Trailer height limits

[abbijay]

I've just seen a post on faceache and it got me questioning...
The comment was "putting an 18hh horse in an ifor 510/511 would invalidate your insurance if you had an accident because it is larger than they are designed for." Is this correct? Or at least likely? I cannot find a horse height limit/recommendation for my old Richardson but I know plenty of people with big horses and trailers.
(I'm not asking for people's opinion of if they would personally choose to travel a large horse in a trailer, strictly the legality and insurance implications)

 

[Tiddlypom]

No, there is no height limit in Ifor 510s, although it is suggested that they can take 2 x 17.2 hhs.

What must not be exceeded is the payload which IIRC for my 510 is 1700kg. So easily ok for one heavy, but not 2, and in any case much more generous a payload than in many smaller lorries.

 

[Melody Grey]

Would have thought the weight would be more of an issue.

Trailer wouldn’t be ‘designed’ for a cow or a wardrobe but I wouldn’t expect either of those to invalidate your insurance?

 

[Annagain]

As long as you don't exceed the trailer's maximum weight (which is roughly 2600kg) the size of the horse(s) is irrelevant. A 510 weighs as close as makes no difference to 1000kg so you could put 1600kg of horse on it. I think even you would struggle to exceed that with your boy, abbijay. He'd just have to travel solo unless he has a shetland friend.

 

[SilverLinings]

The only possible legal implication I can think of is that if Ifor say the trailer is suitable for horses up to 16.2hh then you couldn't sue them for damages if you wedged an 18.2hh tank-like horse in one and it got stuck/hit it's head/otherwise injured itself. Otherwise, as others have said, the legal 'limit' of the trailer alone is determined by the maximum weight it can carry.

I suppose that from a safety consideration taller horses have a higher centre of gravity and larger trailers have a wider wheelbase, so I suppose travelling a large horse in a small trailer *may* make the outfit more vulnerable to tipping over/falling over if hit by another vehicle. I'm not sure that it would be a statistically significant level of increased risk though.