Emergency escape
Emergency escape
Emergency escape
SAFE TRAILER
76 www.EliteEquestrianMagazine.com TRAINING & Showing
SAFE EMERGENCY
ESCAPE
Handler can safely
disconnect the breast bar
and lead the horses out
Horses can see the open
door or ramp.
Horses can safely jump
down and out of the trailer
or side ramp in emergency
UNSAFE EMERGENCY
Horses facing rear impact
No access to horses heads
Horses need to back and
turn to escpae
Handler has to get behind
the panicked horseS
Continued...
WHAT IF? FINDING A
ESCAPE
Buying a horse trailer is a substantial investment, not just in equity but in safety. Don’t make it a spur of
the moment decision. Take your time. Collect information, sift through it, and then collect more. Listen to
everyone – trust no one. Read everything – question everything. After all is said and done, it’s you that needs
to decide what is true and what isn’t. Believe me when I say that the wrong trailer is no bargain at any price
while the right trailer will safely serve you and your horses faithfully for years to come. So what to do?
As you collect trailer information, you might talk to a horse
trailer dealer, or a manufacturer, or a trainer, or a veterinarian,
or a friend who you believe knows his “stuff.” But
how do you know they know their “stuff” when you don’t
yet know what that “stuff” is? Is a dealer or manufacturer’s
motive to help you and your horses choose the right trailer,
or are the motives directed to getting a sale? Does your
friend or trainer have experience with horse trailers, or are
they just offering their opinion? Did your veterinarian take
Horse Trailer 101 in Vet School? But most important, what
about what you read in print or online? If it’s in print, is it
true? The best way to know is to read with an open mind
while asking, “Why, When, Where, What, and How.” And
after that, you need to ask perhaps the most important
question of all, “What if?”
More and more dubious information about horse trailers
and trailer safety is cropping up on the website. Unlike
magazines, that scrupulously screen the material they
choose to write about, anyone can say what they want
on-line to entice you to buy their product. But if you stay
present, question the information, and ask, “What if?” it will
become clear to you who is operating in your interests and
who isn’t. The following is a good example.
What is being called a “rear-facing” trailer has popped
up a while ago on two different websites. On one of the
sites, a dealer has branded the rear-facing trailer and touts
it with a video that can be found on YouTube (watch it
closely, and question all of what you see and hear). On the
other site, the dealer, who implies they are a manufacturer,
promotes rear facing using the following information: You
decide if it’s true.
Re-read it one more time and decide for yourself if that
was a strange leap. If you read it carefully, questions should
have popped up. How did the horse end up riding backward?
Did she back her mare in from the rear? Did her
horse enter from the rear and immediately turn around?
If so, how does that relate to how her mare likes to travel
since the trailer isn’t moving? Or did her horse turn around
during travel? If that’s the case, perhaps the mare just
wanted to face where she entered because she knew it
was the way out?
But then to further convince you, the dealer posts this:
/www.EliteEquestrianMagazine.com