Wifey left yesterday for Germany.  She's going to a riding school there for a couple of weeks. (She went last year too ... I stayed home and painted the house. Vowed that would never happen again)

I am leaving for Germany on Friday. Going to be a good horse husband and watch her ride at the school for a couple of days and then I am off on my own for a week to explore Germany and Switzerland.  While I am there I am going to  be doing some "research" on things like horseboxes, Euro-trailers, proper tow vehicle for Euro-trailers, horses facing forward/backward, proper temperature of beer, etc. etc.

I'll have lots of info to share with the board/bored when I return.

Roll on

mmmmmm   beer good!!  The darker the better!

Ach Tung!!

Yes,

The beer, don't forget about the beer.

Congrats man!

I always enjoy research, especially when my favorite beverage is concerned!  Worked for a micro brewery in college and did quite a few tasting road trips with the boss.  ;-)

Cheers and lift a pint of the dark stuff for us back home!  I'll do the same for you and the wife for happy and safe travels!

~Kevin

I've been to both places.  I must say I enjoyed Switzerland more than Germany.  The Swiss are alot more friendly.  The German's are too serious for me, IMO.  But both places are "beautifull". 

One memorable moment was in a pub in Triberg.  Husband got "beyond" plastered.  I had to have help carrying him up to the room. Then he proceeded to get rid of what he had consumed in the bar..............The whole hotel had to of heard him (auk tune! those crazy americans)..........Husband said he "never" had gotten that drunk in his life.....................(poor guy).

Have a great time...........

Vaquero,

The riding she does now is probably a little different from the riding you do (although she used to show cutters many,many years ago.) Last year she bought a horse while she was over there . . . I need to go and keep a closer eye on things this year.

Re: people "born riding" in Texas - Most of the people I see in  Houston, DFW, Austin or SA  . . . Those folks were definitely NOT born riding.

Roll on

Reg-

You are right about the drinkin' & drivin'- but the good part about it is you can take the train just about anywhere and you don't even have to stop drinkin'!  ;-)

Then again I did my travels in Europe as a college kid on a college kid budget- I was lucky to afford a couple beers & the train so I never got really trashed, just a couple nice memorable buzzes.  :)

Cheers!

Oh.. Woops I miss read... I thought it said TUB....gotta get my eyes checked..or my mind Ha Ha.

Guten tag, Rollin! Haben sie ein bier fur mich. Sehen sie die kleine und grosse pferd autos, ja? Seine frau ist sehr "lucky" fur die reiten in Deutschland.

Schreiben spater. Auf wiedersehen! Gemm

Well, this proves that High School German was a loooonnnnng time ago.

I did feel like throwing the husband into the "TUB" after we left the "Pub".....

Three tour's in Germany as a miltiary spouse 20 + year's ago. 

Rollin, have a Dortmunder at the Beer Hall in Munich.  Great fun.  Also, when in the Munich area, make time to visit Dachau.  Shame you won't be there during Octoberfest.  Germany's version of Mardi Gras.   You'll love Switzerland. 

Thank's.  I've forgotten a lot of my German.  I was so glad to get home the last time, I swore I never wanted to leave the US ever again. 

I hope ole Rollin Ponies doesn't try to do any driving over there.  Or if he does, he hire's a driver.  The Autobahn, which is what our interstate highways are patterned after, have no speed limit's.  Driving in Germany is challenging.   

When we were there, all beer was served at room temperature. The beer man delivered to your home, by the case. We used to sit ours out on the balcony in the winter time.  Flip top's bottles.  But don't drink it from the bottle.  Always pour it in a glass.  Every town had their own brewery and they weren't too careful about the protein that got in it. 

Just dropped in to an internet cafe to check email, etc. Having a great time . . . met up with Wifey in northwest Germany for a few days: Watched some at the riding school in Vechta, went to horse show, took LOTS of pictures of what people used to bring their horses to the show. I'll be posting them when I return.

Other research so far: They serve the beer much colder than I expected . . . MUCH colder than the UK, France, Switzerland, Italy or Belgium . . . not quite as cold as in Texas. I have sampled beer from Bremen to Baden Baden and I have not found a bad one!!! This part of the research is an excellent way to spend the evenings.

Driving has certainly been fun . . . 190 kph gets you where you are going pretty quickly!I'll be back in Texas next week and share all the results of my research.

Roll on

Hey, Rollin Ponies, have you been to "Ausfahrt" yet?  (hehe)

Maybe he's hung up on Einfahrt and Friefahrt.   

One more day (in Zurich) and then I am headed back . . . Wow, all this research is exhausting!!! The horse trailer research has tapered off the last couple of days. I think I got all the information I needed on that topic. I have talked to dozens and dozens (maybe that should be metric) of people that transport horses. Early warning on the results of my research: I haven't found a single person who loads their horses so that they ride backwards.  I have not seen a single horse riding backwards in a trailer. I have gotten MANY strange looks when asking about horses riding backwards . . . but then again, I have gotten many strange looks for things I say and do here!

I just have this evening and tomorrow evening to complete my beer research so I better get down to the bar.  The work never ends.

Roll on

PS   I sure wish I could get some good enchiladas or at least some chips and salsa with dinner tonight!

 Have a Lowenbrau and Wurstli for me in the Niederdorf in Zurich.  Better yet, a kaese fondue with Fendant wine!

My old stomping grounds.  Now I spend all my money on horses and don't travel enough (except with the horse trailer, of course).

Zahnburste

Just to add fuel to the fire: I helped a neighbor out by trailering a Hereford bull in my 3 horse slant. We tied him to one of the upright beams and left the dividers open. During the short trip he turned himself around and rode backwards!

I wish I could be there to help you with your other research!!!

BTW - That bull is halter broke, and loaded into the step up better than the horses.

At the horseshow I attended in Warendorf  Germany I was able to speak with many people that had trailered horses to the show.  I also had the opportunity to wander in the parking areas and photograph tow vehicles, trailers, “horseboxes.”  I also had an opportunity to see a few trailers at the state riding school in Vechta Germany.

ALL of the trailers that I saw were of the European style.  By that I mean similar in design and construction to the Brenderup trailers that are sold in the US.

Very few of these were of the Brenderup brand.  There are many brands of this type of trailer available to the market in Germany, and I assume, the rest of Europe.  All of the trailers I saw had ramps and were 2-horse, straight loading trailers.  All of the trailers I saw used a braking system identical to or similar to the Al-ko manufactured system used by Brenderup here in the US and in Denmark.

I did not see a single trailer that was what most of us on this forum would call a “conventional” North American trailer.  I also noted that all of the tow vehicles that I saw were automobiles or SUVs.  I also saw many “horseboxes” including several based on Mercedes Benz truck platforms.

Several months ago there was some commentary on this forum about horses riding in trailers facing backwards.  In the time I was in Germany I did not see a single trailer loaded for the horses to ride backwards.  The people I asked about this practice at the show laughed out loud when I asked them about their horses riding backwards in their trailers.  They assured me that was not a practice they had ever seen.

All of the trailers that I saw on the autobahn were, except for passing, staying in the far right lane.  This is easy to understand when traffic in the inside lane(s) could easily be driving 120 mph (190 kph) or even much faster.  I never witnessed horsetrailers on the autobahn that even attempted to drive at the high speeds of the left lanes.  I saw trailers being towed by automobiles and SUVs on all kinds of grades and in all cases they stayed to the right lane and seemed to adhere to the same practices that the large trucks adhered to.  All the trailers I saw were towing on paved or graveled roads . . . from the autobahn to small country roads. I did not speak to anyone that trailers “off road” to trail heads for trail riding.  Virtually all of the people I saw and spoke with routinely park on wet grassy fields for the shows they attended.

I’ve joked about calling all of this “research” but it really should be considered one man’s observations over 10 days in Germany and Switzerland.  Although I am a former Brenderup owner (used an 87 Chevy ½ ton, 305 to pull it) this is NOT a review of European style trailers like Mr. Truck writes.  Keeping that in mind, I would tell you that it is common practice to transport horses in European style horse trailers pulled by automobiles and SUVs.  It is also common for the larger farms/more "committed" owners to transport horses with large “horse boxes.”  As odd as it may seem to any of us, these trailers seem to work just fine.  People use them everyday to transport trailers. They don’t pull them at high speeds; I estimate that they routinely pull them at 65 mph and no faster.  Except for parking, they are all used on paved or graveled roads. I doubt that they experience temperatures like we do in the South and West. I think a high temp in the low 90s is as hot as it gets in the summer in the parts of Germany I visited.

Can people use cars to pull horse trailers?  Yes, they do it all the time.

That’s the extent of my research.  I’ve taken many photographs and I’ll post as many of them as I can. I have to "shrink" them down in file size before I can post them.   My favorite is the Volvo convertible pulling the horse trailer.

Roll on

   Back in '87 I was in Connemara, Ireland for a week long trek with Willie Leahy through Fits Equestrian.  We were all sitting in the Hotel in Galway waiting for Willie to arrive and to our surprise he pulled up with a rather beat up Range Rover pulling a 2H trailer with the horse facing backwards.  We all piled into the Ranger Rover, luggage and all and drove about 80 miles to the starting point. (I even have a photo at home)

   I remember us all laughing and wondering if we were going to be riding in the trailer with the horse....   What a wild week that was.... 

Here are some of the pictures. Hope you enjoy them.

It looks like anything over two horses is hauled on a horse box.  Is that pretty much right?

robdnorm,

That's certainly the way it appeared to me: I saw no three horse or four horse or larger trailers at all. There were a couple of hundred trailers on the grounds of the show and they were all two horse trailers.  Tack was in the small tack area at the front of the trailers or piled into the back seats or rear of the wagons/SUVs. 

The horse boxes were really interesting too.  Pretty big rigs for the most part. I think the ramps would have scared off many of the posters on this site.

It was all pretty interesting to me.  Wifey and a friend were watching the show and I was wandering around the parking grounds talking to people and taking pictures. I've got a couple of dozen more pics but they all pretty much show the same thing: 2 horse trailers pulled by cars and SUVs.

Roll on

RolinPonies

Nice photos, thanks for posting.  Glad you all are back in the ol' USA safe and sound too.

RoperChick,

The only configurations I saw were two horse straight loads. Glad you enjoy the pics.  I did this little project because I thought it would be fun to do.  I don't post this stuff because I think these trailers are "right" or "wrong." They do work for very, very many people for a lot of reasons.  Chief among the reasons are the type of hauling they do and the environment they do it in.  It is a valid option for some in North America.

Roll on

PS  In case anyone is wondering, I pull a two horse straight load GN with a dressing room and pull it with a 3/4 ton GMC Duramax/Allison crew cab. I really like my truck and trailer for our road trips.  However, at times I wish we had kept our Brenderup for short hauls, vet trips, etc. 

Look at the pic labeled "germany1"

Hbar ... I think you were a bit inflammatory with your post.  You noticed a lot of details, but "Bottle blonde"  ?

A hair stylist's expert opinion from the photo...?

Great photo's and learning experience.Thanks for sharing and education.

That could the new german car,Farfrompukin!

They are all nice and shiney.

I don't know what to say.....If you think the european  bureaucracies  are just ingnoring the flimsy and insufficient set-up you ain't seen Big brother yet! .....If they wern't safe they wouldn't be on the road!

chevalnoir
You can get a "horsebox" here....it's called a tractor trailer rig.  There was one for sale on htw not too long ago.  It was green with great graphics with a matching tractor.  It was gorgeous. 

But really, I am nosy and curious, why do you want one?

yes, you should thank your god that you live in the "land of the easily offended" where you are not accountable for your knowledge or proof of skills involved in "trailering". 

it would sure be a shame if we all had to take a written/driving test with our trailers.  how many do you think would pass?

Hey Reg, thanks for the info.  I saw one of the "horsebox" vehicles in KY several years ago.  Thought the ramp was quite steep and wondered about the center of gravity on such a tall vehicle.  The vehicle didn't appeal to me, but then I admit to liking the Dodge dually and Cummins.  Still think it would be cool to have a BIG truck.

So, RollinPonies, what is your take on the horsebox question?  And, does Blue Moon offer a horsebox option?

Try to buy the big trailer, first show the sales person your papers for the truck you'll be pulling it with, continue if OK, if not fergettit.
There's no, "I'm buying a bigger truck next year, but the 1/2 ton will have to do for the rest of this season."

Thats a good system.

"So, RollinPonies, what is your take on the horsebox question?  And, does Blue Moon offer a horsebox option?"  -Rose

Rose,

I don't know whether or not Blue Moon makes horseboxes. You know, they are just a small non-profit family run company so they really can't make the best products if they spread themselves too thin. 

The Irish Draft Pony Conference is in Chugwater Wyoming in February or March.  I'm planning on being a part of it again in 2007. Blue Moon always participates in the vendor fair at the Irish Draft Pony Conference. That's still a ways off but I'll let you know if I hear anything before then.

Roll on

Hi Guys,  forced to pull tiny trailers? well yes sort of, domestic cars and trucks are allowed to pull trailers up to 91" wide  comercial trucks can pull 101" wide,   over here in the UK   small car/suv/truck can pull a trailer with 2 big  horses in line and just stay under width ,to have a bigger trailer is  harder, over 3.5 ton is under comercial laws has to be registered and tested yearly and be euro type aproved which requires air brakes with ABS  ( europe does not recconise north american standards so  your trailers would need re enginering) also you need a bigger truck than 3.5 ton gvw and we can only get a american truck  registered if the gvm is less than 3.5 tons!!    

So thats why we have small trailers...or a  horsebox/ lorry if you need LQs and/or to carry more than 2 horses ( can drive up to 7.5 tons on a normal licence) the bigger rigs need a CDL..

HW,

Glad you feel vindicated.  The point of all of this is that these trailers are a viable choice for those that choose a smaller trailer that can be pulled by a vehicle smaller than a 3/4 truck. It has nothing to do with global politics, world history, where any of us choose to live  . . . it is just another valid alternative for people that need to move horses, that's all.  

Just tooo funny . . . this link will take you to a UK board where the writers/riders are discussing pros/cons of different brands/models horse trailers, just like this site but with a Brittish twist.   There are some strong opinions about the diffent brands. Keep in mind all of the trailers they are debating are of the European style. There is even a comment/question of the availability of a backward facing model. Oh, how similar horsepeople are around the world!

http://www.saddle-up.org.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=36949

Roll on

I always enjoy reading the comments from around the globe, we all have our own regulations to deal with in one way or another.

The web-site that rollin mentioned was another interesting venture into a different set of rules. I have been fortunate enough to have sold trailers to customers in several different countries, including Canada, Japan, & Austrai

lia. If you want to visit another very interesting web-site, check out www.horsedeals.com, this is a nice site with a lot of info from our friends  " down under", look under the transportation heading, you will see all kinds of things !!