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Location: Scottsdale, AZ | What a great source of knowledge on this forum! I ran into this last Sat: truck dies on hwy, in traffic, 2H 8'SWLQ, one loaded horse. Nice passerby towed the truck to a side road, then we needed a tow truck to take it for repair. Is it best to leave the horse(s) in the trailer when unhitching or unload then re-load? The side road was fairly busy with limited space to tie up, and no really safe place. I've always heard never unload unless there is a fire...
Edited by CML 2007-08-14 8:26 AM
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Expert
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| I don't believe I would ever unload a horse in the circumstances you described unless it was an extreme emergency and there was no other choice at all. |
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Location: West Coast | I agree with CRG, I wouldn't unload the horses in that situation unless it was an extreme emergency and I had no other choice. If I could get the truck & trailer away from traffic and somewhere safe, as long as the trailer was hitched to the truck, I would still probably leave them in the trailer. If the trailer was going to be unhitched from the truck, I would remove the horses before the trailer was unhitched. Personally, I don't like the idea of having a horse in a trailer that is not hitched to a truck, but I might leave a horse in a trailer that wasn't attached to the truck, if I thought it was safer to be in the trailer. Last year, I had a breakdown on the way to visit my vet, here's what we did. I called a tow company and told them I had a one ton truck and a gooseneck trailer. They sent one of the tow trucks that can haul broken down semi's, they hauled the truck and trailer (trailer hauled level) the rest of the way to my vet's office,. When we got there, they lowered my truck and I unloaded the horses. Once the horses were out, we unhooked the trailer from the truck and the truck, only, went to the repair shop.
Edited by RoperChick 2007-08-14 1:06 PM
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Location: NY | I have heard stores about taken horse off trailer on the road . I heard that if you take the horse off the trailer and the police show up, if the horse get loose from you the can shoot it so no body gets hurt car wise . This is what people tell my that do a lot of hauling . Just would like to know if this is true |
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Location: Vermont | Originally written by loveduffy on 2007-08-14 10:35 PM
I have heard stores about taken horse off trailer on the road . I heard that if you take the horse off the trailer and the police show up, if the horse get loose from you the can shoot it so no body gets hurt car wise . This is what people tell my that do a lot of hauling . Just would like to know if this is true Urban Legend!!! If you ever see any of the videos on TV of when cows and sheep have gotten loose...they block the road and play cowboy with their cars...NOT ONCE HAVE THEY PULLED THEIR WEAPONS On the otherhand, YOU WILL BE HELD FINANCIALLY LIABLE for any damages... |
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Location: Arkansas | What Paul said. We have been called to assist with horse trailer with horses wrecks, and cattle "roundups" on the highway. The primary objective has been to route traffic around, get the wounded animals treated or hauled to clinic, get the loose "healthy" stock caught, loaded and off the road. No LE has tried to shoot any of the horses/ cattle/ hogs or emus that we have been called to assist on! |
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Location: PA | I feel like I am somewhat of an expert on this subject because my former truck left me sitting on the side of the road so many times!
DO NOT UNLOAD YOUR HORSES!!!!
Find someone who can tow your trailer somewhere, preferably a barn or at least somewhere that has a place to pen them up, and only unhitch the truck when the trailer tow arrives but make sure that you have it well blocked out. When the horses are situated, and you may have to go with them to take care of this, you can take care of your truck. I know that this involves a lot of time and hassle but this is the safest way to handle a break down like this.
When you get home, you then call US RIDER and sign up! |
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Veteran
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Location: Dickinson, TX | What about unloading horses during long hauls to give them a break? I've always been told to NOT pull more than 8 hours unless you take the horses off for a few minutes and walk them. Used to take them off all the time on my longer runs through NM. Mike |
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Location: North Carolina | Originally written by racesarabhorses on 2007-08-15 7:06 PM
What about unloading horses during long hauls to give them a break? I've always been told to NOT pull more than 8 hours unless you take the horses off for a few minutes and walk them. Used to take them off all the time on my longer runs through NM. Mike This thread is about when the rig breaks down. Most of the time you won't have a choice of break-down location. It usually is the worst possible place. When you're traveling, just pick a place that's safe for unloading. Away from traffic, enclosed if a horse gets away, etc. etc |
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Location: West Coast | Originally written by racesarabhorses on 2007-08-15 7:06 PM
What about unloading horses during long hauls to give them a break? I've always been told to NOT pull more than 8 hours unless you take the horses off for a few minutes and walk them. Used to take them off all the time on my longer runs through NM. Mike On our longer hauls we do unload our horses and hand walk them for 20 - 30 minutes. We try to stop at fairgrounds, they are usually fenced, so if a horse got loose it would be hard for them to get out on the road.
Edited by RoperChick 2007-08-16 2:05 AM
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Location: PA | I personally never unload a horse unless I overnight at a farm, and that is very infrequent (mostly when I broke down!!). My trailer is comforatble enough so that horses can get rest when I stop for breaks or to sleep for a couple of hours. I haul from CT or PA to TX and FL a couple times a year and haven't had any problems but the horses get a day off when we arrive. |
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Member
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Location: Scottsdale, AZ | Thanks for the input. US Rider is a definate. I'll stick with the Don't Unload school of thought, and US Rider's services should make that reasonable to do. |
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Veteran
Posts: 212
Location: novinger, mo | We had 2 flats within 5 miles of each other and only one spare. Unhooked the truck to get to a tire store (we happened to be near a fairly large city). We left the horses on the trailer, but blocked up the rear of the trailer so it couldn't pivot backwards. Here I was alone on the side of a busy major highway with 2 dogs and 2 horses and nervous as all get out. So, what did I do...lay on the couch and eat M&Ms to sooth myself!
We now carry two spares.
j&j |
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Posts: 1719
Location: PA | Oh, the mystical powers of chocolate!! |
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Need to tow truck, unload horses to unhitch?
