sallybush
Well-Known Member
Practically I would say, just do the towing test.
There are many safety aspects to hitching up and towing safely, for this alone it is worth doing the test. Then add in the professional tuition for reversing, and brushing up on your general driving skills before taking a valuable horse in tow, and its a no-brainer. I'm sure everyone on here has watched someone (or suffered themselves) failing to perform even a basic reversing manoeuvre. I know people who will only go to familiar places as they are unable to reverse their trailer confidently
Lacking in confidence or worrying about what will happen if you need to reverse just makes for a stressful journey.
The majority of caravan owners choose a combination where the caravan doesn't weigh more than 85% of the unladen weight of the car. Its a recommended limit, not a law, but its widely accepted. A usable combination of car and horsebox on a B license will be very close to 100%.
Finally, if you have to change your 4x4 for something that is smaller and lighter, you will be able to tow under a B license, but the new vehicle will generally be towing much closer to its designed limit, and therefore more difficult. Once you've changed your car, restricted yourself to a small choice of lightweight trailers, downrated the trailer, possibly fit a towbar to your new car, and not be able to take a friend and their horse at some point in future to share fuel costs, you'll probably find it would have been cheaper to take the towing test in the first place!
There are many safety aspects to hitching up and towing safely, for this alone it is worth doing the test. Then add in the professional tuition for reversing, and brushing up on your general driving skills before taking a valuable horse in tow, and its a no-brainer. I'm sure everyone on here has watched someone (or suffered themselves) failing to perform even a basic reversing manoeuvre. I know people who will only go to familiar places as they are unable to reverse their trailer confidently
Lacking in confidence or worrying about what will happen if you need to reverse just makes for a stressful journey.The majority of caravan owners choose a combination where the caravan doesn't weigh more than 85% of the unladen weight of the car. Its a recommended limit, not a law, but its widely accepted. A usable combination of car and horsebox on a B license will be very close to 100%.
Finally, if you have to change your 4x4 for something that is smaller and lighter, you will be able to tow under a B license, but the new vehicle will generally be towing much closer to its designed limit, and therefore more difficult. Once you've changed your car, restricted yourself to a small choice of lightweight trailers, downrated the trailer, possibly fit a towbar to your new car, and not be able to take a friend and their horse at some point in future to share fuel costs, you'll probably find it would have been cheaper to take the towing test in the first place!
