horse trailer

[PaulaMummyKnowsBest]

what do you look for when bying a trailer? What paperwork comes with one to ensure it isn't stolen?

Ours kind of found us! We saw it parked at our friends riding school, and commented several times that it would suit us. It is small old and light. I eventually offered the owner £100 for it and she accepted. When we went to collect, it had 3flat tyres, and we spent hours trying to get the last one off to replace it, turns out it had left handed wheel nuts. We drove it 150 miles on 3 wheels, paid £300 to have the floor replaced and the whole thing refurbed. It fits two ponies, tows on a normal car and we love it. It turns out it is 40-50 years old!

Years ago when I was young free and single and actually had some cash to my name,I had a nice newish trailer. I never got any paperwork with it. The reg depends on the car towing it obv. Not sure if there is anywhere you can check a serial number or anything. As far as I know there's no MOT or anything like that for trailers, although I think that would be sensible as I have seen some truly dangerous looking ones being towed around

Make sure the floor is good. Make sure the electrics to the towing lights work. Check it indicates and the brake lights work when it is plugged in to your tow bar plug thingy. Make sure the hydraulics on the ramp works ( if they have them) as it will save your back. Make sure there is a safteyl cable for the tow connection. Make sure the 'foot' thing on the towing end works OK and you can do it by yourself.

We have a light weight Ifor Williams trailer - highly recommended.

Don't know what paperwork you can get - although there are plenty of reputable trailer dealerships (including 2nd hand) if you want to be sure.

We got ours serviced by an Ifor Williams recognised workshop last year and they replaced our electrics (urine can rot these sort of things!) and the jockey brake. Cost quite a bit but well worth the money for peace of mind.

I don't like Ifors. They are designed for horses and IMO are dangerous for small ponies. The partitions have a swinging skirt, and a shettie or a sec A can get underneath and get trapped. Ditto the breast bars. Great for anything over 14.2hh but anything small can get underneath and potentially get trapped in the front. We purposely bought ours so that we could have it fitted out inside for ponies. I've seen nasty accidents in Ifors. (p.s I know it's not just Ifors, most trailers are geared for horses.

I don't like Ifors. They are designed for horses and IMO are dangerous for small ponies. The partitions have a swinging skirt, and a shettie or a sec A can get underneath and get trapped. Ditto the breast bars. Great for anything over 14.2hh but anything small can get underneath and potentially get trapped in the front. We purposely bought ours so that we could have it fitted out inside for ponies. I've seen nasty accidents in Ifors. (p.s I know it's not just Ifors, most trailers are geared for horses.

We've put Sec. A's in our Ifor for the last 5 years without a problem. If they are tied up properly we don't think they can get under the skirt or breast bar (although I suppose we could see the potential to do the latter).

When I take my cob in it we take out the partition and have a full breast bar to give him more room.

Transporting in any vehicle is fraught with potential danger in extreme circumstances. My cob hated travelling in a rear facing lorry and when we arrived at a hunt meet we found him braced with his hooves on the ramp of the lorry (which of course was now the side!). we had to get him off by encouraging him into the living!

This is from the Ifor Willams site on identifyig stolen Ifors trailers.

What if my trailer gets stolen?

"If your trailer is stolen then you should report it to the police and obtain a crime reference number. Ifor Williams Trailers Ltd operates a trailer registration database, by informing them that your trailer has been stolen, they will register it as stolen and will also inform TER, The National Plant and Equipment Register (see explanation below). This can assist in identifying owners of recovered stolen trailers.

TER - THE NATIONAL PLANT AND EQUIPMENT REGISTER

When you register your new Ifor Williams trailer it is automatically registered with TER (The National Plant and Equipment Register). Their mission is to combat plant theft and fraud in the UK and Europe. By registering ownership, both technical and marking details can be made available to international police forces through TER. All Ifor Williams Trailers include free registration to TER once your trailer is registered by your distributor.

Ifor Williams Trailers - Security

Each Ifor Williams trailer is fitted with an ID plate which has a unique serial number etched on it. Additionally, the drawbar has a different unique number cut through it, which is virtually impossible to alter without noticeably affecting the appearance of the numbers and galvanized finish.

Datatags are fitted as standard to all Ifor Williams Horsebox trailers for extra security and peace of mind. Datatag is Europe's leading electronic tagging system and was originally developed to combat theft in the UK motorcycle industry. Datatag transponders (tags) are miniature transmitters. These are hidden deep within the trailer during manufacture, and transmit a unique code that can only be read with special scanning guns. These are issued to Police and HM Customs free of charge. On recovery of a stolen trailer the identity of the trailer can be verified and the rightful owner contacted.

Our Customer Care department works closely with police forces Nationwide, educating them on how to identify stolen trailers. This has resulted in more stolen trailers being recovered and the original owners being identified."

My Dad had an Ifor Williams trailer stolen.

He got a wheel lock for the next one and a tow bar lock to prevent it being unhooked from the back of his vehicle.