plan to load them. Take a moment to determine
what order you should load the horses in to the
trailer; this order should be designed to place each
horse in the most optimum position. For example,
the order you prepare should intelligently place
“buffer” horses between horses that might otherwise be aggressive toward each other (geldings
tend to be well suited for this).
Also, I personally am of the opinion that the last
horse loaded should be the horse that has the
most difficulty with being trailered. By doing this,
you will not risk agitating the other horses while
you load, the difficult horse will only have one
horse nearby to deal with as opposed to being
surrounded, and you will be able to quickly unload
the difficult horse in the event that you need to
immediately remove it from the trailer.
Sometimes, a horse may prove to be too difficult,
aggressive, or overly agitated for you to safely trailer it personally. In these circumstances, it
is generally wise to spend the extra money and
retain a professional equine shipper with a custom made transport designed to transport difficult
horses. Always remember, if your or the horse’s
safety is ever in questions, pick the safer solution;
it is usually also the smarter solution.
Know Your Trailer and Tow Vehicle
Just like considering your horses before you load
them, you also need to consider your trailer and
tow vehicle before you haul. While it’s obvious
that a trailer designed for hauling horses is to be
utilized when transporting horses from one place
to another, many people fail to consider that some
trailers might not be well designed for particularly
difficult horses. For example, while all multi-horse
trailers do provide a gate mechanism of some sort
to separate the horses, many of these separators
do not provide full protection from horses getting
their heads over/under the rail to bite nearby horses, they do not provide full protection for larger
horses leaping over the rail with their legs (thereby
getting stuck on the divider), and they do not provide full protection from horses cow-kicking one
another. If you know that you will be transporting
more difficult horses (particularly stallions), it may
be a wise investment to look at purchasing a trailer
with full dividers, or potentially installing such full
dividers after market. These larger, more expansive dividers are designed to keep your aggressive
horses from injuring themselves or other horses.
If you have a trailer capable of hauling your
horse(s), the next step is to have a tow vehicle
that is capable of towing your trailer. A tow vehicle should be designed, rated and capable of towing the weight of the intended load to be hauled.
Also, the tow vehicle will need to be fitted with
a class of trailer hitch which is rated to tow the
intended weight class of the trailer. To put it in
simpler terms, you need the proper tools for the
job; in this case, the job is hauling a trailer, and the
proper tools are a tow vehicle and hitch designed,
rated and capable of towing your trailer.
Once you have an appropriate trailer and tow vehicle at the ready, and before you begin hauling, you
will want to inspect them both to insure that they
are in good condition. Walk around the vehicles
and note anything that appears out of place. If
anything appears to be damaged, leaking, broken,
or otherwise faulty, you should have it checked
and repaired by a qualified professional prior to
loading your horse(s); in addition to this, your vehicle should be regularly checked and serviced by
a mechanic to insure that it is in good working
order. Look to make sure the tow vehicle headlights are working and that both the tow vehicle
and trailer have working turn signals and brake
lights that properly respond to the drivers signaling. Ancillary to performing these checks, look to
make sure your tires are not low, your fluids are
full, and that the engine is running smoothly.
The last thing you want on the road is to have
some form of vehicle trouble. Taking a pre-emptive approach to any issues that may affect your
tow will prove to save you from future headaches
and potential accidents.
Know Your Travel Plans
Like any trip you would take, take the time to pack
appropriately and plan your route. Make sure you
have more than what you (or your horse(s)) will
need before heading out.
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