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Regular
Posts: 57
| I've always had some sort of straight load, whether it be the 4H head to head back in the heyday, and down to the little 15' 2H I just sold. I was planning to order a 3H slant, set up for camping and all now that we are doing much less showing and more fun stuff, but when I put my mare on a friend's slant to run her to the vet the other day, she didn't fit! She was very squished and not very comfortable....thankfully we were just going 4 miles down the road. She is not the tallest horse in the world, but she is my very long retired jumper mare. Her daughter, at three years old, is only 2" shorter in length, and still growing, so she could possibly end up even longer than her mama (and both of these horses will be with me for the rest of their lives, so they have to fit comfortably in what I get!).Anyway, the slant I loaded her in was a bare bones 6' wide steel slant with a 7'6" divider (better measure of useable horse space than than a diagonal measurement). The slant I was planning to order is 6'8" wide with an 8' divider length. My mare, in a comfortable standing position, measures 8'4" from nose to tail. Unfortunately, I don't have anyone close by with a comparable slant to try her in, and I just sold my current trailer so I can't take her anywhere to try her in one. I love being able to order a trailer exactly how I want it, but I guess this is one of the downsides.I could go wider on the slant, but then I'd be creeping out of my budget, and bumping me back into straight load land (with a huge DR) anyway. Should I just stick with the straight? Or do you think my girls can ride comfortably in a slant? I'm very torn. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 824
 
Location: Kansas | I have that same problem myself, so if just hauling the mare I clip the divider back and let her have the run of the trailer. That being said, it's not so much the width of your trailer, it's the angle of the slant. I am just in the "market research" phase of my next trailer purchase, will be interested to hear what you end up buying. |
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Veteran
Posts: 243
Location: Maine | Most of the manufacturers have floor plans with measurements available on the their websites. The true nose-to-tail space is longer than you think when you measure the stall space at a diagonal. For instance, look at the layout of this 6'6" Miley 3-horse: http://www.mileytrailers.com/three-horse.php According to this floor plan, the front horse actually has 120" from nose to tail. (I am challenged when it comes to reading these floor plans and even worse at math - but that's what it looks like to me) If that's right, though, your 100" mare should fit in there fine. A six-foot wide slant load is very narrow. My horses are 14.3 & under and fit with room to spare in my 6'8" wide Titan. My 14.3 mare is also very long backed. (sorry I forget her nose-to-tail measurement and she's out in the back pasture now!) My friend has a 4-star, 3-horse slant and her long-barreled 16h QH fits in hers fine. I don't know the width of hers, but I know it's wider than my 6' 8" Titan. You can get a new 3-horse Titan or Miley for under $9K depending on the options you choose. Titan is gavaneal and Miley is aluminum. The 4-star are pricier. Hope this helps! |
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Member
Posts: 14
Location: Shoshone, ID | My departed friend was 16.3 and wore an 86" blanket, for him we normally put him in the 2nd position, which seemed more comfortable for him, or we would put him in front, and fasten the front divider in the second slot, giving him more room. Or we would travel without the dividers. (Thank God for removable/adjustable dividers!) The only time he was crammed in the front without any extra room, it took him 2 days to work the kinks out (450 mile drive). We have pulled American trailers (no longer built) for the last 12 years, mostly because of how the horse box/dividers are designed. Well done sighting the potential problems before you were stuck! Good Luck! |
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 Expert
Posts: 1391
Location: North of Detroit, MI | How many horses will you be hauling when you go camping? Do you plan to use one stall for hay and other stuff? (The stallion panel is handy for this) My QH is only 15.1 hands; and wears a 76-78 blanket. I have removed the first divider and given him a double stall. He still has the divider to lean on - but it gives him more floor space for spreading his legs/feet if he needs to. I do not like hauling horses in the front stall because the wall there prevents them from spreading their legs like they need to. I also don't like the extra wide trailers because the floor space - at the rear of the horse - is taken up with wheel housings... so how can a horse stand properly and brace themself? You can use diagonal measurements or divider measurements in order to COMPARE one trailer to the other. - but I wouldn't use the diagonal measurement because it is not all useable space. |
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.jpg) Expert
Posts: 2828
Location: Southern New Mexico | I think the easiest way to find out weather you horse will fit, without actually putting it in the trailer, is to lay out a "stall" on the ground with pvc or a hose. Adjust it until you think your horse will fit comfortably and then take the measurements and use those as your base while looking at trailers. This way you will know how much your horse has to have. |
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Veteran
Posts: 112
Location: Columbus, Ohio | I agree with the idea of laying out the stall dimensions= it is really the next best thing to trying the trailer out. I have a long backed horse who is only 15.1 and an average backed horse that is 16.1+ so needed the room. The variations between manufacturers are enormous! THe 4-Stars are great trailers but very small stalls, same with Sundowner. I ended up with Logan Coach XTR that has a diagonal of 135 inches- the second stall is so large my smaller mare can turn around in it. A close second was the Merhow. I compared many, many brands and these two had the longest stalls. Another good one was Hawk. |
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New User
Posts: 1
Location: Aberdeen NC | I'm sure your mare will fit int the trailer. We hauled our big warmbloods in a 6'8" wide 4-horse slant load for over 10 years... but we've just sold it for a straight load. Although our horses fit fine we were constantly having minor hip problems. We finally figured out that it was the trailer and the way the horses tend to brace with their left hind leg (we put a camera in the trailer). Just something else to consider. |
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Is my mare going to fit in a slant load?
