I'm sure it has happened many times. 

It's common to hear of horses falling through floors of old trailers in disrepair, and I have heard quite a few stories of horses coming out of trailers over the top of the rear ramp when someone had the top doors open.

Bad things can happen, make sure your trailer is safe.

-Phillip

True. 1984-ish, but true

My trainer and I were hauling a weanling to the vet, in a stock type trailer. He was tied, in the rear section, the mid gate was shut. The rear door latch was the kind you close while standing behind/beside the driver's side rear tire, and you 'snug' the latch bar in behind a 'catch' that has a lip on it. The lip is designed to keep that bar from just working up and slipping out. Unfortunately, somewhere on the long, bumpy, chert-rock driveway, that latch bounced out/past the shallow lip. She only drove maybe a 1/4 mile on the paved road, then she saw the rear gate swing into view on her side mirrror/passenger mirror.

The colt had fallen out, and ruined both hind legs, his fore legs were still in the trailer. The owner was a vet - he was nearby- he came right away and put the colt down.

So, I'm sorry that I know this first hand, but it is true.

It happened to a friend of mine about 3 years ago.  He had a two-horse straight load trailer he had borrowed, the trailer was an older trailer but in good repair, he was hauling his horse that has always been a perfect hauler.  The horse had been hauled many times in the trailer.

He was driving down the 91 freeway here in SoCal when his horse went ballistic and started kicking the back door.  My friend slowed down and was trying to get over to the side of the road to see what the problem was when he saw the horse fall out of the back of the trailer (he said he was going about 30-35mph at the time).   Fortunately, most of the cars on the freeway had time to stop, so the horse wasn't hit, which is amazing if you've ever traveled westbound on the 91 freeway in Norco around 4pm on a Tuesday. 

With traffic pretty much stopped, the horse got up and started trotting between cars.  It took awhile to catch the horse, because of "help" from non-horse people who thought the best way to catch the horse was to run up to it, rather than walking quietly.   He put the horse back in the trailer on the undamaged side and drove the 50 miles home.  His vet met him at his house and determined that the horse had no serious injuries, lots of cuts and bruises, but fortunately, nothing that wouldn't heal.

A couple notes: The horse was not tied and the trailer did not have a but bar or chain, the horse's kicking bent the back door so much that the latch failed.  My friend suspects that either the horse was stung by something or that someone threw something in the back of the trailer.  Since then the horse has hauled quietly, as he always had before, except that my friend only hauls him in his slant load trailers now.  I saw the bent door, it was a heavy door, definitely not flimsy, I would never have imagined a horse could have bent it so quickly, with just a few kicks

Wow!

roll on

I bought a mare who, along w/ one of her trailer mates, fell out of a moving trailer when the single rear stock door was not latched.  The third horse never fell or jumped out and arrived home 25 miles away with no problems.  The mares that fell out had left saddled for the ride home.  While the saddles (roping) were destroyed they saved the mares backs.  Both mares were shocky and needed IV drips along w/ treatment for deep cuts and scrapes.   They were lucky mares in that neither had a broken bone.  The person who saw the girls tumble out said the rig was going about 30 mph when it happened as they were leaving a night time roping.

Lesson to be learned- always walk around the trailer one last time before putting the truck in drive.  

My horse doesn't ride in trailers without butt bars.

As far as not tying, that's a bad idea.  a horse can often turn around, get it's head under a bar, or many other dangerous things.  Horses in trailers get leather halters and strong nylon ties with quick release snaps.    -Phillip 

I totally agree with Phillip on his reasons for not tying in the trailer!!!  I untied my gelding yesterday, and he got eager to get out, turned his head and nearly got himself stuck! (sland load and 2 year old horse).  I always tie my horses!!!  Too many chances to get them hurt if they can move their heads around. 

Now if I just remember to keep him tied until I get to his head!

Diane

I have no doubt that bad things ,like horses falling and or getting out while traveling, have happened but mostly these stories always seem to start out as " I heard about....." or "someone said they hear about..." generally, my guess is the story started as true then got exaggerated as time went on. We can only do the best we can and hope for the best. As far as tying vs not tying, to each their own. I don't tie nor do I use leg wraps. Does this make me a bad person? Nope anymore than it makes those who do a better person...

Reg- never heard of the incident you described but I am not suprised. With everything else going on in the world, a horse accident isn't big news....

Horses will do crazy things no matter what boudaries we set for them.  A horse I hauled a couple of years ago in a 4H straight load started out tied in the rear driver side.  Three hours later at a rest stop he was still tied but facing backwards stradling a 4-wheeler in the center aisle.  I had two other people in the truck with me and no one felt anything unusual either. 

Farmbabe, I only wrap if they are already set-up on the way home and in 18 years of horse shows and travel I have only had one injury (a kick to the hock from another horse in a slant).

To each his own....

Dogtrot,

Very interesting stuff. I keep hearing about the horse-through-the-floor problem, including how common it is.  Where can I get more info?

Dogtrot,

Arroyo is spanish for a creek or deep gully cut by an intermittent stream.

Secco is a mis-spelling of "seco" meaning dry.

= Drycreek 

On to the trailer floor question:  I keep hearing 2nd, 3rd hand stories but I have never met anyone that has actually had a horse break through the floor. (Don't get me wrong . . . I am not eager to)  I am sure it is possible, sure that it has happened.  But I suspect it is, thank God, a very rare thing.  The whole image of it is terrible and I suspect that is why it so commonly arises in conversation and/or postings when horse trailers are discussed.

I thought the holes in the floor were for the horse to put his feet down and help push those Dodges up the hill !

A few years ago I was sales rep and called on a major account.  The VP I called on took a bunch of scouts on a summer camp out.  My next visit After his return I ask how the trip had gone. He told me the horror story of the trip. Among several other mishaps, one of the trailer doors came open on the freeway home and the last horse in the trailer turned and stepped out.  And promptly rolled a bunch of time on the freeway.

My visit was 2-3 days after the incident and I asked if the horses had lived. He said it was still standing up out in his neighbors pasture. Very stiff, but still standing.

Also my vet has some very nasty pictures on his wall of a horses leg that went through the floor boards of trailer. He keeps them hanging on the walls as a reminder to everbody to check their trailer floors.