Trailer accidents.

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keekee

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Has anyone had any nasty experiences with their horses in trailers??? iv heard of some nasty things happening out their but fingers crossed were all safe.
 
We were taking my horse to my friends house, and just going past Gatwick when people started flashing us and waving at us. At first we thought it was nothing, and that Henry in the trailer behind was fine. Eventually we pulled over and found that the middle partition had fallen ontop of Henry and trapped him. Between me and my dad we got it back up again and Henry was fine. Surprisingly being such a spooky and nervy horse he was so calm through the whole thing, and still loves the trailer!!
 
A friends horse jumped over the breastbar and got stuck half way out the jockey door!!
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Fire Bridgade had to pull her the rest of the way out the jockey door!!! She was sore and bruised, but fine.
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i was trying to get my mare (who was terrified of trailers) into one and i was halfway in and she had managed to get her head just in and the partition fell on top of me and she spooked her head shot up and she hit it on the roof then ran backwards dragging me underneath the partition
we were both sore and bruised and it didnt really help the whole getting her used to trailers thing
 
A woman driving to our yard last year for a show arrived without her trailer. She was a bit confused and though she must have forgotten to hitch it up (you'd have thought she might had noticed huh?). She drove home to get it and saw it a few miles away from the yard in a ditch..........it had come un-hitched as she drove along - AND SHE HADN'T NOTICED.........!!!!!

Luckily the pony was fine - the trailer was dragged out of the ditch, and the darling little thing unloaded and loaded again into another trailer straight away to be brought to the yard where a vet checked him over. Then he loaded perfectly into a trailer to be taken home.

I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself.............
 
We've had a 2ft x 2ft section of the floor drop out of a newish trailer whilst travelling at 50 mph. The result is not pretty and my father had to shoot his own horse as the vet or hunt couldn't get out within 20mins. We sued ifor williams and my parents had a gagging order as part of the settlement.

They never recalled the dodgy floors, it was cheaper for them to be sued or hope the owners we not insured.
 
One of my horses wrote the trailer off on the M48 causing us to get the police to close the motorway and the old Severn Bridge. We think a hornet must have got in the trailer. He reared - came down on the breast bar. which ripped a hole 3 ft by 1ft wide down the side. He kicked holes in the roof. ripped the back ramp off one of the hinges. The central partition was wrecked. The horse standing next to him was totally calm throughout - despite the fact he was scalped - loosing his forelock along with the skin it was attached to. The trailer was being towed by me with a large 4x4 which was thrown across two lanes of traffic - missing everything luckily. I managed to get it onto the hard shoulder. We managed to limp the damaged trailer to Aust services with a large police escort. Unloaded the horses - the one which had lost the plot was covered in blood, but all the injuries were surface and bruising. THe police stayed well back as they were sure we would be unloading a demon.

We called a friend out with their lorry and the calm horse loaded like a dream - followed closely by the other one. then travelled back home as though nothing happened
 
Me and a friend were taking our two horses to a show and we heard some more stamping than what they normally do but wasn't enough for us to stop and check really.Got to the show and my mare had got her front leg over the breast bar and was in a pretty bad state when we took her off the trailer,think the other horse bit her face and she reared up,i always tie any horse extra short when with another one after seeing that as it scared the life out of me.
 
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Bedlam are you talking about a woman in lincolnshire?? if it is i know them if not omg there is 2 of them that did it!!

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No - Hertfordshire - so you're right OMG there ARE 2 of them out there...!!! I can't believe anybody else was that stupid....!!!!
 
Lot of scarey stories quite shocking really
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Although touch lots and lots of wood I have never had an acident or incident myself I do know of similair story where trailor floor fell through and once again not a pretty sight poor horse was shot at road side, driver thought peeps where beeping and flashing at her as they were impatiant at her causious driving
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I've seen a horse with it's leg trapped between the ramp and the trailer. Really nasty. But even nastier that apparently it was not the first time it had happened! Not my horse or trailer i hasten to add! I have had ponies try to escape through Jockey doors and one that insisted on going under the breastbar!
 
My horse tried to make a dash through the jockey door but hubby got front ramp down in time and we flew out that way thankfully but I know of one that got through the jockey door, shattering his owners arm in the process. The horse was fine, hard to believe a 15.3hh can fit.
Did hear off a reliable source that a certain side loading trailer went over travelling a 5mph, towed by a disco and trapped the horses in it. They had to be cut out of it. I was thinking of buying one and emailed this company to ask about stability and I never got a reply.
 
This makes terrifying reading! Ive had close calls with one in particular of mine - he's reared over the bar several times and got stuck with it under his stomach. Trying to lift a half tonne of horse (he's a very sturdy horse!) off a breast bar has been quite some task and has always taken 3 people to achieve. The worst was when we were doing 50mph when suddenly the jockey door slammed open and we heard a massive noise. Pulled into a petrol station to find he had jumped clean over the breast bar and his entire body (15.2hh very solid Welsh Cob) was wedged into the front!! It was only the lead rope which he'd got twisted round that had managed to turn his head back the way and actually stopped his quest for getting out the jockey door! Amazingly he's always remained totally calm throughout out de-tangling processes, he always has a look on his face of "mum, help me, Ive done it again"...
 
Friends went to Sheepgate last year in an older Ifow 510 (wooden floor) car behind started flashing and they pulled over only to be told the driver behind could see the horses leg bouncing off the tarmac
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Luckily horse was ok - ground foot down a fair way and minor cuts and grazes where he'd gone through the wood.

Unloaded at scene, took one horse on to show (5 mins away) and came back for injured horse who loaded ok.

They have now had a new floor
 
Those stories of horses going through the floor alway terrify me. Horrific, poor poor horses.

My friends 15.2 tank of a cob managed to rear up over the breast bar and get herself stuck while they were parked in the yard after getting back from a show.

A lot of huffing and puffing latter they managed to shove her back over.

Also another friends riding pony colt reared up in the trailer (again while parked, but this time at a show) and fell over backwards.

They opened up the back ramp and he rolly pollied down it, got up, shook himself and went on to win his class!
 
I have had my horse fall over in the trailer and take the partition out. he got himself back up and reloaded like a dream to come home, but he now has trailer issues and now has to have the whole trailer to himself..... bit of a pain, but that is how it is.

I have also had the ramp come down while travelling, when a friend forgot to fasten the ramp properly.... I now don't trust anyone else for "preflight" checks
 
A friend of the family was taking her mare to stud and on the way she had put her hind foot through the wooden floor (Ifor Williams trailer), not sure when it happened so not sure how far she travelled with her foot dragging along the motorway but no-one noticed until she had arrived at stud! Luckily there were just a few cuts on her and no major injuries. It turns out the underlying wood of the floor was rotten!
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Some of these stories are horrific, it's definately my worst nightmare
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In my transporting days, i picked up a horse who decided after an hour it was getting out!!
He was a big cob, and after throwing me all over the motorway, he then got both front legs over the breaching bar, and sat down!!
People were beeping at me to stop, but as i had CCTV in the trailer, i carried on to the services.
Luckily i carried all the bits and bats with me and undid the bars from the outside.
I went in expecting the inside of my brand new Ifor to be smashed to pieces, but it was fine apart from a bow in the breaching bar.
I carried on the journey, which was still pretty hairy.
When the new owner rang the old owner to tell her what had happened, she said that the horse had only ever travelled for a max of 20 mins all it's life, so maybe the 2hr trip was too much for it!! Thanks for letting us know NOT
 
Scary how many horses go through trailer floors.

Someone at a yard I used to be at had their trailer parked up over winter, then decided that jumping up and down in it a few times would be adequate for checking the floor was sound for use. Turns out that idea was as stupid as it sounds!!

The horse was very lucky that the yard had a long drive, Still horrific injuries, but survived to tell the tale. 2 minutes later it would have happened on a 40mph road - dont think he would have been as lucky then.
 
I only use a trailer now if there is no other way of transporting my pony. I had an Ifor prtition collapse on her, worst thuing was I was behind and could see it all happening. And do you think I could get the attention of my "friends" driving oh no.... had to overtake, grit my teeth and go and do the most dangerous piece of driving I have ever done. Whole incident left her traumatized and loading her...4 get it you now have to walk her legs for her. Not sure she will ever get over it as she won't even allow a measuring stick near her now....lots of work with silver painted drain pipes planned.
 
We wrote off a Disco and a 2 year old trailer in an accident. Breaking system failed causing trailer to jack knife not enough room on lane to steer out of it so we ended up upside down in a ditch with the trailer rolling down the road for about 300 yards. we were only doing about 28 mph but due to weight and being on a hill was more like 45mph when we finally crashed. Two horses and we were absolutely fine loaded again no problem. You see people towing with such unsuitable vehicles if we'd have been in anything smaller we'd be dead. Would never use a trailer again just don't feel safe in them, if you look at the physics of it it's a miricale any of them remain upright at all!
 
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A woman driving to our yard last year for a show arrived without her trailer. She was a bit confused and though she must have forgotten to hitch it up (you'd have thought she might had noticed huh?). She drove home to get it and saw it a few miles away from the yard in a ditch..........it had come un-hitched as she drove along - AND SHE HADN'T NOTICED.........!!!!!

Luckily the pony was fine - the trailer was dragged out of the ditch, and the darling little thing unloaded and loaded again into another trailer straight away to be brought to the yard where a vet checked him over. Then he loaded perfectly into a trailer to be taken home.

I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself.............

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I remember that well, her looking around the car park for the missing trailer and scratching her head.

Worst thing is she is a farmers wife, so should be a practical type, used to towing things.
 
my friends horse jump over the breast bar and squesed out the jockey door, with only minor scratches. she a 16.2 eventer. not exactly small. she still cant get her traveling.
 
After several incidents of tiny shetlands coming under breastbars, Welsh 11.2 getting out jocket door, large horse getting legs over breastbar, pony with leg trapped between side ramp and door upright resulting in cut tendon and sliced off knee, I've now had lots of adjustments made. I've got 3 height options for bars, 3 length options for the longer/shorter horse plenty of rubber skirting under all bars, ground down the sharp metal edges (go in and feel around as if you are a horse in distress and you'd be amazed how many edges there are sharp enough to cut an eye out, face open etc). I've also had plenty of extra tying up points added inside and out. Now i feel safe taking any of mine, be it shetland or hunter out in the trailer and I know I've done what I can to make their compartment the best fit for them. Towing is a nightmare and you just never know what is going to happen next but actually I enjoy it. Today one of my 13.2 ponies managed to take off her own rear travelling boots, despite them being still done up and tight enough that I could barely get a finger in the top, so that explained all the thumping around in the back which was bad enough to make me pull over to check - sometimes horses will just be horses and there's no much any of us can do about that!
 
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