BUILD SAFETY INTO YOUR TRAILER 
The usual precautions for any trailer must be strictly 
followed in constructing a horse trailer. The trailer 
must be equipped with brakes, with brake light and 
taillight, and with a safety chain on the hitch. Both 
electric and hydraulic brakes are available for trailers. 
The tailgate pins should be drilled for safety rings or 
pins. 
Care should be taken to protect the horses. The 
chest bar must be padded to prevent localized injury or 
galling. Burlap sacking wrapped and tied around the 
bar makes good padding. An uneven floor surface is 
very important to keep the horses’ feet from sliding. 
Rough-sawn oak boards usually vary in thickness and 
provide the desirable uneven surface. If a smooth 
floor is installed, it should be covered with some kind 
of heavy matting that will not become slick. Matting 
with interwoven wire should be avoided. To prevent 
the horses from slipping to the side, a 2 x 4 should be 
fastened beneath the center separator bar as shown. 
Horses should be protected against drafts, especially 
when they are hot and sweaty. The front of the trailer 
should be high enough to cut direct wind from the 
animals. A height of 72 inches is enough for quarter 
horses, but thoroughbreds and hunters may require as 
much as 85 inches. The canopy frame should have a 
well-fitted canvas cover. Eyebolts should be installed 
in the front covering of the trailer to hold the lashing for 
the canopy. Ordinary double-nutted eyebolts with 
large washers as shown below will serve. 
Other safety features depend somewhat on the 
horses carried. For nervous or frightened animals, you 
may wish to make the center separator of solid boards. 
Sometimes the sides and the separator bars are padded 
to prevent bruising or abrasion of the horses. 
WASHER, NUT, EACH SIDE 
EYE BOLT 
TANDEM AXLES HAVE ADVANTAGES AND 
DISADVANTAGES 
After considerable experience, most horsemen agree 
that the advantages of tandem axles outweigh the dis- 
advantages. Tandem-axle trailers are safer, have less 
sway, and put smaller loads on the towing vehicle than 
do single axle trailers. 
A disadvantage of the tandem axle is that the hitch 
can seldom be at the proper height for maximum sta- 
bility of the trailer. To get the hitch as nearly right as 
possible, the height should be built for the towing 
vehicle when it is set on a level site. As shown in the 
schematic sketch, when the towing point is too high, 
the front tires of the trailer tend to leave the ground; 
and when the towing point is too low, the rear tires 
of the trailer tend to leave the ground. 
Proper hitch height is more important for a trailer 
without springs than it is for trailers with spring action 
that permits the axles to ride at different heights. 
ANTIRATTLE CONSTRUCTION 
This trailer is prone to rattle unless precautions are 
taken in fastening it together. Neoprene washers 
should be inserted between the covering and the frame 
whenever a self-tapping screw is used to fasten the 
Corrugated gasket strips installed between 
Some 
cover. 
covering metal and frame helps prevent rattles. 
covering materials are inherently less noisy than is 
sheet steel. 
GPO : 1964 OF — 739-786 
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