Would you ever haul a horse tacked?

[fourh mom]

Just wondering how many endurance and/or trail riders have ever seen the need to haul their horse tacked. sylvia

[SonnysMom]

I do it occasionally with my gelding. He is a really quiet hauler and I have a pretty wide trailer. Oddly enought I only do it on the way to trail rides or paperchases but never to horse shows. Horse always goes home untacked.
I tend to meet the same people at the trail ride/paperchase and they come tacked up so I started to so I wouldn't hold them up.

There are some horses I would never trailer tacked up since they are antsy in the trailer anyway. There are some trailers I wouldn't trailer tacked up in either.

[Eventer55]

I did CTR for years and because I always had to spend the night, it wasn't an option plus you have to be vetted at the ride. If I was going for a fun ride close with friends I still wouldn't need to do it. When I go for a lesson, I tack up at the lesson barn. All my horses must tie to a trailer. Well, I had one event horse that didn't, but he was a bit wound up.

Why would you trailer tacked up?

[Huntertwo]

I don't have a trailer right now, but would love to get a two horse slant that I could turn into a stock/box stall type of trailer.

If I had to trailer a short distance and knew for sure she couldn't get hung up on anything, I'd probably do it.

My personal reasoning behind it? She has never been trailered to an off site trail with other horses around. It would be much more easy to have her already tacked than trying to do it while she was antsy tied to a trailer.

Once she became more accustomed to it, then I would probably trailer untacked.
Again, I'd only tack up for short distances.

[Auventera Two]

I do it ocassionally in my friend's trailer, which is a wide open stock. I won't do it in my own trailer because it's a slant load. Only saddle though - never bridle.

[Cashela]

Yes, I have hauled my girls tacked. But, only for short distance rides. Like if my friend and I are going across town to ride we will tack up at home as there isn't a lot of room to manuever where you park.

Also, my friend has had some confidence issues so we tack up my mare that she is riding at home so my friend can feel confident that her saddle is "right", etc. Once again we only do that if Kit is going in the trailer for only a short time.

[Petstorejunkie]

I would not haul my horse tacked, I am never in that much of a hurry with him.

But we used to haul the rig full of tacked polo ponies all the time when I groomed.

[Bluey]

Ranch horses do all the time, but they travel in open stock trailers.
A well trained ranch horse has learned to hop in the trailer and stand there, not move around or much less try to turn around, which would scrape the saddle.

They ride with a loose cinch, that you loosen before loading them and tighten again before getting back on.

Some days we check cattle in several pastures many miles away from each other, so you have to haul to each one.

We don't haul saddled to shows, races, rodeos, etc., only during ranch work.

[jazzrider]

We do it all the time, to lessons or trail riding. But we really never go much further than 45 minutes from home. Our horses are older, quiet, and very used to it. I will say we put saddle covers on the saddles that fit snuggly and cover any that could get snagged on something, and our trailer is a 2H BP extra wide, extra tall, extra long. It's just easier to tack at home, and nice to just come off the trailer and go. My understanding is that it's common practice for hunt folks too. But I think it all depends on the horse your hauling, the distance, and the size/type of trailer.

They come home untacked, of course. And if we're going somewhere further than 30 miles away or we're going to hang out before riding, we haul untacked.

[Bluey]

---"So yes, I will tack them for that short trailer ride, but I make sure the saddle is tight. If that saddle had spun in the trailer, there could have been broken legs. I learned a really nasty lesson that day. Actually two lessons. Keep the girths tight, and don't load two horses in the back half of her trailer. We now put one up front, close the center divider, then put the second one in the back."---

We ride with a very tight cinch, because we may have to rope without time to recinch, sometimes big stock.
That is why we loosen the cinch "a little" before reloading.
The saddles are still of course tight enough to be secure up there.

Once someone forgot to release the cinches on a young mare and, as she was backing out of the trailer, the flank cinch grabbed her too much and she went down in there and could not get back up.
I had to take a chance and climb in there to turn that back cinch loose, so she could get up and off the trailer.
I had started her and knew she would lay there for me and was sensible, but another horse may have panicked, trashed and hurt itself in there.

Accidents happen so fast!

[Amchara]

When I'd hitch rides with friend's to pony club camp I would leave her tacked up after the lesson and load her so I could just unload her and ride her home. Pony Club and my friends house were only 10 minutes apart.

Now my only occasional "haul while tacked up" is when we drive 3 or five minutes down the hill, unload on the side of the road and go for a beach gallop. The road isn't busy enough to unload, but I wouldn't have my horse stand there and tack her up.

[fernie fox]

Trailer tacked up all the time,sometimes leave bridle off.

Never had a problem.

[Beverley]

I routinely haul tacked up, no problems so far, dating back to the 60s. I usually don't bridle, though when hauling a short distance for hunting I will bridle and put halter over the top. Girth loose-ish but tight enough to keep the saddle secure.

If I'm hauling more than an hour and a half before riding, I'll usually wait to tack up until I get there. After riding, and leaving the saddle on (loose) for 15 min. or so to allow circulation to return gradually, I do untack and groom or wash for the trip back.

[Ponyclubrocks]

Usually I trailer with saddle on unless it is really hot out. I bridle at my destination. I always trailer home with tack off, put on a cooler if it is cool out or "neked" if it's hot.

My horse is usually up and excited when we arrive at a park/event so I like to get on and under way quickly and she settles down really well once I'm on.

If I'm meeting a group or we are going to hang out a while before we begin a ride, then I ship her untacked, but 80%+ of the time she has her saddle on.

[tabula rashah]

nope, I don't and I wouldn't

[Huntertwo]

Are you guys mostly talking about Straight load trailers?

Just curious what type of trailer most of you have when you trailer tacked up.

[CosMonster]

I do when I'm trailering out alone to trail ride, because I've heard some scary stuff about single women being accosted in remote parking lots (not so much where I live now, but where I used to, and the habit continues) and I feel vulnerable tacking or untacking there. If I'm going somewhere I know will be busy or on a weekend I sometimes don't, though, and I rarely do if I'm going with friends. I never do when I'm hauling to a lesson, but that's because I do dressage and couldn't bear the horrified stares from other dressage riders at the barn! ;)

My horses are all really good in the trailer, though (I haul them untacked until I can trust them, which doesn't take long) and on the trail I have a halter on under the bridle anyway so I tie to that. I usually put a saddle cover on but sometimes I forget or can't find it and it doesn't seem to matter. My saddle has been scratched worse loading it in the tack compartment than it has on the horse.

I haul in a three horse slant, sometimes with the dividers closed but sometimes with them fastened to the wall, never had a problem with either.

[Long Shadow Farm]

I hardly have the need to haul tacked up anymore, but I know that my parents use to when they trail rode alot and rodeoed with my older brother and sisters. Matter of fact, I know they hauled a load of horses all the way from Oklahoma to Colorado several times for hunting trips or to trail ride and never had a problem. For years my dad's motto was to saddled them up at the barn and unsaddle when you got home. Granted this was with a stock trailer but none ever were worse for wear.

Bobbi

[Cashela]

I have a two horse BP straight load. I should also add that my horses have Halter Bridles so they have the halter part on and I add the bit/hackamore/reins when I get to my destination.

[Renae]

I have frequently hauled horses saddled in western saddles either for trail riing or when doing work. I also worked for a carraige company and we always hauled the draft horses harnessed. Never had any problems.

[vanheimrhorses]

i went to school at Foxcroft and we hauled the horses tacked up to the hunt meet and hunter trials in the big commmercial vans, all we had to go was put the bridles on when we got there and bring them down the ramp and get on. this saved lots of time and confusion with a large number of horses and students. there were never any problems. was also had a trash can roped into the corner of the van near the door which was filled with water for the horses to drink out of.

[aarpaso]

i have seen this question on another board.
its all about ones training and type of trailer.


aarpaso:no:

[saratoga]

I have for short trips in wide trailers, when it is more convenient for whatever reason than having to tack up at the ride site.
No big deal.