When it comes to transporting precious cargo, few journeys carry quite the same responsibility as towing your horse or pony. Good horse trailer towing advice starts well before you set off, from making sure your vehicle and trailer are suitable for the load to checking tyres, lights, brakes and your hitch before every journey.
For many horse owners, towing can feel daunting. Loading your horse into a trailer is one thing; pulling onto a busy motorway, negotiating narrow country lanes or dealing with an unexpected situation on the road is another. With the additional weight of a loaded trailer behind you, acceleration, braking, cornering and stopping distances can all feel very different.
Preparation matters for your horse, too. Travelling requires a horse to continually adjust its balance as the vehicle accelerates, slows and changes direction, making smooth driving particularly important. How you load, secure and prepare your horse for the journey can also influence how comfortably and confidently they travel.
Whether you are heading to a competition, travelling to the vet, moving yards or setting off for a day out, having a routine before you leave can make towing considerably less stressful. In this guide, we share practical horse trailer towing advice, covering pre-journey safety checks, loading your horse, essential equipment and tips for safer driving once you are on the road.
Choosing the right tow bar
When it comes to choosing a tow bar for horse trailer towing, it is important to make sure the equipment is suitable for your specific vehicle rather than simply choosing a tow bar that appears to fit.
Check your vehicle manufacturer’s specifications for your exact make, model and year, paying particular attention to its maximum towing capacity and permitted nose weight. Remember that fitting a tow bar does not automatically mean a vehicle is suitable for towing a loaded horse trailer.
A reputable tow bar fitting centre should also be able to advise on a compatible tow bar and the appropriate electrical system for your vehicle and trailer. If you are researching your options online, tools such as the WITTER Towbar Finder can provide a useful starting point.
Before towing, you should also check that the combined weight of the trailer, horse, equipment, water, forage and anything else being carried remains within the relevant weight limits for both your vehicle and trailer.
Get connected
Your horse trailer’s electrical connection is an essential part of your towing set-up, powering important functions such as indicators, brake lights, tail lights and fog lights.
Modern vehicles have increasingly sophisticated electrical and safety systems, so having the correct towing electrics fitted is important. Depending on your vehicle and trailer, you may come across different types of electrical connections, so check what is required before buying adaptors or having a tow bar fitted.
Once connected, test all of the trailer lights before every journey. Ask someone to stand behind the trailer while you work through the indicators, brake lights, sidelights and fog light. Don’t assume everything is working simply because the electrical plug is connected.
If you regularly tow, it can also be useful to keep a trailer light or circuit tester in your towing kit. Products such as the Lightmate can help identify electrical faults and test trailer road-light circuits, which can be particularly useful when trying to establish whether a problem lies with the vehicle or trailer.
Check your connection
Correctly hitching your horse trailer is one of the most important parts of your pre-journey routine. Never rely on a quick visual check before setting off.
Make sure the coupling is correctly seated and locked onto the tow ball, the jockey wheel is fully raised and secured, and the trailer’s electrical connection is firmly attached. Check that the handbrake is released before moving away.
Pay particular attention to the breakaway cable. This is designed to apply the trailer’s brakes if a braked trailer becomes detached from the towing vehicle, so it needs to be attached correctly rather than simply looped around wherever it will fit.
Before loading your horse, walk around the entire trailer and check the tyres, lights, doors, ramps, windows and external catches. Developing the same routine every time you tow makes it much less likely that an important check will be forgotten.
Practice makes perfect
Transport day is not the time to discover that you aren’t confident hitching your trailer, negotiating a tight corner or reversing into a parking space, particularly with horses waiting to be loaded.
Practise coupling and uncoupling your trailer several times until you are comfortable with the process. Then take the empty trailer out for a longer drive before attempting your first journey with a horse on board.
Include a mixture of roads where appropriate, so you can become accustomed to the additional length and weight behind your vehicle. Practise pulling away smoothly, braking progressively, approaching junctions and roundabouts, allowing additional space when turning and positioning the trailer correctly on narrower roads.
Reversing is another skill worth practising before you need it. Find a large, safe and permitted area with plenty of space and practise reversing in a straight line before progressing to turns and parking. Keep your movements small and your speed low. If you lose the angle, there is nothing wrong with pulling forward, straightening the vehicle and trying again.
The aim is to become comfortable with how the vehicle and trailer behave before adding a horse to the equation. A calm, smooth driver can provide a much more predictable journey for the horse travelling behind them.
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Give yourself space and check your mirrors
A horse trailer will often be wider than the vehicle towing it, so getting used to its position on the road is an important part of learning to tow confidently.
Use your mirrors regularly to monitor where the trailer is sitting, particularly when negotiating narrow roads, passing parked vehicles and approaching bends. Remember that the trailer will not necessarily follow exactly the same line as your towing vehicle when you turn, so allow sufficient space without straying unnecessarily towards the centre of the road.
You must also have an adequate view of the road behind you. If your horse trailer is wider than the rear of your vehicle or restricts your rearward view, suitable towing mirrors must be fitted. Driving without the required towing mirrors can result in a fine of up to £1,000 and three penalty points.
Don’t wait until the morning of a competition to discover that your new towing mirrors are awkward to fit. Attach and adjust them beforehand, then check that they remain secure and give you a clear view along both sides of the trailer.
Loading your horse
Even a horse that usually loads well can hesitate occasionally, particularly if the trailer, surroundings or travelling companion are unfamiliar. Allow plenty of time so loading doesn’t become a rushed battle five minutes before you are due to leave.
Before asking your horse to load, check that the trailer is secure and correctly hitched, the floor and ramp are sound, partitions and breast or breech bars are correctly positioned, and there are no loose objects inside.
When loading:
- Wear suitable footwear, gloves and a correctly fitted riding hat, and make sure anyone helping understands what they are being asked to do.
- Give the horse sufficient space and avoid putting yourself in a position where you could become trapped between the horse, ramp, partition or trailer wall.
- Never wrap a lead rope around your hand.
- Make sure the trailer provides sufficient space and headroom for the horse you are transporting.
- Keep the area around the ramp as quiet and clear as possible.
- Secure the horse appropriately before preparing the trailer for departure, following the trailer manufacturer’s instructions.
If your horse is inexperienced or reluctant to load, practise well before you actually need to travel. Short, calm sessions can help familiarise a horse with walking onto the ramp, standing inside and unloading again without every visit to the trailer resulting in a journey.
Persistent loading problems are worth addressing with an appropriately experienced professional rather than waiting until transport is unavoidable.
Wheels in motion
Once your horse is on board, smooth driving should be the priority. Towing affects acceleration, braking and manoeuvring, while stopping distances can increase significantly.
Accelerate gradually, brake earlier than you normally would and take bends and roundabouts steadily. Remember that your horse is standing behind you and continually adjusting its balance as the trailer changes speed and direction.
There are also different speed limits when towing. For cars towing trailers, the national limits are 50mph on single carriageways and 60mph on dual carriageways and motorways, unless a lower limit applies.
If the trailer begins to snake or swerve, don’t make sudden steering movements or brake harshly. Ease off the accelerator and reduce your speed gently until control is regained. Snaking can be an indication that you are travelling too quickly or that the trailer is incorrectly loaded.
When travelling downhill, select an appropriate lower gear before the descent to help control your speed. The additional weight of a trailer also affects braking and acceleration, so leave considerably more room than you would when driving the vehicle without a trailer.
On a motorway with three or more lanes, vehicles towing trailers must not use the right-hand lane.
Always carry your horse’s passport
Your horse’s passport isn’t something to remember only when you’re competing or travelling a long distance.
A valid horse passport must accompany your horse, pony or donkey whenever it is transported. You should therefore make checking that the passport is on board part of your normal pre-journey routine, whether you are travelling to a show, lesson, new yard or veterinary appointment.
Keep it somewhere secure and accessible rather than buried underneath equipment. You may need to produce the passport if requested by an authorised officer, and GOV.UK advises that you could receive a fine if you cannot produce a valid passport for an animal in your care.
Be prepared for a breakdown
Breaking down is inconvenient at the best of times. Breaking down with a horse standing in a trailer presents an entirely different set of problems.
Before travelling, check that your breakdown policy covers both the towing vehicle and horse trailer and, importantly, what assistance is available for the horse if your vehicle cannot continue the journey. Standard breakdown policies may not necessarily provide the specialist help required when livestock is on board.
Keep important telephone numbers readily available and carry sensible emergency equipment for both horse and humans. A charged mobile phone, power bank, torch, hi-vis clothing, water and basic first-aid supplies are useful additions to your travelling kit.
Specialist equine breakdown and recovery schemes are also available for horse owners. Check exactly what a policy or membership covers before relying on it, particularly recovery of the trailer and onward transport of your horse.
One final check before you leave
Good horse trailer towing advice ultimately comes down to preparation. Before every journey, take a few minutes to walk around the complete vehicle and trailer rather than relying on what was working the last time you travelled.
Check the hitch, breakaway cable, tyres, wheels, lights, number plate, doors, ramp and catches. Make sure everything inside the trailer is secure, your horse is safely prepared for travel and you have their passport with you.
Then take one final look around before pulling away.
Those extra few minutes at home are considerably easier than discovering a problem once you have a horse on board and you’re already several miles down the road.
