Horse Transportation

[Biker 1]

First off I'll admit to being rather anti-horse. They should be either used for crowd control or dog food.
Anyway, why is it that they appear to get transported around the country either in battered old lorries or horse boxes towed by 4x4s, in both cases driven by middle-aged women who refuse to press the loud pedal & seem incapable of driving more than 30 mph? I understand that said horse may get bounced around in the back, but then why not develop suspension systems that can cope with the weight & waft the horse along??

[hornetrider]

Jesus Christ

[kpeter202]

No idea but I'd either stay behind on a 30 or overtake when able to.
It's the ones that carry chickens at 30mph that really grinds my gears.

[tumble dryer]

hornetrider said:

Jesus Christ

[berlintaxi]

Biker 1 said:

First off I'll admit to being rather anti-horse. They should be either used for crowd control or dog food.
Anyway, why is it that they appear to get transported around the country either in battered old lorries or horse boxes towed by 4x4s, in both cases driven by middle-aged women who refuse to press the loud pedal & seem incapable of driving more than 30 mph? I understand that said horse may get bounced around in the back, but then why not develop suspension systems that can cope with the weight & waft the horse along??

[kowalski655]

hornetrider said:

Jesus Christ

I thought he rode a donkey,not a horse.

Although maybe he drove a Honda....But he didn't like talking about it.
John 12:49 :
For I did not speak of my own Accord

Or maybe he drives a Plymouth. The bible says, when he encountered the money changers in the temple, "He drove them out in a Fury"

[cootuk]

Our 1997 Daf 45 converted horsebox has a massive 130bhp.
I don't think there is a loud pedal. Brakes are a bit like trying to slow a ship.
Driving them is mostly about anticipation and good forward observation to smooth the ride for the horses.
Saying that, if I get a tailback I do try to find somewhere to either slow and let vehicles pass, or pull over into a layby for a short time.


Not all of us have £165k to splash out...

Edited by cootuk on Sunday 13th August 09:23

[vikingaero]

Because the stupid things fall over if you drive too harshly...

[donkmeister]

Biker 1 said:

Anyway, why is it that they appear to get transported around the country

Primarily to attend equine events, would be my guess...
[quote=""]
either in battered old lorries or horse boxes towed by 4x4s,

Not entirely true, I've seen plenty of new horse transporters. I would say that just like motorsport, there are different people with different circumstances and hence differing amounts of money to pour into their hobby. Perhaps a battered horsebox leaves more money to buy a better horse or more hay?

[quote=""]
in both cases driven by middle-aged women who refuse to press the loud pedal & seem incapable of driving more than 30 mph? I understand that said horse may get bounced around in the back, but then why not develop suspension systems that can cope with the weight & waft the horse along??

I was tailgated on the M25 recently by a horselorry... Busy road, could only go 60 but there it was right up my chuff. Later on, i was a couple of lanes to the right of the lorry (who was giving the full Audi to someone else) and it was a man driving. My immediate thought was "knob", as at the end of the day it was a lorry being driven in such a way to make a shunt almost certain if something happened in front.
But I digress... I would think the reason they often drive slowly is of course to allow gradual braking to stop the horses falling over. Horses are notoriously frail in that regard.
Also to avoid spooking them; many on here like to go for a spirited drive but few would do it if they have a small child/dog in the car as they wouldn't understand the g-forces.

[kowalski655]

vikingaero said:

Because the stupid things fall over if you drive too harshly...

Horses? Or the transport?

[voyds9]

vikingaero said:

Because the stupid things fall over if you drive too harshly...

Horses or boxes?

[cootuk]

Both...

[justinio]

Isn't this just another 'anti cyclist' thread, but in a different frock?

[Alucidnation]

fking hell.

Yes, they can be a pain if you get stuck behind one but certainly not enough to come on the internet when my parents are out and be a about it.

[theboss]

They drive me mad but only by refusing to ever pull over - they should take a lesson from farmers in this respect.

Another major contributing factor - which they can't help - is the fact that other motorists won't overtake, nor drive in such a way as to facilitate the safe progress of others who may wish to.

Edited by theboss on Sunday 13th August 10:27

[Chrisgr31]

Surely them driving at 30mph is good? After all must make them easier to overtake.

My concern is often more to do with the legality of the tow vehicle and whether the trailer is too heavy especially with 2 horses in it.

[cootuk]

The larger Ifor trailers are allowed about 2.8T gross, (about 1.2T load),so a decent towcar like an L200 or Range Rover can handle it even with two biggish horses or one Shire.
I think the lightest trailers come in around 900kg, so a pony in one of those would just scrape into the 1500kg tow bracket of a lot of cars.

[Bristol spark]

vikingaero said:

Because the stupid things fall over if you drive too harshly...

So why not lie them down, then tether them, no issues then......................

[matchmaker]

More often than not horse transporters tend to be elderly Ford/Iveco 7.5 tonne trucks driven by middle aged women wearing spectacles and wellies. Not to mention belching out diesel smoke (truck, not woman).

[4rephill]

Bristol spark said:

vikingaero said:

Because the stupid things fall over if you drive too harshly...

So why not lie them down, then tether them, no issues then......................