Is It Ok for You To Load A Horse IN the trailer without it being attached to a car?

Is it ok to load a horse in the trailer without a car attached to it? I wouldnt like hook it up with my horse in it - I would just practice loading my horse. I would make sure all the wheels are chocked (spelling?) or blocked with pieces of would of course!! Thanks, oh and my horse might like ummm hit the trailer with her head (yes it is protected!) so ya- WE ARE HAVING TRAILER LOADING PRBLEMS SO SHE MIGHT YA KNOW uhhh do something?

Even if you chock the wheels and the front and back, it could still move while she is loading and make it harder to get her to load the next time. Never load a horse, especially one that is having issues to begin with without it being hooked to a vehicle... I have seen folks try this and the trailer has tipped when the horse started to climb in and then they really had a mess on their hands.

No no no no no. I once saw someone try to do this on a bumper pull. They got the horse in all right, but when they got the butt bumper up he lost it. He rocked, and trailers are light. He rocked to the front and got such a momentum built up that he managed to bend the jack and send the front of the trailer into the ground. Imagine trying to get a horse out of that! Best case scenario is nothing would happen, but if even the slightest thing were to happen it would probably scare the bejesus out of your horse. Think of the trailer problems you'd have then.

Better safe then sorry in my opinion.

Agree. NO. Just don't do it.

It can be done and it can be done safely if it is done right. You need wheel chock on all wheels to prevent any forward or backward movement, your front will already be on the jack (my jack is always on a good block when not hooked to the truck) and you will need two blocks in the back (on each side) to prevent the trailer from flipping up when the horse steps into the trailer. There is absolutely no way the trailer can move forward, backward, flip up or flip down if chocked and blocked correctly. The one thing that gets people in trouble is not having blocks in the back or having the jack on the dirt ground instead of a good solid ground. If you do not trust the jack to support the load, then block each side of the trailer in the front also. I would not do this with something like 2x4s as blocks though. Two of my blocks are 12x12 timbers and I also have 10" diameter logs cut square on the ends. You need to place the blocks under the back prior to unhitching the trailer from the truck, so when you jack it up and the back onf the trailer goes down it will sit firmly on the blocks. There is no way the trailer will go anywhere like this.

While it might be physically possible to do it, I would highly recommend not doing it. The risk of something going wrong is just too high.

We have a 24 foot gooseneck stock trailer. I have practiced loading & unloading numerous times with no problems. But it is large and very secure, with tandem axles. I have kept livestock in there overnight before. (Relax people, I'm not an abuser! It's only happened a few times and it's only been in an emergency situation. There was plenty of room & we made sure there was feed, hay & water in there!)

However, when it comes to a 2 horse bumperpull, make sure you take proper precautions and keep in mind they are unsteady and there is the risk of something happening.

I'm in the don't do it camp. It only takes 10 minutes tops to hook up a trailer to a truck, so I would rather do it and be safe than don't do it and be sorry.

I've done the same ... and NO to loading without being attached to a truck; especially a bumper pull trailer that relies on the tow vehicle for stability.

Sounds a ton easier just to keep it hooked up to the truck