emcorrie
Member
I’m sure it’s been asked a million times but I’m hoping for some input/experiences for transporting a mare and foal in a 2-horse van.
I put a thread on this topic on an American-based forum and most people were horrified by the idea of using a straight-load but that’s because they have gigantic slant-haul trailers in the US. So, I thought I’d ask here instead because 2-horse vans are the norm in the UK as they are in France, where I live.
Anyway I have to bring my mare and her 2.5 month old foal to a breeding inspection 5 hours away in a couple of weeks time. It’s a necessity that we get there because if we don’t go, the foal has no papers.
My trailer is a bit silly because it’s not possible to take out the middle divider without also taking out the chest and butt bars because they’re all connected.
I’m thinking about getting my husband to try to weld together a chest bar that could go across the whole width of the trailer. Then I could tie up the mare and leave the foal loose. Should I also make a butt bar or just leave that off?
The back door doesn’t go all the way up and I’ve heard of foals jumping out. It does go quite high (it’s about 3/4) and There is a black screen that can pull down to fill in the gap. Would the screen be safe enough (it looks enclosed then, although if a foal did try to jump out she would just go through the fabric screen).
Any advice appreciated - this is my first time transporting a mare and foal.
I put a thread on this topic on an American-based forum and most people were horrified by the idea of using a straight-load but that’s because they have gigantic slant-haul trailers in the US. So, I thought I’d ask here instead because 2-horse vans are the norm in the UK as they are in France, where I live.
Anyway I have to bring my mare and her 2.5 month old foal to a breeding inspection 5 hours away in a couple of weeks time. It’s a necessity that we get there because if we don’t go, the foal has no papers.
My trailer is a bit silly because it’s not possible to take out the middle divider without also taking out the chest and butt bars because they’re all connected.
I’m thinking about getting my husband to try to weld together a chest bar that could go across the whole width of the trailer. Then I could tie up the mare and leave the foal loose. Should I also make a butt bar or just leave that off?
The back door doesn’t go all the way up and I’ve heard of foals jumping out. It does go quite high (it’s about 3/4) and There is a black screen that can pull down to fill in the gap. Would the screen be safe enough (it looks enclosed then, although if a foal did try to jump out she would just go through the fabric screen).
Any advice appreciated - this is my first time transporting a mare and foal.