Hauling Miniatures in a "Big" horse trailer

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I have a 2 horse bumper pull trailer. It has a ramp and my horses are such babies that I have to let the ramp down or they won't load. Anyway. I load one side at a time. I put one mare in and tie her. Then I put my stallion in the same side facing back wards and tie him. I then close that door. Then the other side I load one mare facing front and tie and one facing back and tie her. My horses all get along quite well and have never had a problem with them kicking each other or any other problem.
 
You will get many opinions on whether or not to tie - what I will say is it depends on your trailer, your horses, how far you're going, etc. and in the end has to be what YOU and YOUR HORSES are comfortable with.

I always tie. My husband has been a horse transporter for nearly 10 years now, and both of us have had horses (and hauled them) all of our lives - I agree with him that horses will get in more trouble loose than if they are tied correctly. He has hauled literally thousands of horses, so I tend to go by his advice. Having said that, always tie appropriate to the height of the animal, use quick release knots, and ropes that will release the knots, even if the horse is down and keeping tension on the rope.

Others will say they never tie - again, I think you will need to determine what you are comfortable with. My preference and experience is that it is safer to tie.


When we purchased the minis and brought them home we didn't tie them because there wasn't a place to safely do so, they traveled fine. (We also still had big horses, which we promptly sold.) But we are going to be heading off to some shows and traveling longer distances.

We have always tied our big horses but to tie the little ones we would have to make trailer modifications.

I think we are leaning towards doing just that and if we ever go to sell the trailer we will make them something that can be removed. I also would prefer to haul them all with dividers between them so we are trying to work on a plan for that also.

All these tips and ideas really do help.
 
I have several trailers. But my most used one, for hauling as I haul horses around the country, is a 4 horse head to head. I took out the breast bars and had foal doors added. So even if I put a mini in the miffle and have big horses in the mail stalls, or mini in the main stalls, it keeps them in safely where they shoud be and they can't get under anybodies legs.
 
I’m a first-timer hauling a miniature horse. My mini doesn’t like to be stalled if he cannot see outside the barn stall. I have stallion stall dividers in my trailer. The mini cannot see outside the trailer, has anyone tried a platform to raise their mini up so they can use the full size drop-down windows? Is this as crazy as it sounds???
 
I’m a first-timer hauling a miniature horse. My mini doesn’t like to be stalled if he cannot see outside the barn stall. I have stallion stall dividers in my trailer. The mini cannot see outside the trailer, has anyone tried a platform to raise their mini up so they can use the full size drop-down windows? Is this as crazy as it sounds???
I have an open stock trailer and my horses are used to traveling in it, seeing out. I sold a horse who traveled to AZ in a big horse trailer. The buyer told me that every time they stopped, the little horse would climb up on the bale of hay so he could look out the windows. She was thinking of having a lower window cut into the trailer for him! Fabricating a platform would be a feat, keeping in stabilized while in transit, and if he could get a foot caught anywhere it could be bad.
Maybe your little guy could just learn to deal with it; try some short trailer rides at first with maybe a hay bag to keep him occupied.
 
I just had the trailer built, I should of had his trailer window lowered, just wasn’t sure how it would have looked.
 
I just had the trailer built, I should of had his trailer window lowered, just wasn’t sure how it would have looked.
A lower window would have been a conversation starter!
Maybe another, smaller window, and if it is closed it wouldn't be very noticeable. If you ever sold the trailer with the custom window, the new buyers would be saying "what the heck?!"
Hope your little guy adjusts.
My neighbors just moved. They have 5 biggies an a little. The guy fabricated a little stall that fit in the back of his pickup for the little one. I saw them as they drove off, and the little guy was in the stall, with his head up over the cab. Plenty of fresh air and a view. Luckily he had on a good fly mask. I will be curious to hear how he traveled 200+ miles...
 
Just got a video of the little guy in the custom stall in the back of the pickup. His ears were up, nose into the wind. She said he seemed to enjoy the whole trip. So, maybe they really do want to see what's outside the trailer. I wouldn't have transported a horse like that, but sometimes one has to do what one has to do.
 
Okay, not exactly a solution for your trailer, but might work for the stall.View attachment 42008
I think that could work just fine in the trailer. As long as it was built sturdy enough and was either tight enough to the sides to not move around or was bolted in place or you used wedges to keep it tight and from moving. If I was doing it, I would use square steel tubing and weld up the frame, but you'd either need to be handy with a welder or know someone that is. I would either cover it with at least 3/4 plywood (not particle or chip board) preferably pressure treated for longevity or either pressure treated 5/4 X6 deck boards or a synthetic like Trex (all of these various ideas are budget based, Trex or equivalent being most expensive.) Then I would either paint it with good gloss paint for easy hosing and add non skid additive or sand (preferably course) for traction. You could also use epoxy garage floor coating (again adding either sand or the non-skid additive) or get either room on, spray on or professionally done bedliner, like rino lining, linex (I don't recommend it) Rustoleum, etc. All of these options come in colors, some tinted to your desired color or color matched to trailer.

The "extra window" would actually be a great idea, wouldn't look terrible, especially if you get a matching one from trailer manufacturer and either do a good clean install or have it professionally done. The thing about that is that then when you do sell it, it can be advertised as a "Custom horse trailer for minis AND/or full sized horses." Which greatly improves your attraction to all buyers, especially someone like me that has fullsized horses, donkeys and minis. That would definitely peak my attention! In fact, I'm going to order a new window (actually a couple) for my trailer as soon as I post this. I currently just allow my minis to "roam around" in my full sized, 3 horse bumper pull, which they do well with, but my mare really doesn't like not being able to see out, so she'll occasionaly rear up and look out when I stop.

Marsha, if you can, will you post the video of the mini in the back of pickup truck? I'd love to see it.

I've actually been considering either modifying my service dog, Angus', trailer that I pull behind my motorcycle for my minis or building a new one. He loves it and I'm sure they would too! If I knew how to post a picture, I would post one of the trailer behind the Harley with the 100 pound and 125 pound service dogs riding in it. Being that it has pulled those 2 and my friends 125 pound pitbull/American bulldog at same time, I should be able to tow my minis, one at a time, of course!
 
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When I was talking about paint, bedliner, "room on" was supposed to be "roll on."

I also meant to mention that if you're a good carpenter or know one, you could build a platform out of wood, but it would have to be pretty sturdy. You could also bolt square tubing or angle iron to walls of trailer and put plywood on top for easy conversion from minis to full sized. I personally like and will be adding lower windows in mine. Thanks for the idea, Bob Rivers.
 
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