What makes a trailer safe?
The answer is:
“a design that naturally reduces,
and often eliminates injuries to horses
and their handlers.” As a consumer, you
need to find evidence to confirm this ideal.
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Full height doors, step up
EE
If trailer companies say their trailers
are safe, I believe they should
explain why and how. Through the
years, Neva and I have identified and
implemented many safety features
and designs that should be standard
on trailers, many of which, by their
very function, help keep handlers
and horses out of harm’s way. Over
the next issues, I will introduce you
to those designs and features, some
of which we feel are critical enough
to demand an entire article, such as
this one about rear entrances. Getting
large, powerful animals to walk
into a box on wheels is by description,
an accident waiting to happen. Of
course, well-trained horses, especially
those taught to lead correctly, reduce
the risk of accidents when loading.
But with horses, it’s wise to expect the
unexpected, and a well-designed
rear entrance is a plus.
Forty years ago, there were two basic
rear entrance configurations: The Step
Up, which is two full doors that close
behind the horses. Ramp with Upper
Storm Doors, which has a lower ramp
with two doors above it. Variations of
these existed, such as eliminating the
storm doors above the ramp, a Step-
Up with half height doors instead of
full and a version that had two middle
doors added to the lower ramp/upper
door configuration called a five piece
Dutch Door.
Back then, the doors over the ramp
and the full height doors latched to a
rear center post placed in the center
of the stalls that was a dangerous
obstacle for horses entering or exiting
the trailer. But over the years, it was
replaced by a swinging center divider
supported by the front center post
and held in place by the rear
Continued
TRAINING & Showing
Safe Trailers = Safe Trailering
Story and Photos
By Tom Scheve
butt bars.
By swinging
the divider
to the side,
the stall
area was
opened up,
making it look less threatening and
safer for horses to enter.
At the time, the ramp with upper
storm doors was the safer of the two
because it eliminated the possibility
of horses slipping under the traler
when stepping back and down from
the trailer. I’ve seen the aftermath
of this accident, and the outcome is
never good. But ramps had faults. The
construction had to be strong enough
to withstand impact, so they were
heavy to lift. If a horse kicked a ramp
while it was being raised or lowered,
a handler could be seriously hurt.
And someone stooping over to lift
the ramp from the side risked getting
kicked in the head.
The two rear configurations, (ramp
with tail doors and the full height
doors) remain the primary rear entrance
designs in use today. Most
Straight Loads (horses facing front to
back) use the ramp with upper storm
doors, and slant Load trailers typically
have full height doors without a ramp
(step-ups).
In our continuing quest over the years
to improve trailer safety, we took a
hard look at the pros and cons of
each configuration and realized that
combining the two was the answer
As I stated earlier, a substantial
structure is needed in the rear of the
trailer to protect the horses from rear
impact, especially in this day an age
where driver distractions have in-
THE REAR ENTRANCE
Full doors with
ramp, fully open
Ramp with storm doors
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