Just wonder what is a better trailer to have. Is a four horse head to head better than a four horse slant ?  What do you think of Hawk trailer's ?  Any problems with the trailer ?

Thanks

Kurt

I've found my horses perform better when hauled in straight loads.

I think the only real difference is in size, a 4 horse H2H will be longer.  I like having the ability to pull horses out in any order and to get inside and look at them during stops without getting stomped.  Some folks at local HJ shows will tack up and groom inside the center of their H2H trailers, like a mobile barn!

Front Right/Left Hind debate.  This has never made any sense to me.  I am not picking on you directly, as a lot of people use this argument when trying to discount slant load trailers.

The argument only makes sense if you are travelling down a perfectly straight road, driving perfectly straight, and there is no crown in the road.  Then slowing down and speeding up would put more pressure on the horse's front right and left hind legs.  Heck, even in North Dakota the road turns every once in a while.

Okay, drive down a normal road.  You slow down, speed up, curve left, curve right, go uphill, go down hill, accelerate around curves, hit potholes on one side or another, you swerve to miss a skunk, the vehicle sways in the wind, etc.  The horse could be standing any way imagineable, and all legs would eventually get the same amount of stress.  If the vehicle is going perfectly straight on a perfectly flat piece of road, at a perfectly constant speed, the horse feels no more stress than he would standing in his favorite pasture.

Don't get me wrong.  I am not a champion for slant load trailers, but some of the arguments people use against them are ridiculous.

Depending on how many horses you really are going to pull - I would consider a two horse straight load with a side ramp. This way, you can get at least 3 horses on, maybe 4 if you have two small ponies in the front.

We just recently went through a similar search as you. We were going to get a two horse straight with a side ramp. However, our Hawk dealer had just traded for a 4 horse head to head and a 4 horse "stupid six". A Stupid Six (as the dealer called it) is basically a 6 horse head to head with the 3 stalls on the tail chopped off. So, you have three horses that are reversed loaded in the nose of the trailer with a 8 x 10 box stall on the back. To load, you walk the horse on the trailer and turn them around.

We ended up getting the stupid six - it was about 7 feet shorter than the 4 horse H2H but the body of the trailer was two feet wider. (Hub to Hub width was the same).  Both trailers were Hawks. In my opinion, Hawk is one of the best trailers out there. They WILL be heavier than a same size aluminum trailer since they are steel frame with aluminum skin. They are very well constructed and the attention to detail is amazing. With Hawks, you can have the trailer painted to match your truck plus they will customize floor plans for you.

Since hauling a horse is not a static situation your acceleration = 0 claim is invalid.  Dynamic situations involve more variables than just acceleration, I'm sure as an engineer you knew that already.

I think an equilibrium calculation better suits this situation, but that is for another time.

You could also ask yourself a quick question, when a horse stops in the pasture do they use both front and hind legs equally?  Or do they stagger sideways and use only the front right and rear left leg?

In the Hills of West Virginia...the answer is YES...

Unless they were born and bred there...then one set of legs is shorter than the other set...

Since you don't appeared to have search the forum...

Here are some things to consider... 

Loading: Horses don't necessarily load more easily into a slant -- they will load very easily into an open, airy, light trailer of ANY kind. Horses are generally quite happy to load into a Thoroughbred-style front-door trailer: the handler can lead the horse in and then duck under the chest bar. Horses will also load more easily when they have been taught to load correctly - and when they aren't anticipating a rough ride, which has much more to do with the driver than with the trailer design.

Unloading: It's not possible to lead horses out of all -- or even most -- slant-load trailers! If you have a large three-horse slant-load trailer and small horses, you can generally lead the last horse out, but the first two will need to back out unless they are truly small and short-backed. Thoroughbreds and other long-backed breeds will almost always need to back out.

Dropping heads: It's very true that horses travel much better when they can drop their heads, both for muscle comfort and because their respiratory systems can function MUCH better that way. But again, unless you have small, short-backed horses in a slant-load, they won't be able to do this even if you tie them long. There just isn't enough room in most slant-load trailers -- the stall length is measured diagonally, and horses don't stand diagonally! If you measure the stall length from nose to tail, there is usually significantly less space available in a slant-load -- sometimes several feet less -- than there is in a comparably-sized straight load. Again, the horse would be better off either loose in a stock trailer (or in half of a stock trailer) or in a straight-load Thoroughbred-style trailer with only a chest bar in front, and a LOT of room in front of the chest bar to accomodate the horse's choice of head/neck positions during the trip.

It's true that horses will naturally tend to place themselves at a slant; many will turn all the way around and face backward, which is probably the MOST natural way for them to travel in a trailer. Unfortunately, few trailers, and no towing vehicles, are designed to allow this! Horses like to stretch to take up whatever space is available, which is why it's always nice to remove the divider or tie it back if you are hauling ONE horse in a two-horse trailer of any kind. But whether they are expressing a strong preference for travelling at a slant, or whether they are simply standing on the diagonal because that allows them more freedom of movement, isn't entirely clear.

Some people perfer straight-load trailers; some prefer slant-loads. Either way, it's a good idea to learn as much as you can about BOTH types and all the variations available, before you make up your mind to buy one -- whatever you get is something you and your horses will probably be living with for a long, long time.

One other point...if you have Drafts...forget slants :-)

If you could haul a horse at a constant speed, in a straight line, down a straight, flat road the acceleration on the horse would in fact be zero.  The horse would be in perfect equilibrium...

...Until a fly bites his leg.  Ha ha.

Ok I have been gone for a little bit.  (Hauling horses)  Like other posters have stated the type of trailer you get depends on what you want and what you like.  I have hauled in many diferent trailers and have never found a diference in how the horses like a trailer over another.  It all dependes on how well you drive the trailer and how the trailer rides. 

As for droping their head in a trailer my big TB/Appy (17.2) can drop his head very well in my slant load traielr.  It not even a custon trailer for him, it just fits him. 

And to the person who stated if you have drafts forget about a slant trailer I say you are very wrong.  My clients 2 Shire geldings fit in her sland trailer just fine.  If you try to put them in a straight load you will find yourself in the back 40 with one arm longer than the other and woundering what every posesed you to think of putting that horse in a trailer.  They are two of the nices geldings you will ever meet.  Defently the gentle giant. 

Just remember when you are hauling horses be nice to them and don't cut corners, brake hard, or run a red light.  Don't wory when you have a trailer, you are bigger than the other cars on the road, they will move when you want the road.

I couldn't agree less, most regular drivers try and cut in front of a large horse trailer so they won't be stuck behind it.  Just like folks that use the gas at the diesel pumps...I can only use that one but they could use all of them!

I'd rather not be in a wreck just to prove my point.