Horse trailers and trailering horses safely is an area all horse owners are interested in at one time or another. Lack of experience with towing 2 to 6 tons and trying to understand the technical information involved with safety recommendations and even legal requirements makes it easy to see why towing horses is always a sure cause of nervousness to the beginning hauler. This article will attempt to ease the unease. It covers trailers, trucks, hitches, brakes, and other safety equipment to help you make informed decisions about equipement.

If you are here reading this you are probably of thinking on a new tow vehicle, a new trailer, or both. With all the possible combinations and all the technical information this can be a bewildering process. So let's break it down in simple steps. Before you can purchase a suitable tow vehicle, you have to know how heavy and what design your trailer is. Of course if you already have your trailer just skip down to picking out the tow vehicle otherwise let's first discuss trailers.

Usually the first step in the process is to pick a trailer that fits your needs. As long as your tow vehicle is adequate for the job (see below) or you can choose any tow vehicle: you simply match up your needs and desires with a appropriate size trailer. In brief these are the options you have. Links are provided to detailed discussions of these choices where appropriated:

• Tag-a-long or gooseneck?
• How wide the box and stalls?
• How tall the box?
• How long the stall?
• Parallel, Slant, Stock trailer?
• Electric or surge brakes?
• Number of horses?
• Tack or Dressing Room? How big?
• Living Space? How big and what type appointments?
• Is weight or strength your first concern?

Any reputable trailer manufacturer will make sure the trailer's technical ratings and capacities fits it's design.

If you already own the tow vehicle and it is just barely adequate for the job, you need to shop for trailer designs that minimize weight and maximize stability. Fiberglass or aluminum will be necessary with minimal extra space for tack and dressing. Other good choices for stressed towing vehicles are electric brakes, recessed hitch, and equalization bars.

Recommended Tow Vehicle Capabilities The following is a rough guide based on experience and average ratings of recent model tow vehicles. Some assumptions are made here: In each class the largest engine available is used and where applicable the towing package is installed. When the trailer is placed on the vehicle there is not a noticeable backward tilt to the vehicle. Brakes on the vehicle and trailer are both in excellent condition. Any trailer larger than a 2 horse is a goose neck. Dressing/tack room is small except when a full size truck is used.
Vehicle	Driving Conditions	Recommended Tow Capacity
Heavy car or large station wagon	Easy	Not recommended and probably illegal but you see folks making short hops to the shows all the time this way. Frequently a BrenderUp with one horse
	Difficult	Not Recommended
Light duty SUV like Explorer & Durango	Easy	A aluminum two horse trailer with two horses OK
	Difficult	Not recommended
Small duty truck like Ranger or Dakota	Easy	Aluminum 2 horse trailer
	Difficult	Not recommended
Heavy duty SUV with 3/4 ton suspension or better like Excursion & Heavier Suburbans	Easy	Aluminum 3 horse slant
	Difficult	Aluminum 2 horse trailer
Full size ½ ton truck	Easy	3 horse trailer
	Difficult	2 horse trailer
Full size 3/4 ton truck	Easy	4 horse trailer or aluminum stock 5 horse
	Difficult	Aluminum 4 horse
Full size 1 ton truck	Easy	6 horse trailers to aluminum stock 8 horse trailers
	Difficult	Aluminum 6 horse trailers