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 Born not Made
Posts: 2931
   
Location: North Dakota | Not exactly ready to buy, but I always envisioned my "dream trailer" to be reverse slant load, since horses tend to prefer to ride backwards anyway.
Does anyone have one? What do you like? Dislike?
My one concerning thought I had was how to wash it out. With my current trailer having a normal back door and collapsible tack, it's easy to take everything out and give it a good hosing every so often. Since it goes out the back, it is very easy for the water to run out since the trailer is naturally slanted that direction.
But if you have a reverse load, the door is normally on the side for the horses. And then a lot of configurations have the entire back being a sealed tack room (which I would love). It would make it really difficult to hose out because you'd be fighting the natural slope of the trailer. So just curious how that would work.
Thoughts?
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| Lower it down so it slants forward and go in and start washing at the back? Looks like the horse door is at the front of the 4 stalls?
No idea in person, but based on the picture that's how I would approach it. Requires unhooking to jack is down to slope forward though. |
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  Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | Just out of curiosity how did they determine horses prefer riding backwards? |
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 Butter my Biscuits
Posts: 2948
Location: MI | Don't know how "they" determined, but will say that anytime we throw one loose in our smaller stock trailer they always end up standing at back of trailer facing the passenger side. Even though I'll tie the hay back up front, every one is standing at back gate when hauling. |
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 Witty Enough
Posts: 2954
Location: CTX | Maybe they don't like the wind in their faces....   |
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 Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | PM me.... I can tell you a ton of stuff about them from the manufacturer stand point... That layout you posted you will not like... |
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Regular
Posts: 57
| We just purchased our first real living quarters trailer -- is a 4 horse reverse load Platinum - we are literally getting ready to haul the horses and go to our first show with it next week-end so I am very curious on the responses/feedback you get on this post!!! |
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Regular
Posts: 57
| Can you tell us why you think that she won't like the layout of this trailer -- I just got a 4 horse reverse load Platinum so I am curious as we are getting ready to go to our 1st show with it next week-end.... |
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Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | Bewitching Racer - 2016-02-11 8:24 AM
Can you tell us why you think that she won't like the layout of this trailer -- I just got a 4 horse reverse load Platinum so I am curious as we are getting ready to go to our 1st show with it next week-end....
The stalls are very narrow. Your two loading stalls at 39.5" create a very steep angle for the horses. Plus having a 36" stall, is small. I recommend having the loading stalls be anywhere from 42-44" wide, and telescoping both dividers. This creates an easier angle for horses hitting the ramp. Also, the last two stalls I would do at 40". You will have decent sized inner fenders, so you want to see if the fenders are tapered up the sides and on the ends. I would also see if the axles are blocked because if so, the trailer sits higher off the ground and creates a steeper ramp. Please PM me if you want more specific info. |
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Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | interesting.. I will say I see horses in the stock trailers doing it but to be enclosed In areas to confined I think would be differant with balance etc.. the bigger stall the better..imo |
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Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | Bibliafarm - 2016-02-11 8:33 AM
interesting.. I will say I see horses in the stock trailers doing it but to be enclosed In areas to confined I think would be differant with balance etc.. the bigger stall the better..imo
some studies have been done that show in a stock trailer or a box stall, the majority of the horses will face backwards at an angle for balance. |
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Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | TwistedK - 2016-02-11 9:35 AM Bibliafarm - 2016-02-11 8:33 AM interesting.. I will say I see horses in the stock trailers doing it but to be enclosed In areas to confined I think would be differant with balance etc.. the bigger stall the better..imo some studies have been done that show in a stock trailer or a box stall, the majority of the horses will face backwards at an angle for balance.
yes I agree.. but in to tight of spots (small stalls) I think it would be harder but I dont know I havent done studies.I was commenting to band post.. |
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Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | Bibliafarm - 2016-02-11 8:37 AM
TwistedK - 2016-02-11 9:35 AM Bibliafarm - 2016-02-11 8:33 AM interesting.. I will say I see horses in the stock trailers doing it but to be enclosed In areas to confined I think would be differant with balance etc.. the bigger stall the better..imo some studies have been done that show in a stock trailer or a box stall, the majority of the horses will face backwards at an angle for balance.
I agree. I'm personally not a huge fan of them, but I'm drawing up more and more of them for dealers and customers. |
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| The benefit of a reverse haul is the solid back tack. You have more tack space without adding as much length to the trailer as a mid tack but just a little info on the comments that horses prefer to haul backwards, that's actually incorrect. The reason horses turn to the back of a trailer is because that's where the door is. We did some tests where we loaded the horses in a reverse haul with the dividers out and the horses were facing the front towards the door. I had a few older guys tell me the same thing, you load them consistently through the back they will want to face backwards, you load them consistently through the front they will face forwards and if you load them consistently through the side they will face the side door. |
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | Very interesting!!!
The reverse loads just seem to be alot of extra work for what it is....but I don't have direct experience so....
but yes, curious as to how you clean out the floor..... |
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Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | hammer_time - 2016-02-11 10:14 AM
Very interesting!!!
The reverse loads just seem to be alot of extra work for what it is....but I don't have direct experience so....
but yes, curious as to how you clean out the floor.....
If you get the walk thru door on the stall closest to the rear tack, you can jack up the trailer and drain it out that door. |
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 Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | I have a 98 Sooner Aluminum stock trailer I haul with. My boy is left loose and prefers to ride backwards sometimes. Other times he just stays where I put him.
I like the reverse load but I do not like the layout posted. Those stalls are way to small for my liking. Plus my boy would be squeezed in and get angry and sore really quick.
Super exciting that you are getting your dream trailer tho.  |
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Born not Made
Posts: 2931
Location: North Dakota | Great comments everyone. But totally not ready to buy. Just in the "dream" phase.  I really like the idea of either having a mid tack or the sealed back tack, so that your tack is completely seperate from the horse area and isn't going to get dusty/dirty as quick. I'm leaning toward the rear tack so that you can have the little walk-out door from the living quarters to the horses, as I've been recommended that's a nice thing to have as a "muck room" of sorts. But I suppose you could do that with a mid-tack as well.
Bibliafarm: Just with my own experiences, whenever we let the horses ride loose in a stock trailer, they always turn around and ride backwards. So I take that as they prefer to ride backwards. Anatomically, makes more sense to me in my mind that way too.
TwistedK: Good thoughts and info to keep in mind. I honestly just grabbed a "reverse slant load" picture off of Google just for a visual. I don't even have any idea which manufacture this is. I didn't pay attention, but it is interesting how they ARE different widths in the stalls and fairly narrow. Good points to consider.
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 Expert
Posts: 1857
| cranky B4 10am - 2016-02-10 8:17 PM
Maybe they don't like the wind in their faces....
My thought too!! Just like when they stand with their backs to bad weather; windy days, rain, snow, most of the time they stand head down, butt to the wind. |
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Regular
Posts: 57
| I could be wrong but I would think most reverse load trailers would relatively have the same width in stalls as they do on their regular slant trailer (within the same manufacturer) it's just a different way of loading them.... Some of your cheaper trailers are going to have more narrow stalls but ours feels roomy inside. To me it makes sense that the horses want to use their hind ends to off set the bumps, stops etc. |
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Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | Bewitching Racer - 2016-02-11 2:06 PM
I could be wrong but I would think most reverse load trailers would relatively have the same width in stalls as they do on their regular slant trailer (within the same manufacturer) it's just a different way of loading them.... Some of your cheaper trailers are going to have more narrow stalls but ours feels roomy inside. To me it makes sense that the horses want to use their hind ends to off set the bumps, stops etc.
The majority of the upper brands are all custom built trailers and the stalls can be made into any width. There is a lot that goes into factoring stall size. We look at axle placement, how big ramps are, rear tack size, LQ size etc. |
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Veteran
Posts: 197
| My two cents- Had a 4 horse reverse load Platinum for 5 yr. I traded it in on a regular slant a few years ago and am much happier. My ramp was large and covered the front two slots. had a removeable bar so could get large items in. That was nice for loading saddled horses, or letting them stand if it was raining ect. Horses did have to learn how to angle to back out as it is different from a regular slant. Liked that I could unload either of the two front horses without unloading others. My horses did slip on ramp a lot even with rubber covering. The ramp also made it so there was really only room to tie one horse on that side unless they really could stand close. If ramp was left down they often stepped on it and worried me some. If up, then you could not get into trailer for hay or stuff I often keep in there. except through escape door. As for the big back tack, it was bigger, but not that much on mine. The saddles fit on the right side , the left was tapered and only held sweat blankets and stuff like that. To me the horses haul the same, don't see any significant difference in attitude or condition after a haul. I traded a 4 horse reverse load with 14ft. LQ for a 5 horse regular slant 8 ft. LQ and couldnt be happier. I use the extra horse space for "stuff" and mudd room
Edited by rocko 2016-02-11 4:06 PM
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1074
| Charmayne James commented that she liked a reverse load so that if your trailer was ever rear-ended the horse's back end would take the blow. |
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Born not Made
Posts: 2931
Location: North Dakota | I guess maybe something I could have asked in my OP, is which BRANDS of trailers offer reverse slant load in their design?
I know of some of them, but I am sure not all of them.
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Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | r_beau - 2016-02-15 3:30 PM
I guess maybe something I could have asked in my OP, is which BRANDS of trailers offer reverse slant load in their design?
I know of some of them, but I am sure not all of them.
Platinum, Elite, 4-Star I know for sure. |
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Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | Double D is a brand I had never heard of until I saw a YouTube video on the features of their reverse load trailers. You can design one so that they can load normal and reverse in the same trailer. Pretty easy to find on YouTube and interesting concept they have. |
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Anyone have a reverse slant load trailer?