Trailer Recommendations?

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ExtremeB

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I am looking to buy a trailer and don't really know where to start except that it needs to be a 2-horse trailer to take upto 16h and easy to maneouvre. What is good? what is bad? what do we need to look out for in 2nd hand vehicles (know about checking ownership/stolen vehicles).
All advice gratefully received. Thanks.
 
We have just bought (well hubby treated me
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) the Bateson Ascot - I love it - Donkey is still not sure, however she will go into this one eventually - we borrowed an Ifor and after a few trips refused point blank to have anything to do with it!
 
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Make sure you check the flooring on the 2nd hand trailers, wooden floors are old and bad, you need a aluminuim floor

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That is not strictly true. Wooden floors are heavy, so not good if weight is an issue, but both sorts of floor can rot so need to be sound. A good wooden floor with wood laid in two different directions is much more stable for the horse to stand on. The welds round the sides of aluminium floors can be affected by the horses' urine, and can rot.
 
We looked at all sorts of trailers, and weighed up all the options. The only thing we didn't like about the Ifor Williams is the ramp is on the 'wrong' side, but in the end we decided to get one as nothing else came close in terms of fit and finish, towability and value for money. Everything else we looked at just didn't seem as well built, or was significantly heavier. We shall back them out in an emergency! Another thing we liked about the Ifors is that the breast bar can be undone from the outside in the event of an emergency, such as a horse getting its leg stuck over it.
 
Having owned a Rice, a Fautras and now a Bateson, I would say if you want manoeverability (spelt SO wrong) then a Bateson is the way to go - I have an Ascot the same as SSM
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I have a Bateson Deauville & they are fantastic, well built, ride well, airy & I believe far superior to the Ifors.

Bateson front ramp opens on correct side for offloading in emergency onto footpath ...Ifors do not.

Bateson have tie rings on the outside...Ifors don't have any

Bateson have 2 saddle racks fitted inside as standard...Ifors don't have any

Bateson have a hook up mirror fitted as standard...Ifors don't

They keep their value incredibley well

As you can gather I'm a fan of Bateson
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:-
http://www.batesontrailers.com/horse-trailers.asp
 
toby, completely depends on your point of view though, as on country roads the bateson would open into a hedge or a bank as they dont have foot paths. Also if you have to unload on a public road (even onto the foot path) you should have the police ther so the traffic should be stopped anyway.

Ifors dont have saddle racks, but i wouldnt use one anyway, my saddle goes in my car where it can be locked securely away and is more difficult to steal.

You dont need a hook up mirror on the ifors, well we certainly dont.

Also my Ifor is 3 years old, has been used alot and gone all over the country and as im now about to sell it, have advertised it for £200 less then i paid for it new and been inundated with calls. thats holding thier value well!
 
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