December 2002

Regular Trailer Checks Help Head Off Disaster

Each year, horses are injured in unnecessary trailering accidents.

Trailer inspection includes things that aren’t ûeasily spotted, like wheels and axles, and you ûhave to crawl around to look.

A few years ago, a trainer had taken her Quarter Horse stallion to an event that included showcasing sires for stud-fee auctions. The day before she left for the event, she oiled every hinge, door and lever on her four-horse slant load, which was only a year old.

She and a friend stopped for dinner en route and, while there, met some people who wanted to see the stallion. The owner went to the trailer and showed them the horse. …