Trailering

This guide is intended as a guide only. It is not intended to be all inclusive. It is intended only to raise the awareness of the reader to the complicated and often confusing world of trailering your horse.

Getting Started

   Trailering your horse is an activity and a topic that actually consists of several activities and topics. Unless you never transport your horse or rely on other people to transport your horse for you, you are going to have to learn a few things about trailering.
   Let's start with the trailer from the horse's perspective. The trailer is a scary thing for your horse, especially the first time you load him/her. Your horse doesn't know exactly what the trailer is but it is pretty sure that it is not good and would rather not go inside of it. Your horse will load in your trailer simply because your horse knows that it is safe by your side. You have trained your horse to lead. That is to say, your horse walks by your side when you ask it to and feels secure in doing so. That is because of the hours of practice that you and your horse have spent walking together. If your horse trusts you and feels safe by your side, then it will walk besides you into the trailer. If your horse refuses to load then you should probably spend more time practicing your and your horse's leading skills. It is a matter of practice and trust and patience. You might find it helpful to have an open trailer in the yard while you practice the leading skills and then you and your horse can practice approaching the ramp. (if your trailer has a loading ramp. Trailers with loading ramps are usually easier to practice with because the horse is not required to step up.) Once your horse becomes comfortable approaching the ramp then practice actually stepping on the ramp. Every exercise that you invent should take your horse closer and closer to the trailer. Once the horse will load partially into the trailer, back him/her out again. Each time a little closer to the final goal. Don't make a big deal out of it because you don't want your horse to think it is a big deal, just an everyday sort of thing. Remember that the key is patience. If you try to force your horse into the trailer you will only frighten him/her and that will only make it more difficult to get your horse comfortable with loading and unloading.
   Okay, now that we have gotten your horse comfortable loading and unloading it is time to go somewhere. Before we do we should have a pretty good understanding of the equipment. Lets start with attaching the trailer to the tow vehicle. Have you ever done this before? Hopefully you received some basic instruction from the person that you purchased your trailer from and received an operator's manual and have read it and understand it completely. If so you could probably skip the next couple of paragraphs but for those of you that still have some questions or doubts, let me go over the basics for you and it doesn't get any more basic than this. On the back of your tow vehicle (the car or truck that you use to pull your trailer) is a hitch. There are several types. The most simple is a piece of steel bolted to your rear bumper with a ball attached to it by means of a draw bar (sometimes called a ball mount). Similarly many pickups and SUV's come equipped with what is called a step bumper which is a rear bumper that has a flat spot where you can mount a ball for attaching a trailer. All trailer hitches and trailers are rated in GVW (gross vehicle weight) as well as tongue weight. The tongue weight of a trailer is how heavy the tongue of the trailer is (usually 10% to 20% of the GVW) and the GVW is the weight of the whole trailer including tongue weight and the maximum load that can be loaded in the trailer. Bumper hitches and step bumper hitches have no place in this arena as they are simply too light to handle a horse trailer.

Class 1 bumper hitch Draw bar Ball

To handle the weight of a horse trailer you will need at least a class 2 underbody receiver hitch which is rated for 3000 pounds. As you can see from the accompanying chart, a one horse trailer weighs about 1000 pounds. Then considering the weight of your gear and the weight of your horse you can see that a class 2 hitch is needed. (Get the actual trailer weight from the manufacturers tag attached to the trailer.) To pull a two horse trailer you will probably need to go to a class 3 hitch (up to 5000 pounds) because of the extra weight involved. Remember that we are not just talking about the trailer weight but the weight of the trailer plus the weight of the load.

Underbody Receiver

To select the right hitch, you need to know information about your tow vehicle and trailer.

Tow Vehicle:

Make and model
Model year
Passenger or station wagon, truck or van
Two or four doors
Manual or automatic transmission
Vehicle's maximum towing capacity

Trailer:

Trailer type
Gross trailer weight
Tongue weight
Coupler socket size
Does the trailer already have safety chains
Where you plan to tow and under what geographic conditions

As you can see the size and weight of the trailer governs the class of the hitch. Most horse trailers will attach to a 2 inch ball as illustrated above. They attach to this ball by means of a coupler. There are also 2 safety chains to hold the trailer in case of a failure of the coupler.

Trailer couplers

   As trailers move up in size and weight they begin to become too heavy for the tow vehicle. The remedy for this is obviously a bigger and heavier tow vehicle. Small cars simply aren't big enough and heavy enough to safely handle the weight of a trailer. New vehicles are rated by their manufacturers as to how much weight they can safely tow. This information is in your vehicle's operators manual. If you can't find it ask your dealer. Be sure that any vehicle you tow with has enough of an engine, transmission and overall stoutness to handle the job. There is a reason most people tow horse trailers with pickups and large SUVs. If you simply must pull a horse trailer with an automobile it can be done if you do not exceed the manufacturer's maximum towing capacity. Because most cars have softer suspensions, in an effort to obtain a comfortable ride, it may become necessary to fit your vehicle with a load equalizing hitch (sometimes referred to as bars). A load equalizing hitch is a device that transfers some of the tongue weight of the trailer onto the front wheels of the tow vehicle. This can help to raise the rear of the vehicle while lowering the front. Hitches usually have 2 different load ratings determined by whether or not you are using the hitch along with load equalizing bars.
   As you can see there are a lot of variables to consider and when in doubt, please consult with a professional. He or she can guide you through the process of determining which hitch is right for your vehicle.
   Soon we will arrive at a point when the weight of a trailer is too much even for a full sized pickup. At this point it becomes necessary to use a different style of hitch. One that moves the trailer weight from the vehicles rear end to a point over the rear axle. I am talking about a 5th wheel. 5th wheels are hitches used in conjunction with a goose neck trailer. The hitch is mounted in the bed of a pickup truck over the rear axle.

5th wheel Gooseneck trailer

To use this type of hitch you obviously need a pickup truck.

You now have a tow vehicle with a hitch hooked to a trailer via a coupling. We are all set to go. Going is easy, but how about stopping. It gets a little hard to stop a 4000 pound or more trailer going 50 mph. Enter your trailer's brakes and while were on the subject, how about lights. Before you can pull a trailer you must make it road legal and that means lights and brakes. Let's assume from this point on that you are using the ever popular 2 or 3 horse bumper pull trailer. (The term "bumper pull" is just a figure of speech because you would never hook a 2 or 3 horse trailer to your bumper but instead to a class 3 or 4 underbody receiver style hitch.) It weighs about 4000 to 6000 pounds loaded (loaded means, including the weight of the horses and gear) and has electric brakes. And let us also assume that you are pulling it with a full sized pickup or SUV. This is probably the most popular configuration. Inside the cab of your vehicle you will have to either install or have installed an electric brake controller.

Electric Brake Controller

This device senses when you apply your brakes and in turn applies the brakes to your trailer for you. It is connected to your vehicles brakes electrically and also senses the amount of braking you apply by the use of an internal pendulum. Because of this it is necessary to install this device reasonably level. Check the manufacturers installation instructions. The brake controller sends an electric signal to your trailer brakes and the idea is to gain a nice, smooth, even, stop. This can be accomplished by adjustments on the controller, to adjust the amount of voltage that is sent to the trailer brakes. Test your brakes before going out on the road because rust and moisture tend to make trailer brakes "grabby" when you first use them. As they dry out they need to be readjusted in order to keep the correct amount of braking power on the trailer brakes. Otherwise it feels as if the trailer is pushing the truck whenever you stop. Check the controller instructions in order to learn how to adjust it. Most controllers are also equipped with a manual override switch (usually a spring loaded sliding switch) that is used to test your trailer brakes and can be used to apply your trailer brakes independent of the brakes on the tow vehicle. All this happens via the electrical connector that attaches your truck's electrical system to the trailer's. Below is an example of the most common connector (the 7 pin) used for horse trailers. There are, however, others and regardless of what you might read or hear elsewhere there is absolutely no standard for which wire goes where.

6 way socket that is attatched to the towing vehicle

6 way tow vehicle side.

6 way plug that comes from the trailer harness

If you are unfamiliar with wiring systems it is probably best to find someone who can help you with the wiring. Also it is never a certainty that anything will work correctly if you change trailers. Always check your lights and brakes before heading down the road. We don't want any surprises. If, upon plugging in your trailer you find that your lights or maybe your brakes do not work, try cleaning the connectors in both the female and male plugs with a piece of fine sandpaper. The problem is usually just dirty contacts.
Remember that your electric trailer brakes need electric current to function. They get the electric current from the tow vehicle via the electrical plug. You step on the brake and the brake controller sends current to your trailer brakes and you happily roll to a controlled stop. All is well. But what happens when a failure causes the trailer hitch to become detached from the tow vehicles ball? Not to worry you say as I have safety chains. Well that's a load off to know that the trailer is going to stay with you but how about your brakes? What happens with them? That's kind of a tricky question. If the trailer's breakaway switch was activated when the trailer hitch failed and the trailer was caught by the safety chains, then the trailer brakes will be automatically applied as long as there is electrical current available with which to operate them. This electrical current is supplied by the tow vehicle via the electrical plug, remember? The brakes are applied to the trailer and you come to a rather abrupt but hopefully safe stop as the trailer brakes are applied automatically and stop both vehicles. By the way if you slam on the tow vehicles brakes the trailer will most likely slam into the back of you, ouch. But what happens if the plug got yanked out of it's socket when the trailer hitch failed? Well this is another scenario. Hopefully you have kept your trailer's battery in good condition. What is my trailer's battery you ask? That is the small motorcycle style battery that is mounted somewhere on your trailer for just this reason. It doesn't last forever you know. When was the last time it was checked or replaced? If it has failed, you are left with no other way of stopping the trailer other than coasting to a stop or allowing the trailer to bang into your rear end when you step on the tow vehicle's brakes. So you can see the variables involved with your emergency breakaway switch. Be aware that some people say that ideally if your trailer hitch should fail and the trailer is caught by the safety chains, the cable attached to the breakaway switch should be of the proper length that it will pull out of the switch body thus applying the brakes while the trailer electrical plug has a wire long enough so that it will stay plugged in and in case it doesn't stay plugged in you still have the trailer's battery to apply the brakes. Other people say that the breakaway switch cable should be so long that the trailer brakes will only beapplied if the trailer becomes totally separated from the tow vehicle. This scenario would include a safety chain failure as well. The choice is yours. Personally I like the first choice best. Testing your breakaway switch and battery is fairly simple. Just leave the trailer's electrical connector unplugged and activate the breakaway switch by pulling the cable end free of the switch body. This should apply your trailers brakes. Remember to keep the contacts in your electrical plug clean. As I said earlier just touch them up with some fine sand paper.

The BreakAway Switch

   All right, we are all hooked up, We have tested our lights and adjusted our brakes. Our safety chains are attached and the small cable from the breakaway switch is firmly attached to the tow vehicle and long enough that it won't pull out when we go around a corner but short enough that it will pull out if the hitch comes undone and the trailer is caught by the safety chains. The coupler is properly secured and the safety pin is in place. Our horse has happily loaded and we are off.
   Not so fast. There are a couple of other things I feel I should mention before you go.
   Your horse. Depending upon the conditions be it hot or cold or humid and depending on the length of your trip there are other considerations. Expert agree that trailering is stressful for a horse. It is made more stressful if the horse cannot lower it's head. If possible tie your horse with enough slack so he/she can raise and lower his/her head. Also, extreme heat or cold can further stress your horse. Make sure your horse has plenty of hay and water often. Make sure that exhaust fumes from your tow vehicle are not so strong as to create a problem and make sure your horse has good ventilation. When towing, be aware that your horse is balancing back there. Go slowly around corners and accelerate slowly and try to time your stops so as to not have to stop too quickly. Generally, let your common sense guide you.
   You might want to consider changing places with your horse and going for a ride in the trailer yourself so that you can experience what your horse experiences. However, unless your horse can drive, you will have to get another human to drive the truck.
   Good luck and happy trailering.

Kates Horses Home