Conference noted::equitation

    I just had to reply to this one!  I trailer horses as a second income,
    so I have become familiar with different horses personalities and
    have acquired safety tips about trailering.
    
    I have learned that a horse should never be left alone in a trailer
    unless he is a fool proof, old pro at trailering and used to being
    left alone.  He should never have been left unattended, but unfortunately
    this is done so often.  I am always seeing horses left unattended
    at shows, owners leave them a haynet and go off to watch some classes
    and before you know it the haynet runs out of hay and the horse
    gets restless and starts to fidgit, this can only lead to trouble.
    My point is:  rule #1, never leave a horse alone in a trailer, unless
    you are very confident that it won't bother him.  
    
    I also have a question, why was the horse in the back stall of the
    trailer?  When trailering two horses in a four horse trailer, the
    heaviest horse should be in the front left stall and the lighter
    horse in the back, right stall, this helps to balance the long tailer
    for easier and safer hauling.
    
    I too had a trailer accident in early October when a baby I was
    hauling (he was 16.1 hands at 1200 pounds at 2 1/2 years) who had
    never been hauled freaked out and jumped over the breast bar and
    really did a nasty job on himself.  It took a long time to free
    him and there was alot of damage to him and to my trailer.  I guess
    you can never be too careful, we thought we had done everything
    correct in hauling a baby, he had even had Ace Bromozine (sp?) to
    tranquilize him, but he still managed to get hurt.
    
    The bottom line is this, I have some safety tips that I usually
    try to stick by, especially if I don't know the horse or if I haven't
    hauled him before:
    
       	-  Always haul in a leather halter.  They will break more easily
    than a nylon if the horse gets hung up.
    
    	-  If trailering a single horse in a 2-horse trailer always haul
    on the left side, this will balance the trailer on the road, especially
    if the road has a sloping right shoulder.
    
    	-  If trailering 2 horses in a 2-horse trailer always load the
    heavier horse on the left.  
    
    	-  If hauling 2 horses, one of which is green at trailering
    load the more confident one first.  This will ease the timid one.
    
    	-  I never will haul by myself but that is up to the person hauling.
    I just feel more confortable if someone is with me in case of an
    accident or any trouble.
    
    	-  When loading always put the butt bar across before you tie
    the horse and always untie the horse before you un-do the butt bar
    when unlaoding.  This is a safety measure so that the horse doesn't
    back out suddenly when tied and possible panic and hurt himself.
    
    Of course when driving I have some tips too, which are mostly common
    sense.  Such as:  Make as few stops as possible so as not to upset
    the horse.  If driving a standard try to down shift when possible
    instead of hitting the breaks.  Never haul without trailer lights
    in good working order and of course a safe hitch, with safety chains.
    
    Sorry to be so lengthy but the subject of hauling horses can be
    a very long one.  There is so much to remember and sometimes the only
    way to learn is thru experience and trial and error.
    
    I am glad to hear that the horse you hauled last week is recovering,
    he is lucky, that could have been even worse, unfortunately I have
    horror stories about trailering accidents where horses were not
    so lucky.  I am sure that you learned from your experience.  Hope
    my info helps in the future.
    
    - Jenny -

    I just had a similar incident happen to me over the long weekend.
    A filly we were trucking to Connecticut who has never been loaded
    went over the chest bar in our four horse trailer.  Our stall dividers
    are floor to ceiling so she couldn't get any further.  She ended
    up with only a few cuts and scrapes but none that required more
    than a little topical ointment.  I also had her in the right side
    rear stall which I chose this time because I wanted to get at her fast
    if there were a problem and if she came out I wanted her as close
    to the side as possible.  Normally I would load the same as Jenny
    stated in .1.  I also had some `Ace' with me but chose not to use
    it because she was so quiet in the trailer.
    Next time I'll open up the back as a box stall and let her go loose,
    something I hate to do but it prevents her from being able to fight
    anything.  I don't like it because they have a tendency to kick
    the sides which were not designed to take that kind of abuse.
    I agree with everything Jenny said in .1 except that I always open
    the middle door last instead of the butt bar and I keep the critter
    tied until everything is out of the way.  I especially do that now
    after seeing a gelding who has shown all his life last year take
    over a hundred stitches from trying to slide under the butt bar.
    He probably didn't see it and thought it was OK to back out and
    when he hit it he panicked.  There's no way he could miss seeing
    the middle door (if you have one) and even if he did he would still
    be tied.  Everyone has different experiences I guess.  I'm glad
    to hear that your horse is recovering.
    

    Also, be careful with use of the "escape door".  I no longer open
    or use this after an experience which I had three years back at
    a horse show.  We were loading up to leave.  Conditions were good
    - daylight, no rain or loud activity.  The horse was experienced
    in riding in a trailer.  Normally, I ask the horse to step in, but
    this one was a bit cantankerous, so I led him in and went out the
    escape door.  Unfortunately, he tried to follow me.  Being a rather
    strong quarter horse, he pushed his front legs through and got himself
    wedged in tight.  After several hours, we finally had to bring out
    a torch and cut the side off the trailer.  Quite a mess! Fortunately,
    the horse suffered only minor abrasions.
    
    =paul= 

    Re .3
    
    I've seen that happen too...I think escape doors are a mixed bag
    of problems.  On the other hand, I was once pinned between a freaked
    out mare and a closed escape door.  I don't think you can win.
    
    Ann

    Re Escape doors
    
    I always keep the door closed but unlached just in case.  I open
    it after the chest bar is latched shut.  My safety philosophy is
    people safety first, horse safety second.  Both are very important
    but it's harder to replace people.
    
    Bob
    

    A trick we use  trailering freaky horses:  tie them facing the back
    of the trailer.  I have a four-horse stock trailer with divider
    at mid-point.  We put up 5/8" plywood sides in the front of the
    trailer and on the divider to make a "baby stall" for hauling foals
    and moms.  The back stall is open (slats).  When I have a nervous
    horse to haul, I tie her to the back corner and let her stand on
    the diagonal facing oncoming traffic.  She can watch cars approach
    her at a reasonal speed, rather than see cars zoom past going in
    the opposite direction.  I tie a hay net in the corner with her,
    but tie up the bottom end, too, so the net hangs across the top.
    
    She travels in the back stall provided there is another horse in
    the front section.  If she is by herself, I still tie her facing
    backward and let her find her own balance.  Usually, at shows, I
    can untie her and let her use the double stall as a box stall. 
    Works fine, even for this flaky filly.

    I have a question for those experienced at hauling....I am going
    to be doing a reasonable amount of hauling this year, and am the
    process of "fixing up" my trailer...it is older but in excellent
    condition, and is really starting to look sharp now that I have
    washed and waxed it inside and out. My question is about dividers.
    My trailer is loaded with "extras", has about every feature imaginable
    save a dressing room, and one of them is that the center divider
    is in reality 4 seperate pieces: a head divider, a stallion guard,
    and two pieces between the stalls. Any and all can be removed
    seperately and what I am wondering is if it is generally better
    to leave in the bottom piece of the part between the stalls that
    extends it down to the floor, or to remove that piece and have 
    the two horses seperated only by the upper portion. Never having
    hauled two horses together I am curious if having that piece out
    causes them to step on each others feet, or what?? I will be hauling
    to two shows in May, our own TB both times along with friends'
    horses and want to make the trip as comfortable and safe as possible..
    Thanks for any suggestions! Btw...if it matters at all, both parts
    are fully padded...
    
    thanks!
    
    Linda
    

    
    
    
    
    Most horses I have dealt with haul better WITHOUT the divider going
    straight to the floor.  In fact, I have hauled several that went
    bananas with the divider going all the way to the floor.  These horses
    liked to travel with their feet spread as far as they could.  
    
    I have not had problems with them stepping on each other.  But I use
    bell boots and shipping wraps when we travel just in case.
    
    And there are other advantages to having a partial divider.  If one 
    goes down in the trailer, I have had an easier time of pulling out the 
    partial divider to get them up (since they aren't likely to be kicking 
    it or laying on it).

    
    
    I agree with only using a partial divider.  The horses seem to scramble
    less and do not fight the trailer for footing as much as they would
    with a full divider.  It is also a great help if the horses are
    claustophobic by letting them think they have more room than they
    actually do.
    
    The only way that I would use a full divider is if I were hauling a
    horse that liked to be a pig in the trailer and kick whoever he was 
    riding with.  
    
    Pat

    I will NEVER use a partial divider again.  I was hauling a horse
    who unexpectedly paniced and fell in the trailer (it wasn't moving
    at the time).  She got stuck under the divider and couldn't get
    up.  It was a very ugly scene.
    
    I've taken to using a stock trailer these days. The horses have
    enough room to spread out their feet and they don't step on each
    other.
    
    -maureen