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Discussion on Divider or NO divider??
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Member:
vera
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Posted on Monday, Sep 22, 2008 - 2:03 pm:
I have a two horse trailer with mangers and a removable center divider. The trailer is 6'8" wide and a standard length. I would like to take the center divider out and trailer my horse loose, but there is a solid divider in the manger area. Does anyone see a reason why I shouldn't travel that way?
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Monday, Sep 22, 2008 - 7:37 pm:
You don't mention the size of your horse. Some horse seem to depend on the divider panels to help them keep their balance. Also, when they get tired they will often lean on them to rest their feet. However, if your horse is large and is crowded, it might be more comfortable without the divider. I've removed dividers when transporting a mare and foal and it's worked fine. I always make sure to drive very carefully around corners etc. when I do. I'd leave the divider in the feeder. It might be helping to support the ceiling of the trailer.
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Member:
vera
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Posted on Monday, Sep 22, 2008 - 8:52 pm:
Hi Sara, He's 16.2 and about 1200 lbs. I thought that the center divider in the manger area might be dangerous if he was loose in the trailer, but I am a constant worrier and thought that someone might be able to tell me different. I'm not going to remove it, but if it was a potential hazard I would not travel with him loose. I have this thing about getting really nervous once the horse is in the trailer. Should I tie him last after I have the buttbar latched and then the door? If I had him llose then I wouldn't need to worry about tying and the butt bar. I'm just trying to figure out how to do this all by myself with a young/pushy horse.
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Monday, Sep 22, 2008 - 9:57 pm:
Does he tie o.k. on the ground without pulling and fighting? It's been awhile since I used a straight load, but when I did I usually loaded the horse and tied it, then attached the butt bar then the door. If you are nervous about your horse pulling back, give him a handful of hay or something to munch while you get back there to attach the butt bar. If your horse isn't used to traveling by himself, and you aren't used to loading and towing by yourself, practice a little. Put horse in the trailer, tell him how great he is,and let him back out and tell him how treat he is again. Go from this to loading him and driving around the block and work up to real road trips. This will help you both gain confidence.
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Member:
juliem
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Posted on Monday, Sep 22, 2008 - 11:21 pm:
Sara, this is the only time in all these years I have to disagree with your advice. And I have the utmost regard for your knowledge and skills. ALWAYS tie last! Even a horse well trained to tie may panic if he steps back and hits the end of the rope. Maybe a wasp is lurking in the trailer. Maybe a funny glint of light. Who knows. Ever seen a horse sit back on the rope with his hind legs out of the trailer? The legs almost always slip under and the result is not pretty and can be a life ending injury. If he's not tied and steps out, you just put him in again. A training opportunity. With a straight load, if you can shut both the butt bar and the door before tying, that's the best. If not and you feel you must tie, (not everyone does--personal preference) at least put the butt bar up first. And ALWAYS untie before opening the butt bar and door if possible. This is even more important as some horses will be anxious to unload and when they hit the end of that rope, they panic. This is about the only horse related question which I feel has a definite answer. Most things are "usually" or "it depends", but having had a horse badly injured and being hurt myself while trying to free him I have very strong feelings. Had he not been tied, it would have been a total non-event. I since then read everything I could find about trailer loading and the pros agree--tie last. It's amazing how many people don't and get away with it. It may only happen once in your entire horse life, but that's once too many when it's so easy to prevent.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Tuesday, Sep 23, 2008 - 7:33 am:
Whether you travel with or without the divider I would recommend you tie the horse to prevent him from getting sideways at a bad time like a hard brake. Like julie I always recommend putting up the butt bar before tieing for exactly the reasons she recommends, a event I have witnessed many times and since you describe your horse as "young and pushy" it makes him suspect for fighting the tie.
To be complete I should say that I load up to seven horses on my stock type trailer where I don't have a butt bar. When teaching a new horse I will close the center partition so there is something for the horse to back up against.
DrO
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Member:
dove2
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Posted on Tuesday, Sep 23, 2008 - 7:55 am:
May I suggest what has been a heaven-sent solution to many tie issues: the Blocker Tie Ring. If used on the first (mildest) "setting," the horse is tied but is not constrained, and will not hit the end of the rope. It will give, with a little pressure, so the horse does not panic. But it also has some restraint so the horse understands he is tied. One of the best applications of the Blocker Tie Ring is in the trailer for this reason. Also, should the horse fall or (God forbid) be in an accident, he is not hung up. I use the Tie Ring with a rather long (like 10 foot) lead rope in the trailer. For my own horse which self loads, I'll lead him up with his standard lead rope, then once he's on and I have put up the butt bar, I'll unclip that leaDrOpe and clip the longer lead rope which I already have tied to the ring in the trailer. (By the way, I've seen the Blocker Tie Ring re-teach an old horse who always broke out of the standard cross-ties. It's THAT good!)
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Member:
vera
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Posted on Tuesday, Sep 23, 2008 - 10:35 am:
Thank you everyone for your comments. I'm going to keep the divider in, close the butt bar and probably the door first and then tie. I'm attempting it tonight so I'll let you all know.
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Member:
hpyhaulr
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Posted on Tuesday, Sep 23, 2008 - 10:38 am:
Angela,
Help me picture this better, please & thank you....
1- Does your trailer have a center Post?
2-Do your butt bars pin to your partition?
Then we know where to go from there...
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Tuesday, Sep 23, 2008 - 12:45 pm:
Hmmmm....well I did say it's been a very long time since I used a straight load. I take back my advice. Whenever I did use a smaller trailer, I made sure my horses would tie good on the ground before tying in the trailer, and wasn't working with young horses. By the time we had young ones, we had a slant load, which is a whole different thing.
Let us know how you do.
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Member:
vera
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Posted on Wednesday, Sep 24, 2008 - 4:00 pm:
1. There is a center post up near the mangers, but not at the back
2. Yes, The partition swings and the butt bars pin to it. They are the only things that can keep the partititon still.
I loaded last night at home to go to a lesson and he was fine going in with the divider in, but I did not close the butt bar just the door. Actually he was quite good. I didn't need to go in the trailer first. He just walked on. Anway, then when I got to the front he had already turned his head around and put it over the divider into the other stall. I patiently persuaded him to get his head back where it needed to be and then got he trailer tie with panic snap on him. It was a different story after our lesson. Needless to say he was quite excited at our destination. A lot of different horses, people, things, etc. We only worked in hand, but by the time we were to leave he was so worked up that it took us quite a long time to get him back in the trailer. This is a new trailer for me (actually my first) and I've not quite got the hang of it yet. There is only an escape door on the right side which makes it hard to load on the driver side (traveling w/one horse) b/c I really don't want to walk on with him. I got him on last night once by standing in the other stall and swinging the partition over toward me. He got on, but I wasn't quick enough to get the partition against him b/c then he turned around in the trailer. I didn't know what to do so I let him back out. Finally, I went ahead and had my husband take the partition out completely and he walked right on. I tied him for the ride and he did pretty good I guess. I really didn't want a trailer with mangers. I should have got a trailer that I could walk through. I knew this and decided to go with tack storage instead. I hate myself for that now
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Member:
erika
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 25, 2008 - 9:10 am:
I can't say I agree with the no tie rule. My youngster once went out the escape door, under the chest bar while I closed in the back of the trailer. Thank God she wasn't hurt.
She ties well and now I tie her with a quick-release while I close everything up. I have a slant-load though. But I still think it is better than having them try to turn around, etc. as long as your horse ties well.
Of course, ideal is when I have help and someone can hold the rope until all is secure, then tie.
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