I was shooting the bull with a lady the other day at the trailhead and we got to talking about breakdowns. She had broken down on the side of I95 close to home, called a friend to hook her trailer and get it/horses home.

Now here is where it gets strange, she mentioned she unloaded the horses (on the side of the interstate) before she hooked the trailer to the other truck. I looked at her like she was a bit daft and asked why. She then stated she didnt want the horses to freak out and flip the trailer while it was unhooked. It was some type of Trail-et I believe, 2h BP.

Call me crazy but I refuse to believe a horse, in a horse trailer, could flip the trailer just sitting there........even if it was unhooked. Maybe a large horse in a small open/stock trailer, but not in a stall in a horse trailer. What say you?

I don't know about flipping it over,but,I personally wouldn't leave a horse in a trailer that wasn't hitched up to the tow vehicle.I think lots of things are possible in a case like that,and,none of them good ones.

I agree.....but she was broken down. I will assume it was only unhooked long enough to jerk the first truck out the way, then rehook.

It would be hard to think such an occurance could happen. BUT, with two horses weighing as much as the trailer, completely flipping out over something, I don't think it could be ruled out as a possibility. Horses are capable of performing some amazing gymnastics. Two doing so at the same time, in a confined area, could result in some serious activity. A ton of weight, moving about violently, I believe could be enough to topple a small trailer.

I do think it was more dangerous unloading and reloading the horses beside the road, than the possibility of something happening within the trailer. If the horses were calm and contained, I would have kept them inside the trailer.

Gard

I watched the antics of a Calico 2H slant stock trailer - step up - when a teen loaded her 1200 pound QH into it when it was NOT hitched to the tow vehicle...  it was tipping pretty badly - lifting the jack up off the ground.

I've also been behind a 4H straight load when a horse went down in it... it was skewing pretty badly as that horse tried to get back up.

Flip over on its side? maybe not unless a horse got to rearing and freaking for whatever reason - but tipping up or tipping down onto the jack?  YES. Wouldn't take much at all.

Oh... and let's say that the 2 horses DO step backwards - lean against the butt bars/rear doors and the front of the trailer leaves the ground. That's going to spook those horses and NO TELLING what could happen after that.

If you've never seen a thrashing horse in a trailer - and never experienced a horse stuck in the manger with their head crammed against the roof and neither front foot can reach the floor...  and those were CALM horses... steady Eddy kind of horses.... 

My truck broke down once about and Hour from Home. At the time I  had a BIG OLE  86 3/4 Ton  GMC   pulling my 2-H Stock.    Broke down right in the middle of an intersection !!!      called My Hubby and he barrowed His Dad,s Pick-up  and came and got the  Trailer with  One Horse in it .    Whe I initially hook up my Trailer I ALWAYS Toss the Chalk Blocks in the Truck Bed ( just in case ).   We did leave the Horse in the Trailer, WITH the Tires Chalked ,  Unhooked My Truck and pushed it out of the way and then backed up the  Father-in-laws truck and hooked up. Only took a few Minutes .  It was a scarry feeling to see your Horse in a unhooked Trailer in the middle of the road .   He stayed calm and  really did,nt even   notice anything was amiss, other  than being bored in the trailer for too long .

I myself have had my truck break down on a two way blind road with nowhere to pull off. Luckily I did remember my cell phone, because the girl who I was following to make sure she did not run out of gas never came back to see what happened to me. I had to call the hubby and switch the trucks with the horse in. I had a three horse with the horse loaded in front so luckily the trailer was pretty balanced, but I can't say I  would ever want to do it twice. I personally carry tow insurance on my truck and trailer seperately so if no one is around to bail me out, I know the truck and trailer are going together.

In that case,that's the best you can do.Remember that picture someone posted on here of that old junky trailer with a horse in it,that someone had left  in a parking lot of a business and then just went off,didn't leave a note,anything? He was still standing in there,calm as could be,in the picture,that is.

In that case,that's the best you can do.Remember that picture someone posted on here of that old junky trailer with a horse in it,that someone had left  in a parking lot of a business and then just went off,didn't leave a note,anything? He was still standing in there,calm as could be,in the picture,that is.

Is this the same site I have been reading?? I always see post after post about weight and axle ratings and tounge ratings. Has anyone ever looked at the rating of their jack on the bumper pull? I have not seen one rated over 1500 pounds on a horse trailer. If your willing to take that chance with your horses thats your deal. As for me, I will take my chances with traffic and unload mine.

I only pull goosenecks now and the jack on them is rated for 10,000 lbs and I will still unload if I have to unhook.

My cousins thought it would be good experience for their horses to leave a BP trailer in the pasture with feed in it,so they'd get used to going in.

Well,it was good experience all right.In addition to tearing the outside of the trailer up by biting,rubbing,ect,they were going in and out,and one of them must have gotten it off balance.It rolled back down a little hill and through the fence,and before he got out,a horse tore the insides to smithereens.aLL unwitnessed by human eyes!

REAL good experience,but,not for the horses!

That would have been a sight CRG. Hopefully they made it out okay except for the damage to the trailer.  

As far as the jacks go, keep in mind, it isn't picking up an more weight than what your tongue weight is. A gooseneck would be a little more. As far as the jacks on my bumper pulls go, both my flat bed and horse trailer are rated at 5000 pound lifting capacity according to the sticker on the jack. My goosenecks have jacks rated at 10,000 on one and the other is a 2 speed jack rated for 25,000. The jacks would be the least of my concern. I would have more concern for the trailer to start rolling.

I wouldn't think that they could flip the trailer, but I have seen horses manage to pull stunts that I would have never thought possible. Still, on the side of a busy highway, if they were mine, they would stay in the trailer unless it was an emergency to get them out.

I agree.

Everyone needs to carry one of those JiffyJacks or TrailerAide in case of a flat.We had one the night our tire blew out loaded with 2 horses in our BP trailer at Springfield,MO.There was NO WAY I'd unload those horses next to that 70mph speed limit highway on the shoulder,and when we drove to a safe place,all we had to do was drive up on the jack and change the tire in about 5 minutes' time.Those things are worth their weight,I'm telling you.

Don't see how that came across as me being "mad", hell it appears youre the only person who "disagrees" and has answered that you would unload the horses.  No, I am not an engineer, but I can read the rating on the jack and I know what my tongue weighs.  I was just trying to pass on a little info about the jack strength to help you make a more educated decision. 

I seriously doubt any vet would unload on the side of a highway unless circumstances required the horse to change trailers.  To high a liability should the animals get loose and hit by a car.

I seriously doubt any vet would unload on the side of a highway unless circumstances required the horse to change trailers.  To high a liability should the animals get loose and hit by a car.

Don't shoot the messenger. Just telling you what was on TV. Just as you could find a vet that says the opposite. AS I KEEP REPEATING YOUR HORSES YOU DO IT YOUR WAY!!!!!!!!!!!.........