Travelling one horse - single or double trailer?

[Crazydancer]

I'm looking at getting a trailer (finally) and now wondering what would be my best option.
I have a small horse of under 450kg and with my car, I wouldn't want to really tow 2 horses. It's a 4x4 but not a big workhorse, I have done the checks and can tow 2100kg braked weight, but with trailer + 2 + tack etc I feel that I would be pushing it, maybe not legally, but I don't want to put too much strain on the engine.
So should I get a single or double trailer?
If I had a double I have the option that it can be towed by a friend who does have a workhorse tow vehicle but no trailer, and we can go out together.
But how much difference would it make to me if I tow my one lad in a double, on his own - does it affect the handling adversely?
Any thoughts or advice you lovely lot?

 

[Clare85]

We tow our little gypsy cob on her own in an Ifor Williams 510 (we've had an extra breast bar fixing put in so it's low enough for her). She's absolutely fine in there by herself and always travels very well. It tows completely fine but I think my sister's Freelander would struggle with more than one in the back. I'm looking into buying more of a workhorse vehicle next year as we may possibly buy/loan another horse.

We were looking into buying a single trailer but my husband said words to the effect of "oh for goodness sake, just get a double, you know you're going to talk me into buying another piggin' horse pretty soon anyway". Lol!

 

[Mahoganybay]

I tow my horse on his own in a Ifor Williams 510! I have full length breast & breech bars and tie him crossed tied. There is absolutely no ill effect on how the trailer handles & we go all over the country.

It's fab because there is room to move when he is in there, I can groom & tack him up and he has room to move about too if is stood in for long periods.

The only downside is that I can't trailer another horse with him, but that's fine and he will always travel this way now.

 

[Sprig]

I would go for a double trailer but choose something light like a Bateson. I love mine anyway and think it gives a much nicer ride than an Ifor.

 

[applecart14]

But how much difference would it make to me if I tow my one lad in a double, on his own - does it affect the handling adversely?
Any thoughts or advice you lovely lot?

I've been towing for 20 years now with three different vehicles, Sierra Saphire, Peugeot 406 and now Vectra Elite and have always only had one horse, up to 700KG. One horse makes no difference but the horse needs to be on the off side of the trailer otherwise if its on the nearside the camber of the road MAY affect handling and will give an unpleasant drive to the horse. I have my trailer set up with a fixed partition 3/4 to 1/4. So the horse has 3/4 the other 1/4 is for buckets, folding mounting block, broom and shovel and hay nets. have to take most of the stuff out to allow the partiion to come across when I unload the horse (front unload) but its not real effort and most of the cr*p needs to come out anyway! Its a Rice Richardson weighing 650KG and my car can tow 1650KG so we are well within the towing weights with horse plus tack and driver - always travel and compete on my own.

Here is my set up that does us proud:

 

[Orangehorse]

I think you have answered your own question if there is a chance of taking 2 horses out together sometimes. Also if you even need to stay away for show/competition/holiday the extra space for hay, clobber, etc. is useful.

It is never a good idea to have the trailer weight at the maximum of your car's towing capacity though. One advantage of a single trailer is that you can get inside with the horse and put the tack on in the dry!

Think seriously about getting a stabiliser fitted, from a caravan supplies shop. Have spoken to someone who did miles and miles going to endurance rides and they said the stabiliser was very well worth it for towing.

 

[nato]

I tow my horse in a IW 505, but with the partition in. For the simple reason that I've seen friends tow their horses with the full width breast bar and the horse now is extremely tough to travel with the partition in. I'd like her to be able to happily share space in the box, and we sometimes take a pal with us when we go places

She is happy as long as she has hay, and I find the trailer more stable on the road (personally) than when I've towed a single trailer.

 

[SuperH]

Not considering the towing vehicle here - but I would always choose a double, you have the extra space for 'stuff' and you also have the option to take two horses if needed (you never know if you may buy a second!).

 

[Annagain]

The difference between a single and a double trailer in terms of weight isn't that great (e.g IW 401 is 770kg, 505 is 905kg, newer models - 403/506 - are similar weights) so in your case I'd go for the double. Even with a 450kg horse on board you're only going to be towing 1355kg leaving over 700kg of leeway. You'll be fine on your own with that and I would even consider another small horse too for short journeys now and again. A double would be a win win for both you and your friend if you can take her car and both horses as she'll have transport and you will have company and will be able to share costs. Double trailers are easier to find if you're planning on buying second hand too.

The only benefit I can see of a single is the horse area is wider than half a double so if it's raining you can tack up on the trailer and keep dry...and you can't get dragged into giving lifts if you don't want to, but it sounds like you do.

 

[Annagain]

I've been towing for 20 years now with three different vehicles, Sierra Saphire, Peugeot 406 and now Vectra Elite and have always only had one horse, up to 700KG. One horse makes no difference but the horse needs to be on the off side of the trailer otherwise if its on the nearside the camber of the road MAY affect handling and will give an unpleasant drive to the horse. I have my trailer set up with a fixed partition 3/4 to 1/4. So the horse has 3/4 the other 1/4 is for buckets, folding mounting block, broom and shovel and hay nets. have to take most of the stuff out to allow the partiion to come across when I unload the horse (front unload) but its not real effort and most of the cr*p needs to come out anyway! Its a Rice Richardson weighing 650KG and my car can tow 1650KG so we are well within the towing weights with horse plus tack and driver - always travel and compete on my own.

Here is my set up that does us proud:

Good advice from Applecart but I'll add a quick caveat to it. If your horse doesn't travel well on the off side (as mine doesn't) it is safer to have him on the 'wrong' near side and to drive accordingly than to persevere just because it's the 'right' thing to do. I know someone who wouldn't put her horse on the left even though he couldn't balance on the right - 40 odd stitches and 6 weeks box rest later he now refuses to go on a trailer at all. Mine was clearly struggling so I put him on the left and he travels perfectly happily. He rarely travels alone but he has been often been the heavier horse so on the 'wrong' side. I go a bit slower especially around roundabouts and sharp bends but it's fine if necessary.

 

[Makemineacob]

I personally would always choose a double trailer over a single, especially if you can get your friend to tow it and go out together. A double trailer is so useful, we've used ours for everything too including friends move house lol. If you're worried about weight as you're towing with a car (we've always towed with cars) then have a look at the lighter weight trailers, the batesons and cheval liberty trailers are only 650-675kgs themselves (I know some people aren't keen on lightweight trailers but we've towed with lightweight, Ifors and Rice trailers and the lightweight trailers always seem to handle better somehow.

 

[MuddyTB]

I'm in a similar position and have an Ifor 510. I wanted the higher headroom over the single trailer. We tow it with a 650kg horse in no problem. Car is stable and tows really well. And a real bonus for you if your friend could tow you both together.

 

[sidesaddlegirl]

I love my single Ifor 401 trailer and behind my C-Max 2 litre diesel (the Zetec model is the one the tows the highest weight 1500kgs), you can't even feel it. I had a storm whip up once when coming back from a show with high winds and it was so stable. My horse only weighs 470kgs at her heaviest summer weight (so trailer +payload is well within the towing weight of my car and she was weighed by Allen & Page) and we've towed on grass, up and down steep hills with power to spare, had to brake sudddenly when some t**t pulled out from a parked position is front of us and our set up handled it fine. My horse is a 15.2hh TB and she travels better in the single as she can spread her hind end in a comfy position for her but a bigger horse would fit into it ok too. The only complaint about my car is that it doesn't have 4x4 if it gets really muddy and it's easy to speed in it as the engine on this particular model is powerful so always have to check the speedo as you don't notice the speed creep up!!!

 

[Crazydancer]

Thanks all, some really useful advice there, and it does seem to make sense to go for a double, It was purely the thought that one horse in a single would be more stable/tow better than one horse in a double, but seems that's not an massive difference.
OK, the hunt for a double is on! How exciting! At the grand age of 23 my gelding will finally have his own transport - better late than never I guess!

 

[applecart14]

Thanks all, some really useful advice there, and it does seem to make sense to go for a double, It was purely the thought that one horse in a single would be more stable/tow better than one horse in a double, but seems that's not an massive difference.
OK, the hunt for a double is on! How exciting! At the grand age of 23 my gelding will finally have his own transport - better late than never I guess!

Exciting! Its so nice to have your own transport and to come and go as you please. It gives you so much freedom and every now and again its nice to go long distances, I've done Milton Keynes three times and Wales & West once and stopped over with the horse each time, so you will be able to go to camps and comps galore! Enjoy.