Now that you’re finished emptying your pocketbook. It’s time to hit the road, but before you do, do you and your horse(s) a big favor by checking the following:
Give yourself ample time DON’T rush or make assumptions. Walk around the rig and visually inspect the conditions. Loose parts that come off @ speed become flying projectiles down the road. Pay close attention to the shape of the tires and if they show signs of rot. Remember that under inflated tires are a major cause of tire blow outs, with the average size horse’s weight in around one thousand pounds placing a lot of stress on tires particularly in hot weather conditions on long hauls.
The ball and hitch head must be the same size the most common being two inch and two and five sixteenths inches. The tow vehicle hitch must be set at the correct hight to properly couple to the rig. Every trailer make and tow vehicle models are different. Proper hitch hight means safer trailering.
Next it’s time to hook up. An easy rule of thumb is to keep the tow vehicle and trailer straight and in line with each other. Use the center of the tow vehicle as your guide to the center of the trailer. Go slow and make short and small adjustment in the steering wheel. Once the ball of the tow vehicle is under the hitch you can lower the trailer onto the ball. Make sure the hitch is locked and secured with some type of hitch pin. Cross the safety chains once and make sure they are also secured to an in-movable part of the tow vehicle. This also applies to the emergency brake-a-way tether lanyard that would energize the trailer’s brakes should the trailer and tow vehicle ever become disconnected while moving in tow. Check the electrical connection plug and making sure it is locked. I use an electrical grease (sometimes referred to as dielectric grease) every few months which inhibits corrosion in-between the electrical contacts. Once complete you should check the brake unit inside the tow vehicle.
There are many brands but most newer units have an LED that turns green indicating the unit is energized and the electrical connection between it and the trailer brakes is complete. These brake units incorporate what is called a trolly lever. Test it and make sure the LED turns Red or and Orange color at least. The trailer brakes should engage and lock when the trolly lever is completely moved to the opposite side of the unit while not being depressed. (normal towing position). This step is extremely important, the tow vehicle was never designed to safely stop a heavy trailer. Test the unit several time with the trailer empty making sure the trailer wheels lock up when the trolly is fully engaged. If this doesn’t happen chances are the unit in the tow vehicle needs to be adjusted, check the brake unit operators manual for adjusting the unit. Most have two different and distinct adjustments. Should the trailer start to sway on the highway at speed gently and slightly tap the trolly lever and the trailer should straighten out nicely. One of my favorite saying is that only animals panic in a panic, keep cool... in these situations whatever is going to happen is going to happen.
It is time to load those big investments into that other investment called your rig. A few things I’ve come to regard as my standard operating procedures. Before you start and at least a few times a year make sure you grease and lube all the window and door hinges, next make sure everything is secured inside the rig as the last thing we need is to have stuff banging around driving your trailer passengers nuts.... If your nervous and apprehensive on the load so will the horse. Most horses that aren’t good loaders are so based on bad experiences in the trailer over time. The same goes for poor trailer manners, they’ve had enough to know there’re going to make you understand how unhappy or even lonely they are. Getting push and tossed around, due to sudden starts and stops and hard and fast changes from left to right. That’s a whole bunch of weight behind swinging all over the place. Going down the road takes a lot of attention & patience on the drivers part. It takes what I call using a lot of Freddie Finesse ..... Focus... focus... and a bit more focus always pays off. Gentle and long lane changes, soft starts and stops even if it means using the low gear of your tow vehicle on starts, and by all means if you have a tow haul mode on the tow vehicle use it according to the vehicle manufactures operating instructions, that button is put there for a reason. Leaving as much distant between you and the vehicle in front of you while looking beyond that vehicle allowing for ample reaction time for changes in speed and braking makes for happy four legged passengers.
Keeping your guest occupied with lots of hay is also a good idea. I also like to see and use some type of protective wrap on any horse both front and back legs or at the very least front legs on trips more than a few miles, especially if they have steel shoes on. It take just one nick of the coronet band and you’ll be opening the trailer doors to a bloody mess. I rather have a hot legged horse that’s a little uncomfortable than an expensive vet bill.
Safe trailering is more of and art than a science , that comes overtime with experience, common sense, and paying attention to everything around you, the tow vehicle and the rig. Happy Hauling Em movin down the road......
The Information in this article is the expressed opinion of the author Jim Pasquale who has been hauling horses for thirty plus years over various distances and should be treated as such.