lockers so I would say its more to do with a poorly designed/built lorry being the problem not the lockers...
 
How sloping do you have your partitions?
Looking at the layout it looks really tight for the horse to balance so I would try travelling him alone with him herringboned as far as possible.
Left loose most horses stick their bum in the driver's corner to travel, so angle them that way.
One solution I have seen work is to tie a bale of hay on top of the locker to two tie rings which makes it too high for the horse to get it's feet up.
 
My Friesian who was 16.2HH reared onto the tack locker and hit his head on the ceiling and actually dented the ceiling, awful :(

It was very difficult to get him down and he was lucky to walk away with a sctatch on his head and that was it, poor chap.

Tack lockers are great but clearly a problem too. Not sure if i would go for a lorry with tack lockers again. There again not got the lorry anymore! Trailer much easier and cheaper! Lorry was always having problems!
 
henryhorn said:
How sloping do you have your partitions?
Looking at the layout it looks really tight for the horse to balance so I would try travelling him alone with him herringboned as far as possible.
Left loose most horses stick their bum in the driver's corner to travel, so angle them that way.
One solution I have seen work is to tie a bale of hay on top of the locker to two tie rings which makes it too high for the horse to get it's feet up.
Click to expand...

As Henryhorn suggests maybe allowing more room by angling partitions or even widening them so pony isnt wedged in between 2 partitions.
How wide is your wagon, full width is 8ft, most seem to be less though, mine was full width and my 16.2 seemed to be swimming in there, ok no tack lockers but he seemed to have too much room.
 
Most of my aquantancies have removed tack lockers to stop them being trodden on and because they are easy to get into discreatly. Not ever been too worried about the gaps saying exit because ponies all tied up and horses not that optimistic.
Sorry my spelling is bad today.
 
Llewellyn said:
Most of my aquantancies have removed tack lockers to stop them being trodden on and because they are easy to get into discreatly. Not ever been too worried about the gaps saying exit because ponies all tied up and horses not that optimistic.
Sorry my spelling is bad today.
Click to expand...

I have one of a kind :D:D:eek:. Put him and his mate in and although tied up, both were somehow pulling faces and play biting each other under the head divider??? We decided not to travel them next to each other in my wagon. Maybe my tie rings were too low.
My boy tried to get through the jockey door in a trailer so I now worry gap means exit to him :eek::eek:
 
Mine was incurable and broke whatever way we tried to tie him down. Now he travels everywhere with a rope over his withers and a chain in front of his chest. He loves leaning on the chain and the wither rope stops him gonig up and putting his front feet on the tack locker. It may not be the tack locker, but the pony. If there is no tack locker there, mine will simple try to kick the windows out with his front feet, so don't take out the tack locker! You might also try less space as well as more space. Mine is best when held in the smallest reasonable partition space, it seems to make him feel more secure.
 
Mike007 said:
FWIW, my experience of horses is that they will not naturaly feel secure without a foot clearance to a line perpendicular to their nose.When it feels the need (eg ,a tight bend in the road ) it will step out to that distance or till it hits the locker. On stepping short it may panic and try to climb the locker.Remove the locker!
Click to expand...
That's interesting and makes sense when I think about it. A bar is different to a solid 'wall'. Mmmm. seems a bad place for a tack locker and especially if horses rearing and getting wedged is a fairly common problem! :(
 
Thanks everyone for your replys, I'm going to have a real think about what to do with this. My friends TB got wedged and went ballistic, he luckily didn't hurt himself but caused about 5k's worth of damage in the box.

My connie is normally a good traveller, we go out weekly, my concern is that he will thinks it a clever game and carry on!
 
I have heard of horses legs going through the top of a tack lockers, which I think coudl happen very easily as they are not designed to have any amount of horses weight on them.

We have a small tack locker (holds two saddles) that is accessed from the outside, and takes up space that is under the seats in the living, so the best of both worlds. I'm not a fan of lockers, as they make it difficult to get through in front of the horses, and I like to be able to get to the horses if needed when they are in the back. :)
 
appylass, that is a really good idea! Must remember that one :)

You could try travelling with hobbles as well, just for a few journeys to get the idea,as then they cant seperate their feet; if front to front dosent work you can try front to back hobbles :)

Our friend has one horse who constantly reared and caught her foot on the "lip" of the tack locker, she would do it, we would release it and then she would do it again.
Scary stuff!!

Making sure slope is enough is vital as well; if you think about it, you wouldnt stand with your feet together to balance, but if you took up a step stance (one foot slightly behind the other, knees bent) your balance is very secure!
 
Unfortunalty i have seen first hand a disastorous incident with a horse, that reared up got his legs on the tack locker and almost destroyed the box in the process of getting "free" - to this day they cannot even get him near a box, let alone on it - badly cut and very very scared horse and owner alike

When i was looking for a horsebox i was amazed at how many have these lockers and when i had mine built i had the floor of the living raised so that the tack lockers could fit there, leaving the horse area as wide and free as possible
 
Gingerwitch said:
When i was looking for a horsebox i was amazed at how many have these lockers and when i had mine built i had the floor of the living raised so that the tack lockers could fit there, leaving the horse area as wide and free as possible
Click to expand...
Yes, I don't blame you.
This has been on my mind all afternoon and I actually think expecting horses to have to stand and travel with this restriction, apart from being unsafe, is imo unacceptable. Yes you can strap a horse down or hobble it (yikes!:() but surely we shouldn't expect horses to have to cope with an un natural and very difficult restriction on their balance in a moving vehicle!
For me the only solution would be to rip the tack box out or not use a lorry with this design!

OK it's a very expensive vehicle but I value my horse more than any vehicle!
I am still gobsmacked actually that vehicles like this are sold let alone made! :confused:
 
I've seen front feet go through tack lockers when the horse has reared up. It was someone who had competed at college, horse normally travelled well, for some reason reared up onto the locker and it's front feet went straight through. I don't know how they got it out but it's legs were in an awful mess. Our vet was called out, i'm glad to say the horse survived but as for it's rehab I have no idea if it was rideable again or not. I would get rid of them, especially if you know that your horse is prone to doing this.
 
My third solution. Tie the horses the other side! They'll soon say what they think of this tack box placement!:D

This is actually a very serious design fault!!!
 
Can't you get the manufacturer to turn them into sloping lockers.
Our lorry has tack lockers in the horse area too - not something we would have done by choice, but he'd already built the lorry when we bought it.
Ours are faced with metal checker plate, with a quite a steep sloping top, and they're very solid - if a horse tried to climb it they'd slip off.
 
Sloping tops wont help the horses have more room in front to move their feet forward if they need to for balance though. :(
It's no wonder some panic and rear imo!
 
Space has nothing to do with mine going on the tack locker. I've got a lorry without them now (I hate them too, I think a horse needs to be able to lower his head to balance at times and they can't do that with a tack locker) but he still rears and beats at the windows. For anyone with a similar horse, a wither rope is a very simple and effective solution that is no restriction to the horse at all unless it does something dangerous. It will work the same way as the idea of tying them to the floor via a neck rope, but that sounds to me like a recipe for the horse to get his front legs caught up in the rope. Unsupervised, hobbles are a disaster waiting to happen and if you do use them you need a quick release or a very sharp knife on standby to get the horse free if it panics.
 
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