What do you pull your trailer with?

Sorry, i have a 4x4 too. Kia Sorento and everyone at my yard has 4x4's too. I also think, in terms of towing mine, I wouldn't want to tow with anything but a 4x4.

x
 
Nope sorry, we use an Isuzu Trooper, but we have an Ifor 510 and 2 big cobs, so I don't think anything smaller would be able to pull it.
A lady on our yard has an Ifor 505 and 1 small pony, she used to use her estate car, but ended up getting a 4x4 as the car couldn't cope with the hill at the Pony club field.

Legally the car has to be heavier than the maximum weight of the trailer, so the heavier the trailer, the heavier the car.
 
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When I was younger we used to tow with a saloon car - with a heavy rice trailer and two horses! It did wreck the car eventually, but it pulled fine for two years before that. Nowadays we have become a 4x4 addicted world. People won't go up a kerb unless they have a 4x4. People think you can't have kids unless you have a 4x4 or a people carrier (which baffles me as kids are quite small creatures really!!).

Anyway, back to the point, you could tow a lighter weight trailer with a lightweight horse or pony with a car. You have to check the legal weights for the car to pull (I think!). Speak to your local mechanic - they would tell you.. My husband is a mechanic, and says thata lot of the smaller 4x4s are not legal for towing a large trailer with large horses in it....(most drivers probably wouldn't even know that!)

Generally speaking you would be more balanced with a 4x4. If you were just hiring a trailer to go to a local show or camp, then your car may be fine, but if you were towing regularly I'd get a 4x4.
 
pull mine with a toyota landcruiser. I wouldnt pull a trailer with a car unless it was a light trailer with a small pony in it. That may be me being overly cautious as usual though :)
 
My last car was a peugeot 406 turbo diesel and it pulled my single ifor williams hb401 box with ease. I felt very safe on the road and with one horse in the box I never went over 85% of my max towing weight. Have to say though, towing took it out of the car eventually and I felt the power had gone from the car and the suspension was too low.

I now have a isuzu trooper called 'Trico'!!! LOL Excellent towing vehicle, pull a house down. I also have a double trailer now too!
 
I have an Ifor 505 and I tow with a Landrover Discovery, its quite old but it does the job. None of my horses are big, they range from 8hh-14.1hh but there are some fairly big hills round where I live and if I had a smaller car I would worry about whether or not I would make it to the top. Also I have noticed when you go to shows and the ground is bad the person who gets stuck in the mud is almost always the one who is towing with something other than a 4x4.
 
Looks like I'll be getting a 4x4 then, I have a big horse and probably be getting a double, and after reading these, I think its the only option really

I can't wait to get going the beach etc :D
 
I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L petrol which is lovely, but once when I was desperate I used my dad's citroen xm estate and took my horse for a lesson, it was awful and made me realise that you do really need a 4 x 4 for towing.
 
Mercadeces ML270.

I wouldn't be pulling a big horse with a non-4x4. A know someone who pulls their pony, in a heavy old trailer, with a small people carrier and it akes me cringe :eek:
 
We pulled my (Rice Foxhunter) trailer with an Audi Saloon for about 15 years til the car died. Never had any problems pulling two ponies with that and the majority of other people at the shows also used saloons or estates, only the select few "posh" people had a 4x4 back then lol

My mum has a people carrier (a vauxhall one, not sure what type) now that I have stolen once to tow my 14.2 in the trailer. It would tow my friesian in a light trailer, but not both of them. The trailer has since died after owning it for over 20 years :(

I only have a Ford KA myself, and think i'd have more luck getting the horses to tow that than the other way around lol.
 
Used to tow my 15.2hh mare (500kg weight) in a LW Richardson trailer with a 2L Volvo estate, the maths on that all added up fine including the maximum loaded trailer weight beng less than the vehicles maximum towing/train capacity. Even though I'd have never towed 2 horses with it as it wouldn't have felt safe to me.

Now back to using a Landrover discovery which I much prefer.

The volvo had a higher towing capacity than a Landrover freelander. As someone else mentioned the small or sometimes hybred 4x4's aren't up to the job really.
 
Landrover (originally a LWB van back from 1979 - huge beastie & with trailer VERY long together). Then had 2 discos - wouldn't want to use anything other than a decent 4x4 as ruins car & the legal weight issues mean if your vehicle's not up to weight can be dangerous.
I was behind a Freelander towing a trailer with 2 small ponies (both 14.2 or under) locally when it started to be dragged back down a hill in Epping Forest - not fun watching it come at me & couldn't get out of way as also towing & boxes behind!! Thankfully the driver managed to turn it enough the trailer turned into the bank & it stopped.
 
I use a peugeot 406 TDI which is a 1.9. It is an old P registered car but I love it. I tow an old Rice Richardson trailer with it and a 600kg WB gelding but never really have issued unless long inclines on motorways or wet fields on fun rides when I have to get some random person to hold my horse whilst I drive the car and trailer to hardstanding in order to load the horse and away. The car seems very economical and I drive very carefully with it probably due to the fact that I feel every yard of the journey wheras when I have borrowed partners 4x4 to tow I feel it would be easy to bowl along and forget you are even towing as you don't notice the weight behind you so easily. I go out in the trailer on average once a week, but used to go out 2 - 3 times a week.
 
I have an old Daihatsu fourtrack,I can't afford to but a posh towing vehicle - I have it serviced every 6 months though, TBH although not flashy or fast it does a grand job of towing, you'd hardly know there was a trailer attached,in fact it handles a damn sight better with 2 tonnes attached to it than without!!! We have managed to get off show feilds that have been axle deep in mud leaving many posh 4x4's spinning their useless road tyres in the sludge. I would never tow with my other car - a vauxhall vectra as it is an unreliable piece of ****!! Also you have to remember 4x4's (proper ones,not the soft roaders) are made with heavy duty work and towing in mind and have enhanced suspension and braking power with this in mind. Although having said that if you have one of the lighter weight cheval liberty trailers a larger estate car would be capable of towing one of those with a couple of small ponies aboard, Diesel engines tend to be better towcars as they have more torque in the lower gears meaning less strain on clutch and gearbox,I also prefer manual gearboxes for towing, any good driver can make the gear changes smooth if not smoother than and auto, I also feel I have far more control over the car in hilly areas.
 
Toyota landcruiser. I would love a lorry, i think trailers knocks horses about more than lorries and strain their joints. Have spoken to many car people, basically you need a 4 by 4, you ned power, stability and decent brakes. I would never, ever consider using a normal (even with a lot of horse power) car to pull, even just one horse. Don;t take the chance. I have heard SO many horrific stories.
 
I tow my IW 510 with 2 horses in it with my Range Rover 3.0 diesel, I used to have the 4.6 petrol but would only get 8 miles to the gallon if I was lucky, this one is much better as i can get up to 25 miles to the gallon towing. It also is a brill towing car... or shed as my OH call it lol.

Liz
 
We have an Ifor 511 pulled by a Jeep Grand Cherokee. We travel a 16hh TB and usually a 15hh TB too.
 
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