Travelling a single horse in a double trailer

jules9203

jules9203

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21 November 2009
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601
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Hampshire
www.pensdellequestrian.org.uk
I regularly travel 1 horse in a double trailer. Its rear load, front unload, forward facing. I have just been told that is is only legal to transport the horse with it being on the righthand side of the partition (as you walk in) not on the left. I do happen to travel the horse on that side as the front ramp is on the left so gives him more room coming off the trailer.

However, I've never heard this before and can't seem to find anything online?
 
Never heard that before. My single 401 is not much difference in width as a double. And horse is basically cross tied in the middle.
 
Trailers nowadays are sturdy enough to be balanced whether your horse in on the left or the right and many travel without partitions so the horse can stand where it wants. It was advised due to road camber where the middle line is highest and each side falls away to facilitate drainage.
 
jules9203 said:
I regularly travel 1 horse in a double trailer. Its rear load, front unload, forward facing. I have just been told that is is only legal to transport the horse with it being on the righthand side of the partition (as you walk in) not on the left. I do happen to travel the horse on that side as the front ramp is on the left so gives him more room coming off the trailer.

However, I've never heard this before and can't seem to find anything online?
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The legal aspect of it is that you have a responsibility to load and travel any trailers in a safe and balanced fashion, whether it’s a load of bricks or livestock. As earlier, Horse is likely to be better balanced if contained on the right than left, due to road camber.
You might travel a large bull loose in a trailer because that’s recognised as safer handling, and be very sensible with speeds and corners.
Claustrophobic horses are often travelled singly in a double trailer with the partition out, just a breast bar and cross ties, generally standing to the diagonal, to balance themselves up.
 
There's nothing specific about which side to load them on, just, as others have said, a responsibility to load everything in as balanced a way as possible. My old boy couldn't travel on the right, he'd scrabble to stand round left hand corners so I'd always load him on the 'wrong' side as it was safer than the alternative.
 
Drivers side for the heaviest weight is the usual, I travel without the partition so they stand where they like (within reason as they’re cross tried)
 
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