Those of you with trailers - what do you take with you to shows?

Orchardbeck

Orchardbeck

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And how do you pack things? Am hoping to pick up some tips after doing a few shows and finding I get in a muddle with all our stuff! What is essential, what is nice to have, and what is unnecessary?

Does anyone use hook over buckets for water, or could they be dangerous?
 
Nothing in the trailer apart from the horse and haynet. Having parked next to someone last week who had a tyre, riding boots, grooming kit etc on the floor I was horrified at the prospect of what would happen in the case of sharp braking or accident and all that stuff flying around the trailer. We usually only have two people in the towing vehicle so generally rider stuff such as jackets, boots food etc on back seat and all the horse stuff in the boot. Water container in the well behind front seats.
 
I have recently got a trailer and this is what I have found works after having three weekend trips away. I make a list which gets ticked off and everything has its place in the car.

Back seats go down in the car leaving the normally removable bar with retractable shade thingy in place which turns into a saddle rack. Fits two saddles perfectly. First aid box comes with me from the tack room so I have everything in one place in case of emergencies. Riding kit goes in one big plastic box and horses boots, bandages, girths, numnahs in another plastic box. Wash kit and my other clothes in an Ortleib bag and a spare bag for dirty clothes. Water and feed trugs stacked with individual bags of feed made up in zip lock bags in the top trug. Rugs folded neatly with back protector on top. Grooming kit in another box. I have a plastic water container to carry water, take it empty and fill it up at the event. I buy a bale of Horsehage and don't open it until I arrive so I don't get a car full of haylage. Bridles hang across the cantle of the saddles. My camping equipment goes behind the passenger seat. Corral stakes in cardboard box they came in fit perfectly in the boot with battery and energiser box behind drivers seat. Broom and poo scoop go in the trailer.

Once I arrive and the corral is up and running pony is turned out into it and I clean out the trailer and set it up for camping in. Saddle sits on the middle partition, boxes all come out of the car and go one side and I sleep on a camp bed the other side. I try not to keep opening the car doors once I have arrived so the battery doesn't drain and its easier to find things in the trailer in see through boxes.

Car is a very old Lexus 4x4 and copes admirably, trailer is a new Ifor 506. I do find the more events I do the easier it gets and the first one was a real trial and error affair. This weekend is so close I can always nip home if I forget something but I'm hoping not to have to.
 
Essential:
Tack for event
Boots/bandages etc
Water + bucket & sponge
Hay + extra depending on length of outing
Spare headcollar + rope
Trailer ties
Muck/skip bucket
Waterproof rug/sheet
A Piece of string!

Useful:
Prepacked grooming kit so you can grab & go

spare tack
Baby wipes
Fly spray
Riding kit probably essential!

Wet weather clothes
Spare clothes if wet
Mounting Block

Unnecessary:

If you think you might need it TAKE it cos it will be the one time you do if you leave it behind!

I am lucky enough to have a tack box on the front of my trailer which carries saddle /bridles & grooming kit. Everything else goes in the truck!
 
I got a Bateson Ascot which has a built in tack locker in the nose cone, precisely so I could store all the bits that I don't want to lug in/out each trip. Things that used to just get left in lorry.

So bits like first aid, spare rugs, grooming and prep kit, wash off. Spare headcollar, lead rope, leathers and reins etc.

I tie up a water butt at the front too, although am considering getting brackets welded to the outside to hold water.

So then it's just a case of putting tack and human clothes in the car.
 
We have a pick up and carry
Passport - in tray under passenger seat
1 or 2 full haynets - tied to front at top.
Water in 1 or 2 containers depending how long / where we're going
2 Stackable Buckets with flat sides so will stay against side of car + collapsible bowl - this is surprisingly handy
In top bucket is sponge, scraper, fly spray, show shine, tack cleaner.
Allthe above are held in place one side with an adjustable tie., as if they move it's a nuisance, the water is heavy and the contents of the bucket go everywhere.
Grooming bag - we have a small Horze kit for taking to shows as takes up less room, https://www.horze.co.uk/grooming-boxes-sets/horze-wooden-grooming-set/26240.html?color=BL added in to the bag are plaiting bands, chalk and a few favourite grooming items.
Two plastic boxes, aboout 15" x8" and 8" deep - so smallish with lids, from the cheap shop locally, one contains treats, cloths, and other useful bits and pieces; the other stud kits and extra horse first aid supplies and hoof oil. These boxes do not fall over, so no risk of hoof oil everywhere.. These will stack on top of each other if more space is needed.
first aid kit (some human some horse in here)
fold up step stool for mounting
fold up chair(s) for spectating
Poo scoop set in old chaff bag + spare chaff bag (when filled goes in front of trailer). If going to be a lot of poo also take a big trug to put it in.

Bootbag containing clean boots, chaps, spare leathers, bits of tack etc, spare gloves. All this is kept pristine and replace back in there clean on return. We have a posh set for going out, when the day-to-day riding set needs replacing I buy new for the show set and relegate the old show set to day-to-day.
Jacket in bag - this hangs from roof of pickup lid
Hat in hat bag with gloves, hairnet etc etc
tack - either goes in back of pick up or in tack pack in trailer
whips - sit on ledge to side where top meets pickup base & permanently live in the car actually, as does body protector.

Always take a rainsheet if wet weather is forecast, handy to pop over horse if have to wait in the rain. Plus a couple of fleece/cooler rugs, if one's wet you have a spare.

There's always bailer twine, spare cons of drink and odds and ends lurking in the car anyway.

If going away overnight, and we need to take more mucking out tools, rugs, wheelbarrow and hay etc, then I hook a builders bag https://www.travisperkins.co.uk/TP-Empty-Side-Loop-Bulk-Bag/p/368818 through the nearside breach bars and pop everything we need in there so a) it is all in one place b) it can't move to horse side of partition and c) the hay stays dry & clean should the horse wee (ours prefers not to thankfully)
 
In the trailer nothing but the horses and their Haynes plus saddles on the fitted racks.

I also work on the basis of having rider stuff on the back seats and horse stuff in the boot. I take a water container and a bucket for drinking from. Depending upon where we are going and what we are doing a second bucket for washing off together with sponge scraper etc. Again depending upon the outing a bucket with a small feed made up (normally only for hunting). Then a spare headcollar and leadrope. Bridle and other tack and boots. Oh and a mounting block.

I need to get my first aid type stuff a bit more organised as currently it is a bit of a case of chucking in some antiseptic and stuff.

I also have a small tyre pump in case of a flat tyre, details of my breakdown cover and numbers for horsey emergencies (vet, YO etc).
 
I like to take an old bath mat to put on the floor of the trailer for when I get changed in it... Saves getting bits of hay stuck in your socks!
 
Along with his tack & my clothes & boots I'll take:

Spare girth, numnah, headcollar and leadrope
Spare tail wrap
Bucket and brush for poo
Bucket for water (and water in a container)
Towels & sponge (I have a white bummed/tailed horse who loves to poo during travel!)
'Show' grooming kit with all the usual brushes plus show shine, baby oil, fly spray, poo stain remover, white chalk etc.
First aid for horses and humans
Two hats - one for show and one for loading/handling
Couple of camping chairs
Tyre pump
 
Only horses wearing leather headcollars go in the trailer along with nets. The rest is in the car. We tend to go on fun rides so take saddles, bridles, hats, schooling whips and hi viz. I have a folding hoofpick in my pocket, we take a bucket of water with lid for the horses to drink and wash them off. An ikea stool for mounting. For shows we also add a grooming kit in the car, I have a grooming bag so just pick that up and take it. I have a tyre pump that lives in the car and a suction phone holder for navigation app.
 
As pretty much everyone has said - horse and haynet in the trailer, everything else gets chucked in the back of the Discovery (back seats are always folded down anyway for the dogs). I've not had a trailer that long (borrowed a lorry before) and it works a lot better than I'd remembered :)
 
I have a small tack locker in my trailer so I put my saddles in there and my grooming kit. Otherwise I just have horses and hay nets in the main body. I'm a children's car seat specialist so am also concerned about packing my trailer and car safely. My back seats have show clothes in them and my boot has my plastic boxes with spare head collar, lead rope, reigns, leathers, my passports, boots, saddle pads, first aid kit, my jerrycan of water and bride. This is with my boot devider to try and avoid projectiles for me in the event of an accident.
Currently we only do one day shows. When we need to take more equipment we'll add our roofbox.
 
Tack, first aid kit, wash off and drinking buckets, water, spares of everything such as girths, bridle, boots etc, turnout rugs in case of rain (insurance!), show clothes + all in car boot. Oh and Trailer Aid in case of a flat tyre. It's not a particularly big boot but I pack it well and have a system. (2 ponies).

I don't have anything apart from hay in the trailer. Always carry a spare haynet just in case we ever got stuck somewhere or in traffic.

We do have a tack locker in the trailer but I keep skip etc in there - I find it easier to use the car boot for all our stuff.
 
I do use a hook over bucket for water, then its always there for them throughout the day (I tie up outside unless I need to leave them). I generally only take 1 horse so I do store things on the other side, I usually have a couple of extra haynets, water container, buckets (a water one and a wash down bucket with sponge, sweat scraper etc. in), a decent sized plastic box with lid which I keep rugs in (waterproof quarter sheet, waterproof show rug, a cooler etc.) and another box which I keep things like my stud kit, first aid kit, extra grooming stuff, spare stuff like girth / stirrup leathers / tail bandage etc.). I have a tack locker built into my trailer so tack goes in there. In the boot of my car I'll usually put in my show grooming box and all my own competition gear and food! Oh and a picnic blanket with waterproof backing is handy (especially if you have young kids).
 
I always have car full as 2 kids and often husband too. So water carrier in trailer tied in front. Haynets with ponies. Tack in the boot, water bucket, grooming kits show shine, body protectors hats whips etc. Boot full! I don't tend to tack first aid kit but do tack a multi tool with knife to cut a hay nets etc in case of emergency.
We often have packed lunch, snacks, ipads, change of clothes etc for kids these go on back seat.
 
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