We're shopping for our first trailer and I'll need something to haul ponies (or a pony and small horse) plus a wooden easy entry type cart. I'll get a gooseneck 2 or 3 hp, but I haven't narrowed it down any further than that!
I've seen one Kingston 2 Horse gooseneck with a dressing room that was customized to have another ramp into dressing room area and that was where the cart was hauled (shafts up over GN area). It cost about $16,000.
Anyone have any other suggestions or ideas? I need to get out to a driving show to really look around, but I don't think there's too many of those here in the NE in the winter, so I'm a bit limited!
Posted 2005-12-28 7:56 AM (#34449 - in reply to #34446) Subject: RE: Hauling ponies & carriages
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 534 Location: Zionsville, Indiana
We have sold a number of two horse goosenecks with space in front of the horses and a side ramp, with and without dressing rooms. Most of them were used for the purpose you describe. Take careful measurements of your carriage so that you know the minimum clearance you need for the ramp, and the minimum space the carriage will need. If your shafts are removable, that is a real plus. If not, and you can live without a separate dressing room, you could load from the rear and have the shafts extend into the gooseneck area. That could save the expense of a side ramp too. It could cost less to make the trailer a bit wider and eliminate the side ramp. Lots of options.
Posted 2005-12-28 8:56 AM (#34452 - in reply to #34446) Subject: RE: Hauling ponies & carriages
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 350 Location: Newton, NJ
HI, Melissa...
We hauled Hackney ponies and carriages for years. I've since given up driving and gone back to riding, but my kid still drives. I gave her my 16' BP stock trailer and bought myself a small 2H GN.
The best part about the BP is you have room in the bed of your Pick up to hold a carriage and extra trunks, etc. If you get a GN, be sure to have enough room for the whole carriage. You can haul the horses in front and put the carriage in back with the shafts hanging out over the rear door if the rear door does not go all the way from top to bottom. Also, be sure to give yourself enough width to hold the carriage. You may be hauling an easy entry 2 wheel cart now, but if you move up to a bigger vehicle, you may very well need some extra room. Also, make sure that if you have a trailer built with a ramp on the side, that the ramp/door opening is wide enough for your carriage and/or horses and ponies. I love my new GN, but from a "driving" perspective, I can see the advantage to a BP.
Posted 2005-12-28 9:47 AM (#34456 - in reply to #34446) Subject: RE: horse needs a ride
Member
Posts: 22
Location: Webster, NH
I remember an older gentleman (looked like he was born when Moses was born) whose wife had forbid him from riding anymore. He uses a stock trailer with a tack room to go on trail rides. He'd put his Morgan in the front half of the trailer and wheeled his cart into the back. Although he'd accept help, he had no problems wheeling the cart into the trailer (had a set of long ramps to reduce the grade) by himself. It was cool to see this guy, at least into his 80's, figuring out how to stay involved in horses. By the way, the tack was all synthetic, to reduce weight for him putting it on, and the Morgan was just the right size, rather than the draft horses he'd used when he was younger to haul with. Jim Clark-Dawe
Posted 2005-12-28 4:26 PM (#34464 - in reply to #34446) Subject: RE: Hauling ponies & carriages
Veteran
Posts: 182
I have a 3 horse gn that is 18 ft long. 4ft short wall in the dressing room. 8ft on long wall. I have a jerald show cart. What i do when hauling one horse and the cart is that i put the horse in the first stall and then push the cart in and have the shafts go over the first stall. on the head side the one shaft will sit on the top of the divider. I also use the tie ring in the 2nd stall to tie a lead around the shaft to hold it up. Then I put a block of wood or something behind the wheel of the cart to keep it from rolling back. I also have another 2 wheel cart that is mostly metal. The shafts are metal and I just have them rest on the floor in the first stall. I set the cart in there so it is angled just a bit so the horse isnt stepping on the shafts or intereferring with them. Cant do that with the jerald show cart cause they are wood and if the horse would happen to step on them it wouldnt be a good thing so I have to put them upwards.
When hauling 2 horses I cant put the cart in trailer. I went to a show one time and hauled 2 horses so I put the jerald cart in the back of the pickup. I put it so it was way up front in the box and had the shafts go over the pickup cab. I have a long box so it worked fine with out interferrence with the gooseneck on the trailer. I also had tied it up close to the cab so it didnt roll back under th e neck.
Hauling ponies & carriages
