Enclosed trailer dividers

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MindyLee

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Today my husband found a nice little enclosed 5x8 white trailer abandond on the side of the freeway with a broken axle. He is a wrecker driver so he did get a hold of the owners and they said keep it! So now after all the right paperwork has been done, I have plans to converting it to a mini trailer and need 2 dividers for 3 stalls in it. What are some good/safe/hardy ideals for dividers to use in it and I figured they will be sideways so what side should the horses heads be facing (passanger side or drivers side) ?

Thanks!
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I've used Polyethylene (PE) solid gates for 3 trailers now, and love them. They are around $100 with latches, and well worth the money. These are before I power washed them for the winter. There is not steel to cut the horses, or any splinters to worry about

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I get them from High Country plastics.

I put my stalls so the horse's heads on the drivers side. It makes it easier to load and unload.
 
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These are the dividers in our mini gooseneck trailer:

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I would have them facing the driver's side as that's standard in big horse trailers and I assume there's a reason for that.
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As for dividers, I'm ordering a set from someone on the LB saleboard and have been VERY happy with his service so far! Ray is going above and beyond and I really like the fact that his dividers have mesh in the head area so the horses can see each other. I've had some problems with my minis and solid dividers. (Pyro went ballistic and tried to go over the top of them and Turbo gets very antsy if I tie him short so he can't see around the divider.) Both horses relaxed immediately when they could see the horse next to them.

Leia
 
I would have them facing the driver's side as that's standard in big horse trailers and I assume there's a reason for that.
Yes, there's a reason. The reason is that the majority of the horses' weight is carried by their front legs. Roads are not perfectly level but have a rise in the center. This is to facilitate water run off. You want the heavier part of the horse on the higher part of the road for better trailer stability (assuming most of us are not usually in the fast lane when hauling horses).
 
I'll try to put pictures of mine on later tonight. It is actually at a friend of ours house having dividers put in it. We are going to pick it up as soon as my son gets off work at noon. We took a 4 horse slant load and converted it for minis. It will have 7 stalls then a place for storage in the front or I can take the stuff out and put another horse up there. I keep telling myself I'm not hauling more than 7 this year!!!!
 
I would have them facing the driver's side as that's standard in big horse trailers and I assume there's a reason for that.
Yes, there's a reason. The reason is that the majority of the horses' weight is carried by their front legs. Roads are not perfectly level but have a rise in the center. This is to facilitate water run off. You want the heavier part of the horse on the higher part of the road for better trailer stability (assuming most of us are not usually in the fast lane when hauling horses).

This totally makes sence! Thanks for this info as it is very helpfull. Also I really like the plastic gates that Dana has in her trailer. They look very sterdy and safe as I do have a stallion that likes to rear up in the trailer when its not moving. I got on the High Country Plastics site and wow they also had all kinds of neat things offered for sale. Thanks Dana!

Thanks everyone for some examples!
 
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good info on the road being different heights for water run off. Some time this week my new trailer will be here. It is suppose to be just 2 meters high and have a 3, slant load with a sattle room. I am curious to see what the slant load will look like in such a small trailer. The guy at the dealer said it was "a cute little trailer" I hope he is right , now I need stickers to personalize it . I can send photos if you would like when it comes.
 
"I would have them facing the driver's side as that's standard in big horse trailers and I assume there's a reason for that."

My reason for doing it that way is that you lead the horses on the left hand side. So when loading, if you face them towards the right side of the trailer, you would have lead in from the right and it's confusing to most horses and makes them not want to lead. It also is more cumbersome leading that way. And if you try to lead in on the left, and push them to the right into the stalls, you end up between the horse and the front of the trailer. When the horses' heads are on the left, I just lead them in normally , swing them around, and hook the trailer ties.
 
We just got our trailer back last night from having it converted from a 4 horse slant to be able to haul minis. I can haul 7 with storage in the front and the back tack still there. If I put stuff out of the front part into the living quarters I can haul one or two more horses. We are really happy with the job that he did on the trailer. Can't wait till show season again. We bought this trailer right before Nationals. Got it for the living quarters so we don't have to stay in motels. We love it. Used it to go to Nationals, but had no dividers. Luckily the horses are fairly well behaved and had no problem going to Tulsa, but I wanted dividers.

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The dividers are all made of aluminum. The metal loops on the ends are for straps to hook behind them. I don't have them yet. Each divider has a pin that drops down in to a hole in the floor of the trailer.
 
Wanted to add - my PE dividers are hooked in front to a wooden manger we built, and then the gates hook directly into the opposite wall of the trailer. That way there is no way the horses can get to each other should a halter slip off, or I can release them from the ties if we stop overnight (like on the way to Nationals) they can move a bit. I also didn't like the open grate dividers because it makes it interesting if hauling 2 stallions next to each other.
 
I have one more question...

How do you install these dividers without puting holes in the side of your trailers to hang them? I really dont want to mutalate the trailer adding these or tie hooks and any other stuff. Do you build a wooden fram inside? Its hard to tell from some of the photos but it looks like Dana has some kind of fram work going on...

Thanks!
 
[SIZE=12pt]Here are a couple of photos of our trailer. We had it customized this year to start our hauling business this spring.There is a removable frame made inside the trailer that the dividers attach to. If you think this is something you are interested in PM me and I'll send you a bunch of photos from the beginning of the project to the end
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Joy

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I want to hang a chinese lantern in that red trailer of yours
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... I hope seeing all your nice trailers doesnt dissapoint me when mine comes this week. Its a modifies mini 3 pony slant load 2 meters tall ???? Oh with a sattle rack??? why a sattle rack for a mini pony? oh well, Id rather have a full length mirror, and a dresser in it.
 
We built a rectangular frame for our manger side. It's sturdy enough that I can walk on it. Trust me - that's sturdy!!

We put heavy screws into the upright framework of the trailer and into the floor to hold it. No matter what dividers you use, you will need to attach it to the trailer somehow. The latches on the opposite side are simply screwed into the frame of the trailer.
 
Don't have photos but I used a small pipe gate from double diamond, backed it with plywood....already has hardwear. Bolted road side to trailer and rear of divider has a drop pin that goes into a fitting on the floor. Makes two box stalls in a 7 foot utility trailer. Also added a window on each side and a vent on top.
 
Krissy, I have a pony trailer (although I use my Transit van these days) and I can get four on it.

UK regs state equine transport must be two metres from floor to ceiling ...BUT...it does not say you cannot put a false roof in for inside storage, just something to bear in mind.
 
hmmm...thanks rabbitfizz... so i can instal me wine celler after alll.
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I never thought about a "fake roof- wine bar" seriously , thats a really good idea.
 
Yup!!!
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Personally, I used mine for hay, as the horses kept getting drunk and rolling around the showground when I had alcohol on board.......
 

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