Myrna's new (GORGEOUS!) pony has brought up a topic I am currently wondering about:
How are we all getting to shows/events/competitions?
Currently, I am driving me and mine to various competitions in a standard, steel, 2-horse straight load, bumper pull. The trailer is too heavy for my Dodge 1500 V-6 to pull on long distances, so I got a bigger truck.
We have looked at miniature horse trailers, and decided to pass on them. I am too danged old to be shoving carts up a 5' high trailer's back end - winch or no winch. The EE cart's shafts won't fit inside the trailer, unless it's 6' - which most mini trailers don't seem to be.
We have looked at low profile horse trailers, stock trailers, stock-combo trailers, inline trailers and vans. We thought we had a perfect trailer, when my coach, and several people who have allowed me to drive their horses and ponies, have all tried to talk me into driving horses - they can compete at higher levels, etc. So, now I need to consider hauling my Quarter horse and a marathon carriage. This totally changes the dynamics.
I have enough trouble getting the danged EE cart at 80 pounds up into my truck bed - maybe getting too old for that. On those rare occasions when I take both horses and both carts to a clinic, competition, etc. it's a fight to get them to fit in the bed (short bed with tool box), and I don't even want to discuss unloading them and reloading them at the end of the day, then re-unloading them at home. I got ramps, thinking "that's easy." The HyperBike is fairly well mannered. The ee cart has twice yanked me off the tailgate and on other occasions, where I have got it rolled down to the ground, it has taken off without me! Point being, I don't ever see me loading a full sized marathon carriage into my truck bed!
So, we started over with longer stock trailers, with no tack compartments, 3-horse trailers, and stock combos that we could put carts and carriages of both mini and full size into. I am thinking a 16' stock with a center gate. I can have tubes welded low for short dividers, welded in for hauling the mins, pull out the shorties and replace with full divider for big (1) horse. Center gate will separate carts/carriages from horses.
I would love to hear from anyone competing both minis and regular sized horses. How do you manage getting everything safely there and back? Is it preferable to load carts/carriages up front, or horses up front? My first thought was load horses in back, in case there was an accident, but?
Any advice? Thanks
Cheryl
How are we all getting to shows/events/competitions?
Currently, I am driving me and mine to various competitions in a standard, steel, 2-horse straight load, bumper pull. The trailer is too heavy for my Dodge 1500 V-6 to pull on long distances, so I got a bigger truck.
We have looked at miniature horse trailers, and decided to pass on them. I am too danged old to be shoving carts up a 5' high trailer's back end - winch or no winch. The EE cart's shafts won't fit inside the trailer, unless it's 6' - which most mini trailers don't seem to be.
We have looked at low profile horse trailers, stock trailers, stock-combo trailers, inline trailers and vans. We thought we had a perfect trailer, when my coach, and several people who have allowed me to drive their horses and ponies, have all tried to talk me into driving horses - they can compete at higher levels, etc. So, now I need to consider hauling my Quarter horse and a marathon carriage. This totally changes the dynamics.
I have enough trouble getting the danged EE cart at 80 pounds up into my truck bed - maybe getting too old for that. On those rare occasions when I take both horses and both carts to a clinic, competition, etc. it's a fight to get them to fit in the bed (short bed with tool box), and I don't even want to discuss unloading them and reloading them at the end of the day, then re-unloading them at home. I got ramps, thinking "that's easy." The HyperBike is fairly well mannered. The ee cart has twice yanked me off the tailgate and on other occasions, where I have got it rolled down to the ground, it has taken off without me! Point being, I don't ever see me loading a full sized marathon carriage into my truck bed!
So, we started over with longer stock trailers, with no tack compartments, 3-horse trailers, and stock combos that we could put carts and carriages of both mini and full size into. I am thinking a 16' stock with a center gate. I can have tubes welded low for short dividers, welded in for hauling the mins, pull out the shorties and replace with full divider for big (1) horse. Center gate will separate carts/carriages from horses.
I would love to hear from anyone competing both minis and regular sized horses. How do you manage getting everything safely there and back? Is it preferable to load carts/carriages up front, or horses up front? My first thought was load horses in back, in case there was an accident, but?
Any advice? Thanks
Cheryl