Trailering One Horse

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Dear Cherry,

My question relates to safely hauling one horse! I have been advised to load him on the left side of my stock trailer as opposed to the right side. Told it's safer for the horse and better balance for trailer and truck. My trailer has no divider down the middle, just a "rear" gate in the middle. He seems to haul just fine on the right side but everyone tells me BIG mistake, haul on the left side when hauling just one horse!! Help!!!

Thanks very much in advance for your input!

lice

Dear Alice,

Yes, indeed. When you haul one horse in a trailer, it is best to put the horse on the left side of the trailer so that the weight of the horse is up on the crown of the road. The crown is the highest portion of the road at the center of the road. Many roads slope downward from the crown toward the shoulder of the road so if you put a horse in the right side of your trailer, his weight would tend to pull the trailer off the road toward the shoulder. This may not be a big issue if you are hauling on an absolutely flat interstate highway, for example, but if you were hauling on a narrow or mountainous road, where there is often a ditch very close to the edge of the road, you would see why this is an important rule to follow.

I've written all about the selection of trailer and truck, training your horse to load, and safe traveling in my book Trailering Your Horse, A Photographic Guide to Safe Training and Traveling.

Also, see my 6-page Safe Trailering Guide, which you can view online.