large animal rescue, equispirit trailers, trailer design, large animal rescue trailer design, large animal safe trailers
CHEVE
r
Trailers, to see if we’d sell their
trailers. Tom built the first trailer
that was entirely our design, for
big horses. It was 7-feet-6-inches
tall, 6 feet wide, and it had a
front-end load ramp.
In 1988 we founded and
designed our own line of trailers,
the EquiSport, which evolved
into the EquiSpirit. We were the
first to offer a trailer that was
6-feet-8-inches wide, the first to
put windows in bulkhead walls,
and the first to put windows in a
full back door with a ramp that
closed over it.
What important safety
Qfeatures must every
trailer have?
A The most dangerous place you’ll
ever put your horse is in a trailer.
Our mission is to make it as safe
as possible. First, everything must
be working properly: brakes, lights,
emergency breakaway box. Batteries
should be charged. The hitch should be
adequately rated to haul the trailer’s
gross vehicle weight rating. And it’s
absolutely necessary that your tow
vehicle is adequately rated to pull your
fully loaded trailer.
Everything inside the trailer needs
to be quick-release — like center posts
or dividers — so you can remove them
quickly if your horse is in trouble. And
every horse should be accessible and
able to be unloaded without disturbing
the others, which makes almost every
USRider ® Equestrian Motor Plan
Hitch Up! e-Magazine • Spring 2010
Click above for a slideshow of Neva Kittrell Scheve, with a few of the horses she’s owned over
the years, and the equine ambulance she designed with her husband, Tom Scheve, and Jim
Hamilton, DVM.
three-horse (or larger) slant-load trailer
unsafe.
What’s your alternative to
Qthe slant-load?
Our trailer carries two horses facing
Aforward, with a third in front in a
52-inch-wide slant stall. The two horses
can be backed out individually, and we
have a front side unload ramp for the
horse in the slant stall. Our trailer configuration
easily allows all the horses to
exit even if the back is damaged.
How can we create a stress-
Qfree trailering experience for
our horses?
Horses are claustrophobic by
Anature, so the more light and
room in a trailer, the happier the horse.
And because horses are susceptible to
respiratory problems, good ventilation
is vital. Roof vents help remove hot or
contaminated air, and a light-colored
exterior paint — especially on the roof
— will keep the trailer cooler in hot
temperatures.
Q Complete this sentence:
people would be surprised
to know that I…
…..like many new horse owners,
Astarted out hauling my horses in
some really unsafe trailers. I pulled a
horse trailer with a 1969 Ford Falcon,
and used a horse trailer that (unbeknownst
to me) had a broken axle!
Thank goodness I survived, and so did
my horses. I learned lessons the hard
way. USR
Honi Roberts is a Washington-based
equine journalist and seasoned horsewoman.
11 E-MAIL US SEND TO
A FRIEND SUBSCRIBE
NOW FREE! RETURN TO
HOME PAGE
KEYNOTES MEMBER STORY Q&A Q&A
DESTINATIONS TRUCK SAVVY ON-THE-GO-GEAR HAULING HINTS USR COMMUNITY USR BENEFITS
To view a Ceros magazine you need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser and have the flash player 8 or higher installed. To install the latest flash player, click the icon above, install the flash plugin and then click here to refresh this page.