Trailer hunting :-(

One of the problem with owning a horse is that they sometimes need to go places. While it would be fun to ride them to their destination, it's just not an efficent use of time. In North Dakota going anywhere from October to May is pretty darn cold, so riding long distances across the open, windy plains would be just plain cruel for horse and rider. A trailer is something that I realized I need.

One of the problems with trailering my horse is my almost paralizing fear of them. When I was a young filly I had no problem loading horses. I'd leap right up in to the trailer and fearlessly secure the horse then hop right out.Back then I had a horses that loaded like a dream and the trailer we used was a 3 horse slant with living quarters. After my accident, where I learned first hand how hard a panicing thoroughbred's head and the side of an escape door are, I have been a lot more fearful in and around trailers. It doesn't help that when Piney sees a trailer he starts getting nervous. If I even lead him near a trailer his nostrals get really big, and he'll snort and prance around a lot too. Obviously leading me to beleive he's had a bad trailer experience somewhere along the road. When I got him, the vetranarian who gave him to me tranqualized him, just to be safe. The next time we trailerd him, he was a pain to load, and kicked my friend as she was trying to secure the butt bar. Later that day is when he smashed me against the escape door in his attempt to flee with his already escaping buddy. Shortly after I was able to catch him. we temporarily stalled him and flagged down the vetranarian who gave him to me and was luckally at the horse park doing teeth. He tranqed him again and helped me load him. Piney did NOT want to load into that trailer...even zonked out of his mind!

This is almost identical to the trailer Piney had troubles with. Except it had escape windows instead of doors.

How terrifying for a horse right? That cave is certainly filled with bears and other horse eating monsters.

In a perfect world I'd have a large slant load horse trailer with living quarters. The problem is that this isn't a perfect world and my large slant load horse trailer with living quarters is just a dream. There is no way that we can afford one right now. We'd have to live in it year round!

I'd gladly take this trailer off their hands. Its listed at $53,500.

or this one I think its listed at $45,000

and we could camp in style too!

I've looked at older horse trailer with living quarters and they are usually straight load...which make me panic. Yes,  obviously I am going to work on my anxiety AND Piney's anxiety with whatever trailer we end up with. But I'm just not crazy about straight load trailers. The idea of me standing directly behind a horse to secure a butt bar or close a door makes me feel uneasy. It was never the case until I met Piney.
Since i've ruled out my dream of  a 4 horse slant with living quarters, I've started hunting something a bit more realistic. Something in my price range which sadly isn't huge...The following are trailers we are considering.

$400 trailer

$350 trailer

A steal at $300

another $400 trailer.

$500 for the beauty.

i am KIDDING about those being my options. i wouldn't even haul my couch in these traps! Can you even imagine hauling a horse in one of these? you'd have to have a SAINT of a horse to go near them!

I can't even beleive how much trailers cost in these parts! The following trailers are better than the previous ones but I still wouldn't load my horse in them!

$750

$850

this one for $1200!

What I have decided on is I think that I want to buy a stock/combo trailer. Something that I can convert into a slant load trailer. I don't as that it be the prettiest trailer in the world but all I want is for it to be safe. We hauled Piney up north in an older 70's stock/combo trailer that belongs to my hubby's family. They used to haul 4 horses in it. I don't see how 4 modern horses could fit in there! It had a gate in the middle and piney had to stand slanted in order for it to close.  He's a long horse! Even thought I think he is tiny! :-) Piney loaded ok in that trailer, Hubby had to do it for me. All I could see was everything going wrong with me loading him. But he loaded and un loaded as well as to be expected. Next time I am up north I plan on working on loading in the trailer with the Coneman.

This is the trailer I'm looking for.

But the hunt continues. I know my trailer is out there somewhere waiting for me. I just need to find it!