If you have a short bed truck and pull a gn, invest in the pop-up hitch evaluated by Mr. Truck and here on the website somewhere.    Knock on wood, that's been my only trouble.  I bought the hitch the next day and it is wonderful. I love how easy it is to hitch up!

Some good friends of mine hit black ice in the middle of a pop-up storm. They were literally crawling and trying to get to an exit to stop until the storm passed and the roads were clear - too many accidents and cars on the side of the highway to stop safely anywhere along the side of the road. The trailer started coming around the side, blown by the wind and just sliding on the ice. In order to avoid jack-knifing, they sped up so the truck could pull the trailer straight and out of the potential disaster. Pretty scary speeding up on ice, but the only way they knew to avoid jack-knifing. If (horror of horrors) that ever happens to me, I hope I can remember to speed up to straighten the trailer and get it back in line with the truck!

You can speed up or manually apply the breaks on the trailer.

I have heard these horror stories and haven't changed a thing I do. Why? Because no matter what you do or don't do, shi* happens. I do not tie the horses. I don't wrap them up either. No head bumpers. I don't have a ramp and they haven't slid under the trailer while unloading. I try my best to drive carefully. I can't control what the other idiot is doing. As long as your dealing with horses, there will be tense moments and some down right bad ones. Its the risk I take to enjoy riding and showing my horse.

"I imagine most of you have had some real tense moments at one time or another and have a list of lessons learned. I for one would rather learn from others experiences as much as possible and would like to hear some of your idea's of what to do or not to do. Some swear by not tying or loading backwards or removing all the dividers, or not. Made me wonder how many ways a horse can find to get hurt in or around a trailer and what tidbits of info we can gather together to prevent Murphy from rearing his ugly head. Any things you would change about your trailer or its setup? front or rear tack, Hay racks, water tanks, spring ties, ..Thanks for any and all advise and bring on the stories!"

You want to hear horse wreck stories? 

I had my horse in a 2 horse straightload and he turned around right after I stopped to unload.  It was a mess.  He banged up his head, had a bloody nose, bent the divider all up... a mess.  He was facing backward and I could not get the butt chain off because it was attached to the divider which was all bent and twisted.  I was only going 2 miles so thought he'd be fine.  I always tie now... it has been the safest way to haul and unload.  The only time I didn't tie was when hauling a new horse home for a friend.  After we arrived to pick him up they informed us he had a bad experience in the trailer and was hard to load (nice to know at that point).  1/2 hour later I had him in my 3-horse gooseneck long enough to shut the door behind him (took the dividers out).  Then they told us he fought hard and sat down when he was tied. ( hmmmmmm - glad this horse is not going home with me :)))  Anyway, I hauled him the 10 miles home with absolutely no incidents.  He moved around when we stopped at lights but when we were moving, he found his favorite place to stand and rode like a champ.  Unloading was tricky but we managed.    Everyone I know and ride with, ties their horse in the trailer.  And yes, if there is something a horse can get tangled up in or turned around in or upside down in,  one of them will do it.  I saw a horse with it's front feet sticking out the window of a trailer... he'd been untied and reared up.  I have no idea if that could have happened being tied, but he was untied.  Another gal was backing her trailer up to park at home, and there was a lot of banging around, and she got out to check and her horse, tied long, was on it's back with legs in the air, kind of stuck.  Good grief - horses are some of the biggest idiots at times.  Just remember that :) 

In whatever trailer you get, always carry two first aid kits.  One for the horses (and you) and one for the trailer.  In the horse kit, include a spare halter and rope along with the medical supplies.  In the trailer kit, include everything you need to change a trailer tire and that means the little things like gloves, wd-40, flashlight and the instructions. Don't leave your wheel chocks and trailer tongue stand at home.  Put a toolkit in your trailer.  And a really good, very sharp knife in very easy reach in case you need to cut a rope or halter.  And a lamenated big card with emergency phone numbers.

I don't know why I do this but I also carry an extra stinger with ball that fits my trailer.  I don't know how or why I'd even need one. 

My last suggestion would be to practice loading and unloading safely.  Put your horse in, shut the door and then tie up.  If you tie before you shut and the horse pulls back things can get ugly.