Trailer help!!! at wits end!

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naomilo

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Hi all, ok i am having serious issues with the trailer, i have had my horse for nearly 14 years now, he has always travelled in the same trailer on his own with others, on the same side for the whole of these 14 years to local shows and what not, anyway about 3 months ago we loaded him and suddenyl he couldnt stand up when we moved the car and trailer, so had the vet out, vet thought he had an ear infection and had lost his balance as he had a bee go in his ear a few days prior. so he was on some very strong drugs to clear any infection, vet came back two weeks later and tried him in the box again, he wasnt as bad but still not right, he seemed to be able to travel better with the top part of the door open so he could see out. so 2 months later aka today, i out him in again and try once more, thought he was ok then went over smallest bump and bang he couldnt stand and just scrambled around to trya nd find his feet. opened the top door and he seemed ok....not as good as he used to be but he was ok and i went up the hill turned around reversered and he didnt fall, now the problem is i cant really leave the door open if i travel him as its on the wrong side and if he sticks his head out (which he likes tod o) he may get squished by some big lorry..............i relaly dont know what to do so if anyone cana help?????
 
vet did check and thinks ear infection has cleared up so shouldnt be bothering him, i wonder if he has scared himself and he has forgotten how to balance standing straight when travelling, he doesnt panic because he goes striahgt back in again after if nessacary. i travel him to local events etc
 
First off I thought it was illegal to travel with the top open unless you have got a grill on the top. I maybe wrong but worth looking up.

Do you travel with boots etc on his legs if so I'd try something different.

I would also putting some shavings or straw in the box and play about with how much room he has.

I'd also get the vet to check his ears as it may have flared up again, and also to check his back just in case.
 
i think it might be illegal to travel with it open therfore thts whny i thought i would ask, i only travelled him around the farm with it open to see what happens, hes had shavings etc ive tried boots on boots off......:( back is a good idea however in the past if ever hes put his back out he doesnt half tell me....its all soooo odd!
 
is ur floor slippery ?? also try and go really slow on a real short journey then home Nxt time if goes well lengthen it Nxt time maybe he will relearn the balance if he has forgot ,how to balance .just a thought if nothing else wrong with him good luck
 
Sorry of you have already done this....but if your tyre pressure is not correct (I think it is 65psi for IWT) it is amazing the affect it can have on the horse....worth checking?
Bryndu:)
 
What about trying him without the centre partition (but using full width breast and rear bars)? Although I haven't tried it with mine, I read somewhere that they can balance better as they can splay their feet.
 
We have had two different horses who have had a similar problem to the one that you are describing.
1. Check that the mats are securely fastened to the floor, on some Ifors there are only two clips, a dealer can easily fit extra ones that stop the mats from moving.
2. Remove the centre partition, in both our cases the issue was resolved as soon as the centre partition was removed.
In one of the cases we had literally travelled the mare for 200 miles at a time with the centre partition, then overnight it was as though she had forgotten how to stand up and couldn't be travelled for evem half a mile, as soon as we removed the centre partition she was back to normal
 
Try horse on other side of the trailer. My mare couldn't stand up on the off-side, would lean on the centre partition and flail her right legs around. She travels like a pro on the near side. She's 19 yo and I have heard that in the mid to late teens the inability to travel can occur - can't remember where I heard/read that though - think it may have been a 'Your Horse' magazine.
 
About 8 yrs ago or so we bought a new Ifor williams 505, my ponies had always travelled perfectly and had travelled hundreds of miles, both ponies on either the right or the left of the trailer. Then one day we went to an event and the pony on the left literally went down and was scrabbling around trying to get back up, we stopped immediatley, got the pony up and calmed him down and went on again. On the next left hand bend, down he went again. We were too far away to hack home and the whole thing turned into a nightmare. We swapped the ponies over and within a couple of miles the other pony went down. I rang the horsebox dealer who checked the floor etc (the mats on an ifor at that stage were not fixed down and had risen every time with the ponies scrabbling), he bolted down the mats and told us the floor was fine. The ponies never travelled well again in that trailer so I traded it in for another brand new 510. The Same thing happened after about 12-18 months. I went back to the dealer and traded this one in for a secondhand Rice. The ponies then travelled fine.
About 6 months later I saw a small ad in Horse and Hound asking if anyones horse was falling over in their Ifor williams trailer and if so to please ring a telephone number. This I did. Upon answering the phone the lady said ''oh God , I think I have opened a whole can of worms with this one''. She went on to explain she had had over 60 calls that day!!!
About another 6 months after this I was contacted by Ifor williams (I was the owner on the database for the trailer I had got rid of) to say that a whole batch of trailers was being recalled because of a problem with the floors. I was furious! 2 Brand new trailers and both with the same problem meant that it was more than one batch with the problem. How many trailers still on the road with this problem?
We have just bought a new wessex 3 horse (lovely padding, huge!!) which puts the build quality of an ifor williams to shame! I would suggest its not your horse.. Try borrowing another trailer and put him on the other side, just to see if it makes a difference.
ps.... last week at pony club rally someone came in towing an ifor williams as they turned it around the horse started kicking and thrashing..... as they got out the looked at me, rolled their eyes and said..... he always does this? How many dodgy floors can there be?
 
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juliag said:
About 8 yrs ago or so we bought a new Ifor williams 505, my ponies had always travelled perfectly and had travelled hundreds of miles, both ponies on either the right or the left of the trailer. Then one day we went to an event and the pony on the left literally went down and was scrabbling around trying to get back up, we stopped immediatley, got the pony up and calmed him down and went on again. On the next left hand bend, down he went again. We were too far away to hack home and the whole thing turned into a nightmare. We swapped the ponies over and within a couple of miles the other pony went down. I rang the horsebox dealer who checked the floor etc (the mats on an ifor at that stage were not fixed down and had risen every time with the ponies scrabbling), he bolted down the mats and told us the floor was fine. The ponies never travelled well again in that trailer so I traded it in for another brand new 510. The Same thing happened after about 12-18 months. I went back to the dealer and traded this one in for a secondhand Rice. The ponies then travelled fine.
About 6 months later I saw a small ad in Horse and Hound asking if anyones horse was falling over in their Ifor williams trailer and if so to please ring a telephone number. This I did. Upon answering the phone the lady said ''oh God , I think I have opened a whole can of worms with this one''. She went on to explain she had had over 60 calls that day!!!
About another 6 months after this I was contacted by Ifor williams (I was the owner on the database for the trailer I had got rid of) to say that a whole batch of trailers was being recalled because of a problem with the floors. I was furious! 2 Brand new trailers and both with the same problem meant that it was more than one batch with the problem. How many trailers still on the road with this problem?
We have just bought a new wessex 3 horse (lovely padding, huge!!) which puts the build quality of an ifor williams to shame! I would suggest its not your horse.. Try borrowing another trailer and put him on the other side, just to see if it makes a difference.
ps.... last week at pony club rally someone came in towing an ifor williams as they turned it around the horse started kicking and thrashing..... as they got out the looked at me, rolled their eyes and said..... he always does this? How many dodgy floors can there be?
Click to expand...

Hi Juliag,
I am curious to know what was wrong with the floor of the IWT...and why did it take so long to manifest itself? Not having a go.....just really interested.
Bryndu:)
 
Twice I have experienced horses that were good and experienced travellers reacting in the way you describe...but in a lorry. In the first instance I discovered that the top floor was indeed slightly less firm where the horse's back legs were (but safe as a double floor). I later had the wooden floors stripped out and replaced with metal flooring. The next time it proved to be an area of the rubber matting not lying completely flat on the underlying floor (but only very slightly) so when the horse stood on it or shifted weight on/off this area it wouldn't have felt absolutely solid to the horse.
So the lesson I've learnt is if a good traveller plays up in a particular trailer/lorry, think very very carefully and assume there might be a reason for the problem with the vehicle. Listen to the horse!
 
Bryndu said:
Hi Juliag,
I am curious to know what was wrong with the floor of the IWT...and why did it take so long to manifest itself? Not having a go.....just really interested.
Bryndu:)
Click to expand...

Hi, to be honest I cant remember now what exactly was wrong with the trailer, when Ifor williams rang and told me about the recall as I said I was really angry because having had it checked by the dealer and told it was fine after the ponies wouldnt travel in it I traded it in for a secondhand Rice, losing about £1500 in the process. (I did a straight swap for the Rice as I was so desperate for a change of trailer). So Basically the 2 trailers I got rid of would not have been involved in the recall and I imagine are still on the road today. Also Ifor williams told me a whole batch was being recalled...... How many in a batch I wonder?
 
juliag said:
Hi, to be honest I cant remember now what exactly was wrong with the trailer, when Ifor williams rang and told me about the recall as I said I was really angry because having had it checked by the dealer and told it was fine after the ponies wouldnt travel in it I traded it in for a secondhand Rice, losing about £1500 in the process. (I did a straight swap for the Rice as I was so desperate for a change of trailer). So Basically the 2 trailers I got rid of would not have been involved in the recall and I imagine are still on the road today. Also Ifor williams told me a whole batch was being recalled...... How many in a batch I wonder?
Click to expand...

Ok...thanks.
Bryndy:)
 
Going back to the original query, if your horse travels ok with the top door open, then maybe try travelling him on the passenger side with the top door open so he can see out and feel the fresh air but not poke his head out?

I think full width breast bars are brilliant for bad travellers and if your horse has had a scramble, you're always wise to check the floor and mats.
 
Your horse is trying to balance (for whatever reason) by spreading out his legs and can't because of the width of the stall. When they find they haven't enough room, they panic and often brace themself diagonally in the space. The clattering and banging as the try to lean with their feet all at one side and their body against the partition and vice versa as you corner, is horrible.

Get a single breast bar and take the cente partition out. Shut the front top-door - travelling with it open is not safe. I can pretty much guarantee this will do it.

Let us know.
 
Clannad48 said:
Now I am worried, just bought an Ifor Williams 505 after sellinng the lorry !!!
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Don't be worried, I love my 505, my mare now travels beautifully in it. Had a fab trip out only today :D They wouldn't be so popular if the problem mentioned above was that wide spread.
 
asmp said:
What about trying him without the centre partition (but using full width breast and rear bars)? Although I haven't tried it with mine, I read somewhere that they can balance better as they can splay their feet.
Click to expand...

Ditto this - my old pony used to do something similar so we moved the ramp end of the partition over (rice trailers pivot on the front hinge at the head). Drilled an additional hole over to the left and secured the opened partition that way.

They seem to want to splay their back legs.
 
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