It may be August, but already my thoughts turn to lovely fall rides with my horse. There are a few more trail rides left in the summer months, and September heralds the start of foxhunting cubbing (foxchasing – we don’t kill them, so don’t get all PETA on me.) Horseback riding is always more fun with a friend, but I’ve got a bit of a transportation problem. This is my trailer:
Yeah, it’s the ghetto trailer. Don’t judge me! It’s sound, it’s just older than dirt and not the most pretty thing in the world. I commented here on how horses raise their eyebrows when I ask them to ride in it, but too bad. My mother-in-law was gracious enough to give it to me on an indefinite loan, and for that, I am grateful. I’ve crammed two ponies in it before, but Treasure is more of a small horse. He’d probably be willing to endure the tight fit, but my pony, Punch most definitely would not.
Punch is a wonderful guy, but he’s king of the pasture and NO ONE messes with him. All right, I won’t sugar coat it – Punch is a bully. He pins his ears and bares his teeth and all the other horses run away. There are stories of transporting him in a huge stock trailer, and arriving to find punch at one end with all the other horses huddled in a terrified mass at the other. He needs to be loaded first, with his own spot at the very front of the trailer, and he benefits from a muzzle. You can see how that’s not going to work with my current trailer.
This is my friend Amanda’s trailer that she has offered to let me borrow:
Umm, yeah. It’s a huge 4 horse. I can only imagine how many Toyotas I’m going to flatten on I-70 with that thing. Plus the truck pulling it has some interesting qualities. Like it’s 2 wheel drive, and runs without the key in the ignition.
So like the three little bears story, I have one trailer that’s too small, and access to one that’s too big. Since I can’t seem to get my horses to teleport like Diablo, I think I’ll need to start budgeting for an upgrade.
Susan Illene
So many ways to respond to that, but I’m going to behave myself 🙂
debradunbar
LOL- only when someone else is driving!
Susan Illene
So bigger isn’t always better *clears throat*.
debradunbar
I’ll probably make hubby drive – he’s got his CDL and is used to hauling far bigger and heavier stuff than 2 horses. I do need to learn though. I’ve been spoiled with my tiny little ghetto trailer. I love that thing!
Susan Illene
When I was in the Army I went to great lengths to avoid getting my military license extended so I could drive a humvee with a trailer. Driving a vehicle is one thing, hauling something behind it is another. They eventually trapped me into taking the part-day course, and unfortunately, I managed not to hit anything despite my intentions otherwise. They had me practicing in a crowded military parking area. You’d think I could have hit something, but I would have had to totally disregard their instructions and my pride wouldn’t let it happen. Sigh.
More power to you in driving for this trip! Hope you work out the trailer issue with something that will work for the horses, but not be too difficult (or expensive) for you.