Luckily both of us and the horse are OK.  I may have broken or sprained my foot but it could have been a whole lot worse.    My friend Jean drove her truck and trailer to pick up a horse about 4 hrs away, I was tagging along for the ride.   Loaded the horse and were about 2 miles away, it was raining and we were on windy hilly KY roads... and suddenly the truck slid across the road, into a guard rail, she got it back into our lane but we were almost sliding out of control at that point it was all over the road. 
during all that the trailer hitch broke and the trailer was being held on by 1 rusted safety chain.  the horse was thrown against the left side of the trailer and the trailer wall bulged out but nothing appeared broken in the trailer, and the horse just had a few minor scrapes, thank goodness.

Overall we were VERY lucky- could have easily flipped and gone over the ravine. 

the truck is messed up pretty bad and not drivable- the trailer may be driveable, not sure.  the people she bought the horse from hauled him back to their place.

What really upset me is the KY laws that don't require trailer inspections, or even trailer brakes and lights.  it may not have made any difference in this case but still..  having a trailer w/decent chains or cables,  break away battery, etc may have slowed the trailer down.  the hitch sheared off in the reciever part, and the whole bar and ball broke off.   hers is a little home made looking trailer, no brakes, lights marginally work,and rusty thin chains.  

  I've never seen anything like that happen.  now I'm worried about mine- wonder if there's a way to test the metal or just look at it and see if it's in good shape?  

Makes me wonder what if the hitch didn't break first....

no breaks....there is your answer

I haul a trailer daily that the brakes are marginal sometimes, but it's not hauling a live load and I always check the brakes before leaving so I know if they are being finicky or not just so I have the heads up.

do you know if the hitch was solid or was it hollow on the inside?  I won't haul the horse trailer with anything but a solid hitch.

Glad you are all ok

What about personal responsibility? Why would you be upset that KY laws don't require trailer inspections? That might be a valid argument if the accident had happened to someone else but you were in the vehicle and seemed to know that there were many problems with the trailer. I am certain that there is no law preventing anyone from maintaining their trailer.

There are no laws that require trailer inspection in my state but for my safety, the safety of others, and the safety of the animals we haul I make sure that safety chains are adequate, brakes work, the break away battery is charged, etc. It's just common sence and shouldn't require a law or government program to make sure it gets done.

What about personal responsibility? Why would you be upset that KY laws don't require trailer inspections? That might be a valid argument if the accident had happened to someone else but you were in the vehicle and seemed to know that there were many problems with the trailer. I am certain that there is no law preventing anyone from maintaining their trailer.  

of course there's no law preventing anyone from maintaining their trailers, but from what I've seen so far a lot don't. 

We just moved to KY 6 weeks ago.  I  met Jean a few weeks ago and had never been in her truck and trailer before yesterday.    Yes I knew there were  problems w/ the trailer (once I took a quick look at it yest)  but all I"m saying is hers seems to be typical of so many I've seen already here.    no brakes, no lights, minimal safety features.    if the state required inspections it would piss a lot of people off but they'd be much safer on the road. 

KY probably doesn't require inspections so they can keep more trailer registrations there.

NY requires inspections and high prices for registration so a lot of people register in Maine (a whole other subject lol) 

Horse trailers are not required to be registered in Ky unless they are LQ trailers. I know of no vehicle inspections that are required in Ky.

Gonzo----  that's all I could think about after we came to a stop too- it was a busy windy  little road and we were incredibly lucky no one was in the opposite lane- we all would have been seriously hurt or killed.  I'm not an authority, by any means, but I've been hauling  my horses all over the place for 35+ yrs and try to insure my truck and trailers are as safe as they can possibly be.

After our accident tried talking to my friend about getting another trailer, or having brakes etc installed on that one but kept saying  she's OK b/c she has the "towing package" on the truck..  my answer was that has nothing to do w/ better chains, trailer brakes, break away battery, (not to mention trailer lights)  but she didn't want to hear it.   very frustrating.  and very scary.   

Here in Boonedocksville KY that seems to be the norm,  from the little bit  I've seen so far at local trail rides and shows. 

IMO,anybody who hauls a trailer and horse or horses behind them without trailer brakes is flatout STUPID.Sorry,but,that's my opinion of your friend.

One day she may find herself (if she's alive and able) in a courtroom up against some injured or dead  party with a shark for an attorney and she'd wished she had heeded your advice then.

It is also my opinion,but,if she thinks she doesn't need trailer brakes and a 'towing package' on a pickup will do the job of holding or stopping something that weighs more than what is towing it,then,she doesn't have any business owning a horse or horse trailer and jerking it down the road.

If I sound pretty harsh,I am speaking from experience of another STUPID person who once  nearly lost her horse,trailer,and,could have killed somebody else for the same reason,and,that would be ME.