This message is from: Marsha Jo Hannah <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > DeeAnna <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Okay, for those of you with stock-type trailers, I'm curious. > > Do you tie your horses? If so, how? Facing forward, sideways, or > backwards? With a regular tie rope or an elastic type tie? How do you > minimize the potential for horses slipping and falling on curves or > hills or during an emergency stop?
I have a 2-horse slant-stock trailer. When I'm hauling our 2 Fjord geldings, I load them facing slant-rear, with the divider between them. I tie them with "trailer ties" that I've custom-made to be the lengths that I need. The tie points are about 3' off the floor, and the tie lengths are such that the animals can just touch their noses to the floor. This gives them enough freedom to raise and lower their heads as needed, to balance against trailer motion. (It also gave the rear horse a little too much freedom to turn this way and that, bugging the front horse, so I added a second tie, back to the butt-chain loop, i.e. the rear horse is essentially in loose crossties.) My husband's gelding was a "poor hauler" in a standard straight-load (front-face) trailer. Going to slant-rear has greatly improved his trailering behavior, and lowered his stress levels. When I haul just the donkey, I give her the entire trailer, but tie her to the midpoint of the long side (same longish trailer tie; it's needed because she has been known to seek out and destroy wiring). She's short-coupled enough that she can stand any way that she pleases---seems to prefer either slant-rear or sideways. The studies I've read indicate that equines haul better when given at least some freedom to move around. They frequently orient themselves facing the rear of the trailer, which puts them in a better position to resist stopping forces (including the mini-stops that happen with each shift of the transmission). Freedom to move the head is important, as a horse can absorb a lot of turning and braking forces by swinging the head/neck as a counterweight. Marsha Jo Hannah Murphy must have been a horseman-- [EMAIL PROTECTED] anything that can go wrong, will! 15 mi SW of Roseburg, Oregon
