I just recently went from a two horse slant to a three horse slant (no rear tack). I wrestled with the idea of a front stall exit door and a ramp for the new purchase. Aside from the fact the one (and only one) the dealer had on the lot was ready to take right away, I decided against those two elements.
With regard to the ramp, I had a ramp put on my first trailer (a straight load) as the horses loaded better with the ramp. It got heavier with each day as I got older and I knew at some point it would be too much of a strain on me. The next trailer (two horse slant) came rampless but the horses seemed quite content to step up as there is more room for settling in which made me happy. I had thought on making some sort of portable, detached ramp to use if I ever had a horse that struggled with stepping in (I believe one of the other forum members had done something like that also but I’m not remembering the name).
With regard to the front exit door, I had thought it would be great for emergency horse exit but realized the construction of the dividers is such that the hinged part won’t let that happen on the middle and end stalls so that one fizzled out for me. Plus, if I only haul one horse, she goes in the middle stall (best load balance) so there again the emergency door won’t be useful.
The one thing I could have added on the new trailer which I didn’t was an outside light at the back. My rationale for that was I never planned on doing anything that would have me loading/unloading at night plus the interior lights illuminate the bumper area reasonably enough that would be sufficient if required.
Also, I added extra tie rings so there are now three on each side of the trailer. The trailer came with three in total (no extra charge as the dealer agreed to doing it). I felt this which would be useful for sheltering the horses from sun and wind at a location if required.
With regard to the ramp, I had a ramp put on my first trailer (a straight load) as the horses loaded better with the ramp. It got heavier with each day as I got older and I knew at some point it would be too much of a strain on me. The next trailer (two horse slant) came rampless but the horses seemed quite content to step up as there is more room for settling in which made me happy. I had thought on making some sort of portable, detached ramp to use if I ever had a horse that struggled with stepping in (I believe one of the other forum members had done something like that also but I’m not remembering the name).
With regard to the front exit door, I had thought it would be great for emergency horse exit but realized the construction of the dividers is such that the hinged part won’t let that happen on the middle and end stalls so that one fizzled out for me. Plus, if I only haul one horse, she goes in the middle stall (best load balance) so there again the emergency door won’t be useful.
The one thing I could have added on the new trailer which I didn’t was an outside light at the back. My rationale for that was I never planned on doing anything that would have me loading/unloading at night plus the interior lights illuminate the bumper area reasonably enough that would be sufficient if required.
Also, I added extra tie rings so there are now three on each side of the trailer. The trailer came with three in total (no extra charge as the dealer agreed to doing it). I felt this which would be useful for sheltering the horses from sun and wind at a location if required.
