Confused About How to Buy Horse Trailers?
If you are a brand new horse owner, it can be a scary thing to try to pick out the right type of horse trailer. If you’ve already gone out and looked around at some trailers, you no doubt have already become overwhelmed by all the different styles, materials, and other choices you have to make to find the right trailer. It’s important to make sure that the trailer you get is the right kind that your horse will need. One of the biggest determining factors that will help you out a little bit is safety.
You should make it a priority to thoroughly check all the trailers you look at and make sure that they are safe for your horse before you buy it. The individual needs of a horse differ from one to another, so it’s important to get a feel for what your horse does and doesn’t like.
Another big deciding factor on which kind of horse trailer you should purchase will depend on what type of stalls you need in your trailer. Stalls come in all different sizes and shapes depending on the stall and the company that makes that particular trailer. One thing to keep in mind as you are checking out the stalls on a trailer is that if your horse’s ears can touch the ceiling of the trailer, then the trailer is too small for the horse. Make sure that the horse has plenty of room to turn around and come out of the trailer.
Image credit: B Tal
Ventilation is another important aspect to keep in mind when looking at different trailers to buy. A horse trailer has on average about two to nine stalls in it. Make sure that you purchase a trailer that has one more stall than you actually need to use. This gives your horse plenty of room to move around as well as allowing you to have the option of adding an extra horse some time down the road.
Choosing whether to use a ramp or to use a step-up to get the horse loaded into the trailer is another important detail to think about. This will vary depending on each individual horse, as each has their own preference. If you aren’t sure which type of entrance your horse prefers, you should test it to find out what it likes. If you know anyone who has a horse trailer, ask them to let you test the trailer to see what your horse likes in an entrance.
Another choice you’ll have to make is whether to buy a straight load or a slant load trailer. Straight load trailers are pretty self-explanatory. You simply load the horse on to a flat straight platform. Slant load trailers have stalls that are slanted from the left to the right. Slant load trailers are perfect if you have more than two horses you’d like to move at one time. They both have their ups and downs, but it mostly depends on what you need.
It’s a good idea to keep in mind what type of vehicle you will be using to pull your horse trailer. You won’t want to purchase a trailer that ends up being way too heavy for your vehicle to pull, as this could cause damage to your car, the trailer, and could also cause you to get into an accident.
While there are a ton of different choices to be made when purchasing a horse trailer, the most important thing is to make sure your horse is healthy and safe during the trip. Keep this in mind along with remembering that each and every horse is different and needs to have its needs attended to, even during travels.