Trailer stall width, better to go narrow or wider with horse that loses balance?

sidesaddlegirl

sidesaddlegirl

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We went to a show on Sunday and Hattie struggled to find her balance in the trailer, she kept bobbing and the wall was all scratched and broken up where she was trying to spread her hind legs for balance. My friend has towed before and we weren't going fast, infact we had a queue of traffic behind us!

Anyways, my friend and I are looking to buy our own trailer (the one we used on Sunday was borrowed and now I have to get the wall fixed that Hattie damaged from rocking about!) but am now confronted with what trailer width size I should be looking for.

I thought with a horse that struggled to keep it's balance, a wider trailer would be best (like an Ifor 510?) as then they can spread their legs but speaking to someone today, they reckoned it would be best to have narrower stalls so that the horse can lean up against them.

Someone also said that Richardson trailers tend to rock about more and that Ifors are more stable so that may help Hattie with her balance? Is this the case?

Hattie is a 15.3 TB and not particularly large boned. The borrowed trailer is an old Richardson Rosette double horse trailer with an internal width of 5'1". I was looking at a double horse trailer on Ebay (a Rice) that had an internal width of 5'11". I distinctly remember most double horse trailers in Canada being 6' wide internally but that doesn't seem to be the case here.

We need a trailer as I don't drive to be able to drive a lorry (my friend is the driver) and we can't afford a lorry anyways!
 
Don't think I am crazy..............but try swapping sides.

My mare could not travel on one side of the trailer, she would fall over and virtually be on the floor. Someone said try her on he otherside and it was unbelievable - she just stood there.

On another note the day a put shavings on the rubber floor of my IW trailer, my other boy who is a fantastic traveller could not cope and kept slipping (only put them in as he always has a wee and I thought it would be nicer for him - never again!!)
 
Usually if the horse struggles they would appreciate more room IME. So I'd be inclined to go wider :) If you travelled her without partitions in at all then she may find a way that she prefers to stand (perhaps diagonally) - could you try that in the one you borrowed to find out?

Alternatively she may be a horse that prefers to face backwards. I know one that used to stand backwards in a normal trailer, with my horse facing forwards :eek: Better to find a trailer that is designed that way though! :D
 
anya01 said:
Don't think I am crazy..............but try swapping sides.

My mare could not travel on one side of the trailer, she would fall over and virtually be on the floor. Someone said try her on he otherside and it was unbelievable - she just stood there.
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That's a good point actually - I always travel my mare on the passenger side if she goes anywhere in a trailer, whereas the usual wisdom is to put them on the driver's side if there is only one horse on board.
 
Swapping sides was mentioned but my friend's horse who Hattie would be travelling with, is only a 14.2 Connemara so there is the weight issue/camber of the road thing which stops me from putting Hattie on the left side instead of right.

I never thought about the shavings thing though!!!!! My friend loaded up the floor (which is rubber) with shavings the day before too!!
 
milliepops said:
Usually if the horse struggles they would appreciate more room IME. So I'd be inclined to go wider :) If you travelled her without partitions in at all then she may find a way that she prefers to stand (perhaps diagonally) - could you try that in the one you borrowed to find out?

Alternatively she may be a horse that prefers to face backwards. I know one that used to stand backwards in a normal trailer, with my horse facing forwards :eek: Better to find a trailer that is designed that way though! :D
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Yup, did think about partitions being taken out but they don't come out in the borrowed trailer (or they did but not anymore!). I'm going to rent an Ifor 505 where the partitions do come out and see how she goes in that too.

The backwards idea is good too but are there many trailers that you can do this in?
 
Definitely wider or no partitions at all. My horse will only travel facing backwards. Herringbone or foreards and he falls over. I have an Equitrek.
 
Exactly! when he said that, I had visions of Hattie slipping on the floor and being wedged sideways in a narrow space :(

The trouble with no partitions though, is that my friend and I are going half/half on the trailer as we both go to the same shows so her pony would need to go in too.

Sigh, I wish I knew how to drive so I could take myself!
 
Oooooooo, I will make a note of the Richardson one!

I LOVE Equitreks, Hattie did travel in another friend's one last year (has since been sold) and she was ok in it but unfortunately my friends' 4x4 wouldn't be able to pull one as they are too heavy and they are a bit (well, ALOT) beyond our budget anyhow.
 
Definately wider. Horses don't lean on the partition for balance, the only function of it is to separate 2 Horses. If you are travelling one Horse it's better to take the partition out. You'll find they normally stand diagonally and spread their back legs. One thing I would say is always use a full length breech bar as well as a breast bar. For some reason many people don't use one and that could be very dangerous. The rear door is not designed to hold weight pushing from the inside - but a breech bar is. Some Horse like to lean back the way. You should also cross tie the Horse so they can't attempt to turn round. I would never load a Horse on the left if travelling alone due to the camber of the roads.
I would also never use a trailer where the partition won't come out at all. This could be very nasty in an emergency and you need to remove it quickly. If you are looking at Ifor Williams a 505 would be plenty big enough. The 510 is bigger but for one 15.3hh either would be fine. Mine is 16.2hh and I have a 510 - he manages to take up most of it with the way he stands! I've yet to meet a Horse that's happier with a partition in when alone. Plus - it saves a bit of weight which is good.
 
ditto suzysparkle - the wider the better. I have one cob who can't travel with a partition as she literally destroys the walls scrabbling about!

If trailer weight isn't an issue (i.e you've got a big enough car) then get the biggest trailer you can. You can always get extra brest and breeching fixtures added to put little ponies in. We've got a 511 and every horse we've tried travels brilliantly in it,: even the silly cob is ok (if not great) with a partition. We've also had 11hh ponies in it with a homemade breastbar.
 
My only concern with the Ifor Williams 505, is that the internal width is only 5'4", just 3" bigger than the loan trailer she was in. I'm just worried it wouldn't be wide enough.

My friend's car is an old Vauxhall Frontera, it's not 3 litre diesel, think it's 2 litre, all I know is that she said she couldn't pull an Equitrek so weight will have to be considered.
 
I took the partition out of my trailer, and both my 14.1 pony and 16hh horse travelled much happier without it. Both stood diagonally and were much more balanced without it.
 
I would check carefully what model of Frontera it is. The max tow weight of them varies from 2400Kg to 2800KG. The max gross weight of the trailer needs to be less than this for it to be a legal combination. A 505 is 2340KG (thus OK with any model) and a 510 is 2700K (potentially an issue). It doesn't matter what the actual weight of what you are towing is.
http://www.cuddles.abelgratis.net/vauxhall.htm The 505 is designed for 2 Horses of up to 16.2hh and the 510 2 Horses up to 17.2hh - it is 5" wider than the 505.
 
If a horse starts scrabbling or going down in a trailer you need to take out the partition, generally the problem is resolved. I think its illegal to travel 2 horses in a trailer without a partition but i do know people that do it with 2 of their own that get on very well. i wouldnt travel a horse backwards in a trailer not designed for it, ie ifor williams i have heard of horses trying to jump out.
 
irishdraft said:
i wouldnt travel a horse backwards in a trailer not designed for it, ie ifor williams i have heard of horses trying to jump out.
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No, I wasn't suggesting for one second that she should do this :) Just to illustrate that it makes a huge difference to some horses.

(It wasn't my choice to do this, or my horse, or trailer for that matter ;) - and it was one that had full length doors on the back, so no opportunity to jump out :))
 
My big lad (16.3 WB) cannot travel in my 510 with the partition in (he literally climbs the walls) but if you take the partition out, he can spread his legs and balance beautifully.

I believe the main problem that he cannot balance with the partition in, is that he has DJD in both hocks and that makes life difficult. I would urge you to get your horse physically checked out, just to make sure she hasn't got something physically wrong inhibiting her, such as a rotated pelvis.

Good luck!
 
Take the back section of your partition out completely - I guarantee your problem will be solved. I had a pony who hurled itself on the floor, I just removed the back bit so he could spread his legs out and he never did it agian! Know of lots of other horses who did this and this sorted it too.
 
We have a 16hh mare who was really well travelled when she was younger in an Ifor Williams trailer, and never any problems, she bred a foal when she was 12yo and suddenly couldn't balance in the trailer any more. If we even moved forward six feet she would fall down! We couldn't find the reason why, but we took out the partition and she balances herself quite happily with her head tied at the front. She has had to travel like this ever since (that was 4 years ago). We just put a straight bar at the front instead (mare and foal bar).
 
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