Posted 2007-02-27 9:06 PM (#56452) Subject: are butt bars or straps always required in trailers?
Regular
Posts: 89 Location: Edmonton, AB
Hello all,
Just a question about the necessity of butt bars or chains in trailers. My new 3H angle haul has the dividers and tie rings for each but there is no butt bar or strap. Should I add one or is it safe to go without? If the last horse is tied does a strap or bar make that much difference?
Posted 2007-02-27 10:44 PM (#56457 - in reply to #56452) Subject: RE: are butt bars or straps always required in trailers?
Expert
Posts: 2689
Originally written by trailer/truck newbie on 2007-02-27 9:06 PM
Hello all,
Just a question about the necessity of butt bars or chains in trailers. My new 3H angle haul has the dividers and tie rings for each but there is no butt bar or strap. Should I add one or is it safe to go without? If the last horse is tied does a strap or bar make that much difference?
Jo
It might, say if the tie doesn't hold.
Ties SHOULD be breakaway type, something like Velcro, it shouldn't take much to break one.
If a horse breaks a tie and you have no butt bar, guess what COULD happen when you drop the ramp (or just open the rear door if it is a step-up trailer).
I always check over the top of the ramp to see that the butt bars are still in place before opening the ramp. I guess I have a fear that a horse COULD just back out aand I could get trapped under the ramp. It would be a bad day for me.
Posted 2007-02-28 12:44 AM (#56463 - in reply to #56452) Subject: RE: are butt bars or straps always required in trailers?
Regular
Posts: 89 Location: Edmonton, AB
Thanks Reg, I hadn't really thought of that. Yep, that could certainly end poorly for the horse, human, or both. I guess I will get one added on when I take the trailer in to add on the equalizer hitch. Thanks again!
Posted 2007-02-28 10:17 AM (#56470 - in reply to #56452) Subject: RE: are butt bars or straps always required in trailers?
Expert
Posts: 1989 Location: South Central OK
I agree that the last horse should have a butt bar in a slant and both in a straight load. I don't understand why some trailers come with straps and not bars...I have heard the reason but horses will find ways to get hurt if they want.
Having said that not all butt bars are made equally. They should be easy to lift up and pull out to release them. They should not bind on any point, as that will cause a greater chance of injury. It should be smooth and not have any parts that catch tail hair. Imagine getting out at your destination and having a bald tailhead! You can improve a butt bar with a thick pad that wraps or slips around the butt bar, giving your horse a soft place to brace if needed. Your butt bar will need to be about 4"-6" from the back of your trailer, this gives room for the tail and hocks before stopping the horse. If the bar is not being used it should hang safely out of the way so that horses coming and going are not scraped.
Posted 2007-02-28 10:38 AM (#56472 - in reply to #56470) Subject: RE: are butt bars or straps always required in trailers?
Expert
Posts: 2689
Here's a "design limitation" that I find with most butt bars, even straps or covered chains. ONE HEIGHT does NOT fit all !!!
Ponies and short horses COULD wriggle under and get stuck.
BTW, I've been told that this is the rationale for straps, that you can cut through it with a utility knife if a horse gets stuck.
I do LIKE the BrenderUp butt bar solution to this, it adjusts to (I think 3) different positions along a path for height and length (chest to butt) of different sized horses. Straps or covered chains allow for some of this by changing the amount of slack, but with too much slack you lose the hock and tail protection of a bar that Huntseat referred to.
Posted 2007-02-28 9:56 PM (#56529 - in reply to #56452) Subject: RE: are butt bars or straps always required in trailers?
Regular
Posts: 89 Location: Edmonton, AB
Hello Huntseat & Reg,
Thank you for your comments. Honestly, I had no idea that horse trailers could be so complicated to use and that safety items such as butt bars could actually be omitted or considered optional by the manufacturer. What a huge learning curve this is for me. I certainly don't want a bald tailed horse, or, a horse that gets stuck or tramples me when I open the door. I am going to measure the distance in the back of my trailer tomorrow and then see what I can find for straps or bars at the livestock supply store that I usually find things at. Our 4h group is coming to my house in a convoy on Friday to help me with my first trailering event. My friend who is a trailering expert will likely drive and I will watch and learn.
are butt bars or straps always required in trailers?
