Horse box question…

[TheAlertCrow]

Hello, we’re looking to buy a horse box but don’t have a huge budget, we’re looking at one today which has been on for a while. It looks to me like there is nothing apart from a bar separating the horse from the jockey area, is that normal? a lot that I look at there’s like a partition there and a little door. Just wondering if it’s safe? Probably couldn’t store anything in the jockey area as it’ll be rolling round by the horses feet by the end of the journey!

So it looks like a trailer? I recall boxes like that (with the kids all piled into the jockey area to travel with horses sneezing all over us - it is a miracle we all survived the 90s). We have an Ifor Williams Tack Box (massive wheeled thing - holds 2 saddles plus associated junk) which you can tether in those sort of areas. Would that work?

Or am I looking at this picture all wrong??

Definitely not a trailer, there are other photos of the whole box.
Yes possibly that would work, I think we need to actually see it and ask the questions.
our horse is also a bit of a frustrated foot stomper as well so I’m wondering if this would be better or worse for her…

That is terrible and completely unsafe! A cheap conversion and I would be worried about the integrity of the floor etc.

In the nicest possible way, you sound nowhere near experienced enough to be buying your own box. You will end up with a death trap. Find an experienced mechanic/horsebox person to check out anything that you think you might like to buy. I suspect your budget might be inadequate. Why don't you want a trailer?

Viewing cancelled. The search goes on. Thanks for the responses.

If your budget is under 10k then look at a trailer.
How many horses are you transporting + what is their weight? That should determine what type of box.
A good 3.5t isn't cheap because they are in such high demand.
You can get a better 7.5t for less than 3.5t but you need to have the correct licence + they need to be used a lot otherwise you get issues.

We do have a trailer already, I just need to get more experience at hooking it up and towing, at the moment I rely on my husband but I’d like for me and my daughter to go out on our own and not have to rely on him being available every time.

As most of you have probably picked up, I am a horse mum! This is not my area of expertise!!

I wouldn’t be looking at a 3.5t - they generally have quite low payloads and/or poor build quality unless you are paying for a good one. Good 3.5t vans are in much higher demand than average 7.5t lorries. I have a 7.5t because I needed to be able to sleep both me and fussy teen DD in it, as well as transporting 3 horses. It has all the advantages of a lorry - living space, large payload, comfort, etc, The box itself is purposebuilt for horses and there are no compromises. (A van conversion is a vehicle full of compromises, and I’ve never seen one I would put my own horses in.)

Prior to that I owned trailers and with the right car was extremely happy with my trailers. the advantage of a trailer is that it is purpose-designed from scratch to carry horses, unlike whatever that death trap van conversion you photographed above is! You don’t have to tax or MOT it (but obviously you should have a trailer serviced regularly) and they are smaller for storage purposes. I had a Cheval Liberte Minimax and an Ifor Williams H510, and preferred the Cheval Liberte.

You would need a licence to either tow or to drive a 7.5t, but other than that, they are the more logical, cost effective options if budget is the constraint.

Ah, we crossed posts. You want a van because you would feel more comfortable driving this, but already have a trailer. A few things - have you considered just having some trailer lessons? They are a thing. Then you could become more comfortable with the trailer you already have, assuming you are otherwise happy with the trailer this is a logical choice. Also, if backing onto the trailer to hitch up is an issue (and it is an issue for a lot of people!) you could get a hitching camera fitted, so that you can see the hitch whilst backing onto it. This makes it so much easier.

Honestly, driving a car you are comfortable in with trailer on the back is a much safer choice than a van conversion you have no knowledge of. For a start - how confident would you be checking a van conversion's advertised payload is correct and sensible, and do you know anything about checking the safety issues that can affect them like floor strength? Or the strength of the bulkhead that would stop the horse joining you in the can if you braked suddenly?

You need to know the answer to those Q though, especially weight of horses as that dictates the payload.
I agree with PP that a good 7.5t is better. So many 3.5t are too flimsy imo plus most don't have sufficient payload for more than 1 horse.

If you already have a trailer get some trailer lessons - the more you do it the more confident you’ll become. We now have a 7.5 lorry because dd is doing a lot of competing and we usually take out two horses but for years we just had a trailer (still have it now for short trips). To be honest I used to hate hitching it up and reversing etc but got lessons and practised loads without a horse in it and now it’s just one of those things I can do. The whole point of having your own transport is the spontaneity and freedom it gives you but if you’re having to rely on someone else all the time that freedom isn’t there.

The reason we got a trailer in the first place was I couldn’t justify spending £35-40k plus on a decent 3.5 when we were just pootling around to pony club rallies and local unaffiliated stuff and anything less than £20k wasn’t safe enough for me to transport dd and her horse. Trailers don’t have much on them to go wrong so as long as they get serviced once a year they’re the cheapest transport option as long as you have a car capable of towing safely.

Following as I currently have an excellent van conversion (Renault master) but I am thinking about a coach built or a trailer to replace it due to a change of circumstances

We decided to keep the trailer. Thanks for all the advice, I’m taking it out (horseless) every evening this week and am towing with horse on board on Saturday - wish me luck!

That sounds like a good plan @TheAlertCrow , it’s all about confidence .