please please help !! re trailers

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We are now in a position to get dd a pony - and have been looking .It really hit me that we wd need a trailer to get to places.We checked with people onthe yardand no one has a space re theirs as they are either sister s who share or they have paired up in shares and we cant interfere in that set up.We are happy to get any old cheap trailer but am now in a tearful state as we dont know if our elderly car could pull it .we are working hard to afford the pony and cannot aford a landrover or to replace our car.its an old nissan primera 2 litre diesel The pony would be 14.2 ish or 15 max.please, if anyone knows re this could you guide us.We have loaned but not owned before and stayed on the yard- now dd ready for shows and xc .thanks so much .

Check out the Horse and Hound website,they have a couple of really good threads about trailer towing,legality and weights.There is a chap on there who will work it out for you if you can supply him with your details.It depends on what sort of trailer you buy too.Don't forget to account for the weight of tack,water,grooming kit,passengers ect as it soon adds up.Plus if you took your test after 1997,you will have to take a trailer test to tow legally.

I bought an Ifor 505 but,although my car was a 2l Mondeo,had to change it because it was 9 years old and the clutch would have burnt out had I tried to tow with it,and it would never have gotten me across the muddy fields.We have 1 pony and are looking for another so that was another reason for changing the car.

I bought a Kia Sorento and it tows like a dream-yesterday I took 3 passengers 2 ponies and all the associated stuff to a Pony Club event on a very wet field,we had no problem at all,my old car just wouldn't have done it.I know how you feel though,buying the car cleaned us out completely financially,but it has been worth it.

www.towinghorsetrailers.co.uk/index.htm will help you work it out.

We tow a 103 Cheval liberte with a passat estate and have plenty of spare capacity (pony only 12.2hh). We have alos towed an Ifor Williams 401/403 and a Bateson Deauville with it.

We got our current trailer as a very lucky ebay purchase but dobe caredul if you go down this route.

Sorry, Bateson Derby not Deauville-but we could have pulled a Deauville.

Sorry-mind dump-Horsegossip is a good site for second hand trailers (and just about everything else). You can avoid the VAT (as with ebay) as it's a private sale, but caveat emptor once again.

My licence is post-97 but with our car/trailer/pony combo I didn't need to take a test. Obviously numbers might work out differently with larger animal or heavier trailer.

I don't think there is any VAT on second hand trailers,no matter where you buy.I bought mine at a horse auction and only paid the hammer price.Be aware that there is a huge trade in stolen trailers,and if it is an Ifor,you can ring up the company and check it hasn't been stolen,if you have the chassis number.

If you buy second hand from a trailer dealer you have to pay VAT. We found that anyone dodgy unravels pretty quickly if you start asking for details.

How much travelling are you planning to do? You can hire trailers for the day/week/month which may work out cheaper for you. You would still need to change the car, but wouldn't have the worry of finding, insuring and maintaining a trailer.

matters enourmously when you first passed your driving test - do you have old timers rights or not, as the new regs are much more stringent.