# Trailering in tack



## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

So sometime in August I’m taking the boys to a hunter pace. At the park where they do them I’ve heard it tends to be hectic with hounds running around, lots of horses, and people all around. I feel as though my horses would be a lot more comfortable being tacked up somewhere familiar. Especially with Bee considering he pulls back and I feel as though he would be a mess getting tacked up while tied to the trailer. At the barn he no longer pulls back but if we change the location he may not be as good. It also seems dangerous for him to pull back while on a trailer, next to my other horse. 

I would much rather put on the saddles at the barn and then when we get there we just have to bridle them. But I’m not sure if that’s safe? Is it acceptable to trailer horses with tack on? I could even take the stirrups off of the saddles until we get there so that they don’t get caught on anything. I don’t know. What’s your opinions on this?


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

It might depend on your trailer setup and how long they will be in the trailer. I haul in a stock trailer, my horses get hauled saddled, hop out, throw a bridle on, tighten my cinches and away we go.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

It’ll be cleaned before we go. It’s about a 30 minute drive, both horses are easy to trailer. It’s a 4 horse slant load.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

We always did it when we went hunting, you just don’t want to be messing around tacking a horse up in a busy parking area or on the side of the road, especially if something happens enroute and you arrive late.
We always travel them tacked up when we go the trails.
They travel home untracked.
Be sure the girth is just tight enough that the saddle can’t slide around and stirrups are run up and secure. If I think the stirrups might slide down I use a bit of tape or twine to fasten them to the d’s on the saddle


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## QtrBel (May 31, 2012)

When I've hauled with tack or harness on it was either open stock or straight load with no divider down the middle. Those I have know hauling tacked with dividers have wound up with damage to their equipment.


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## ACinATX (Sep 12, 2018)

I was behind someone once who was hauling a horse tacked up (in Western gear) in a two-horse bumper pull with the divider in. I actually wondered whether that was OK myself. Sure seemed a lot easier. I didn't follow him to see how it turned out. I'm looking forward to hauling my guys to trails in the future, and it really seems easier, especially in the rainy PNW, to tack them up in the barn at home and have them ready to go (I like the idea of having the girth not too tight) when we get there. Not very helpful, but just saying I've seen it done.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

I'm with QtrBel...

_No dividers used._
Your saddle runs the risk of catching a flap on those dividers or the horse standing next to yours also tacked up.
You also run the risk of catching your saddle passing a rear tack area if the trailer has one...be very careful going in or out.
Make sure you put a strap over the saddle seat to the stirrups run up so they can not slip down.
_No bridles,_ halters only on them trailering and prepare to bridle once off the trailer regardless of the atmosphere.
Trailer that is a 4 horse I would open up the slants and only lock the last divider closed so the horses can not leave without a human at their head handling them at the destination.
If your horses are shod, bell boots on those hooves of both horses just in case...
I tack my guys at home when we go ride as a family...western and my English saddle.
We secure stirrups out of the way on all saddles, use halters only trailering bridling at destinations...cinch/girth is snug enough my saddles do not move as the goal is not resetting tack but a final adjustment, bridle on and hit the trails. :smile:
My trailer I take with 3 horses is a wide open back door, no center dividers or anything to pass by...swing open and get off we do.

Enjoy your ride and have fun, _lots of fun!!_
:runninghorse2:...


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

I do it quite a bit, but my trailer is an open stock with no dividers, and I primarily ride western where the heavy leather isn't much prone to damage if it gets bumped or rubbed. Unload, tighten the cinch again, bridle, and go. Working cowboys do it daily-- saddle in the morning, load the horses to where the work is that day, unload, and go. 



Interesting anecdote-- a few years ago, we were at a restaurant off of an interstate highway exit and a couple of horse trailers pull in, open up the windows, and four guys come in to eat. From their conversation it was clear they'd just come from a team roping event. While we were there, a truck hauling cattle exited off the interstate and rolled the truck over into the ditch. Loose cattle everywhere... at dusk, on a major road. Those guys got up, tossed money on the table for the meals they'd just started eating, ran out to the trailers, unloaded their horses and pulled the cinches tight, and off they went shaking out loops of rope to get those cattle driven somewhere off the road and away from traffic. Someone cut a fence into a neighboring field, and they pushed the cattle through, roping what wouldn't drive, then helped get the rest of the cattle safely off the damaged truck and into waiting trailers that had arrived by then with law enforcement. I hate to think of the chaos that would have ensued with all those cattle running around on a busy interstate highway in the dark had those four guys not been there with their good horses and cattle working skills. We've had to do the same thing coming across loose animals and/or accidents with livestock trailers coming home from a trail ride or having a truck drive off the road near our place, too. A couple guys I ride with sometimes rope, and they always haul their horses tacked and ready because they've needed them more than once in an emergency where taking the time to saddle wouldn't have been possible. If I had my rope horse on the trailer, I usually hauled him saddled and with a rope in the tack room 'just in case.' Not that you have to, but hauling saddled, particularly for western riders/ranch workers/ropers is pretty common. Some tie the stirrups up with a snap-clip dog collar, but I usually leave them down since my horses haul well and my trailer doesn't have dividers.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

You know...
Take a test run with the boys...
Go to a active show ground with all the crazies happening and see how they do...plan to ride the grounds but not show.
Remember no dogs running loose, but a good pack should also not be running underfoot but will be making noise and milling near their kennel trailer.
Go to some of the active group trail-rides...be there at ride start when everyone is greeting each other, commotion of preparing and getting underway and see how all behave...
At least you then will have some idea of what to expect and have some warning good, bad of the upcoming day.


Can I ask why you are taking 2 horses?
Who are you allowing to ride your horse on a pace and is this pace just flat or over fences?
:runninghorse2:...


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

I do most of the time. Before a trail, or before my lesson. I don't tighten the girth as tight as I do when I'm about to mount, but I tighten it enough so it won't slip/go anywhere.

I don't see why you can't. I untack my horse before going back to the barn though.


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## DreamerR (Dec 17, 2017)

horselovinguy said:


> Can I ask why you are taking 2 horses?
> Who are you allowing to ride your horse on a pace and is this pace just flat or over fences?
> <img style="max-width:100%;" src="http://www.horseforum.com/images/smilies/runninghorse2.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Runninghorse2" class="inlineimg" />...


My old trainer is going off to college in the fall, she’s riding Bee and I’m going to be on Chase. This will be our final ride together before she leaves. Bee was originally her project horse, then her show horse, and she sold him to me, so I said she could ride him one more time before she leaves.


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## ApuetsoT (Aug 22, 2014)

I wouldn't want to, because I wouldn't want my saddle to be damaged. Lots of people do it, though.

You can also tack up while they are still in the trailer.


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## rambo99 (Nov 29, 2016)

I saddle my horse's up before hauling to a ride saves time. Have a 3 horse slant load. Also close dividers never had an issue. 

They are un saddled for ride home in trailer.


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## updownrider (Mar 31, 2009)

I trailered locally all of the time tacked up to lessons and hunter paces. I used a saddle cover, and did not remove the dividers in the trailer. The link below is an inexpensive saddle cover at Tractor Supply. 

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...QnkqbbBlQeoCqErGLLjGr39RWOp1MatIaAtI-EALw_wcB


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## Idrivetrotters (Jan 5, 2013)

Because of my typical luck and finding a proper fitting saddle a nightmare, I do not tack up pre-flight but I can also dress a horse in about 3 minutes to foot in the stirrup so that helps also. I just know that it would be my luck I drop 2K on the saddle of my dreams, tack up (even with a cover) and somehow the saddle would be in shreds when we open up the trailer doors. My amazing horse would have a stunned look of disbelief, "I have no idea what happened, the saddle just suddenly exploded. I am traumatized, I need a carrot." 

I just chalk up tack in the trailer as a nifty "other people's thing". Now before anybody complains about my 3 minutes to dress my horse, my horse also loads and unloads with ease. So while others are coaxing horses off and on, we just do our thing and are usually warming up while others are just tightening their girths.


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## beau159 (Oct 4, 2010)

Personally, I do not find it safe to haul a horse with a saddle on in a slant trailer like that. I feel like there are too many things that the saddle could get caught on, and especially dangerous when backing them out of the trailer if something were to get caught. JMO



I have in the past hauled with tack on in a stock trailer when moving cattle. Of course, things could get caught in the stock trailer too but I think the big difference in my comfort level is that the horse has plenty of room to move around if need be in an open stock trailer. They are very limited in a slant load with dividers.


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## AndyTheCornbread (Feb 3, 2019)

When we move cattle on longer drives we often come back in a stock trailer and everyone's horses are still tacked up with saddles because there is one or two trucks with stock trailers so if we all untacked there would be no room for all the saddles plus the riders. I don't like my stirrups getting banged up so that is the only time I do it. They get banged up in the stock trailer but there isn't much I can do about it. If I didn't have nice wood stirrups with the shiny chromed metal on the outsides I wouldn't mind so much but the stirrups are ones that help with my leg problem and I paid a pretty penny for them so I would like them to stay nice as long as possible. Your gear gets manure on it too when you have a bunch of horses loose in a stock trailer all tacked up. Especially if there is a nervous tall horse in the trailer then everybody's stirrups and leathers end up with manure on them. Safety wise it has never been a problem and I do it when needed but I prefer not to if I can. I have never had to tack up in a place so busy I was worried about the safety of myself and my horses though so in that case I would probably go ahead and tack up at home and just deal with the banged up gear and or manure on my gear.


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## SilverMaple (Jun 24, 2017)

^ Pull your stirrups up over the saddle seat and clip them together with a dog collar with plastic quick clip, or tie them with a shoestring. It will break if the horse gets in a big wreck, but holds the stirrups up out of the way. I've also done this with a small horse/tall rider so that a horse kicking at a fly couldn't hang a hind leg up in his or another horse's stirrup. Works great if you have stirrups or fenders you don't want scraped. 



No manure problems, but we hauled with the horses tied.


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## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

A quiet horse with a tough old western saddle in a stock trailer, sure. Not my $3500 english saddle and my antsy-pants horse. I will groom her up and put her trail boots on her to save time at the trail head but that's all I am up for. I wish, but no.


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## ValerieR (Jun 28, 2018)

As stewards of the horse, we have to take their comfort and safety into consideration above all else. It makes me cringe to see horses hauling tacked up because it violates both comfort and safety. 

-Comfort: I'm in Texas. In the summers, it's not out of the ordinary for the heat index to hit 115 by noon. If you're going to have to take a trip standing above asphalt in a horse trailer without AC in 115 degree weather, which would you prefer? in a full suit and tie or shorts and a tank top? Take their clothes off. There's no question that they are more comfortable hauling naked than they would be in full gear. 

-Safety: Which is less likely to get hung on things, a horse without any tack on or a tacked horse? Again, very obvious answer. If you get in a wreck or have any kind of emergency, you're going to need to get the horses out in a hurry. You need to be able to do that unimpeded. And beyond that, even in the case of just routine unloading they can hang a stirrup or billet SO EASILY. Don't risk your horse's safety or potentially destroy your saddle to save a few minutes at the destination. 

To me, hauling tacked horses is the epitome of bad news. Get there a few minutes earlier and get them tacked when you get where you're going. I work at a rodeo facility and I can't count the number of disasters that I have personally witnessed that could have been easily avoided by people taking the time to tack up when they got to the facility instead of trying to back tacked horses off the trailer. In short, just don't.


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## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

I think it really depends on what you prefer. I have seen all disciplines in all types of trailers do both. I myself don't do it because I think for safety reasons in the event of an accident I don't want to have additional gear getting caught in the horses, and I have seen horses trip, fall down during transport and quite frankly can't imagine that happening and would not want that happening to any horse while it has tack on. There is a time and place for tacking up and it's not during transport. Trailers are not set up or shaped to accommodate animals that are tacked up-that's why they have tack rooms. Animals go in one place, tack goes in the other.


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## Eole (Apr 19, 2013)

Idrivetrotters said:


> ...I just know that it would be my luck I drop 2K on the saddle of my dreams, tack up (even with a cover) and somehow the saddle would be in shreds when we open up the trailer doors. My amazing horse would have a stunned look of disbelief, "I have no idea what happened, the saddle just suddenly exploded. I am traumatized, I need a carrot."
> .


:rofl::rofl:

I've done it, when I drive alone locally on back roads. I find it more relaxed and faster to saddle and boot at home than alone at trail head. I remove or tie stirrups over the saddle. Slant, with or without division: there's nothing there to catch. Only need to put bridle on and ride. I unsaddle before driving home.


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## Blue (Sep 4, 2011)

I haven't had time to read all of the responses yet, but do a trial run with both horses and just kind of drive around the block. Maybe up to the store or something. 

I ride western but had to teach my mare to load and unload saddled. It only took a couple times, but she was confused as first. Now she's a pro at it as is my other horse that is a retired ranch horse. I tie up the stirrups if I have two in the trailer but I don't if I have only one. I also close the divider mostly because my horses like the security of being able to lean on it I guess. I've noticed they seem a little more nervous if they're open. 

Also, if my drive time is much longer than about 30 minutes I don't saddle first. Not sure exactly why, that's just where I happened to draw the line I guess.

All in all I prefer to saddle at home. The horses are more comfortable and seem to settle in for a long day better this way.


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## AnitaAnne (Oct 31, 2010)

I never tack up at home. IMO it is a safety issue and comfort issue for the horse. My horses all wear shipping boots too, to protect their legs. My Chivas gets all excited when I put his shipping boots on and wants to hurry up and load. He self loads, and IMO his eagerness to travel somewhere means that he is comfortable and happy in the trailer. 

A willing horse that wants to go places is a joy to own. I wouldn't change a thing


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## Mjmuldoon56 (Sep 28, 2019)

Okay - My opinion - coming from an Endurance/Trails perspective ... there is absolutely no justification for trailering a horse in any state of tack. Itâ€™s lazy, itâ€™s CS, itâ€™s â€˜cowboyâ€™ - the welfare of the horse overrides all other considerations. There are no legitimate reasons to keep a horse saddled in a trailer - NONE - ZERO. I wonâ€™t treat my horses like livestock - Theyâ€™re family - No apologies.


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

I did when I had an open stock trailer. I wouldn't in a trailer that had Gates or dividers, because they could get caught on something.


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

Like Jaydee, I have travelled horses for many miles, both in a horsebox and in trailers, tacked up. Never had damage to tack nor them get caught up with anything. 

They also wore their bridles. The Hunters would also wear a light rug as they were clipped out. 

We untracked for the trip home. 

When we hunted a
With another pack several miles away, like a two+ hour drive, they went tacked. I would load three or four milk churns with really hot water. Cover those with blankets and wash the horses before the journey home, the rug the horses for the night. 

They were bone dry when they got home and all I had to do was put them in their stables for the night.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

I don't haul much but when I do it's tacked up, because it's usually friends hauling me and if I don't tack up before hand it means putting all the tack in a wheelbarrow and wheeling it down to the road where the trailer parks and hoping I don't forget anything. It's easy to forget something when you are doing it like that.

If I tack up before hand, I know I have everything I need to ride and the horse is all ready to go when we get there. Well, I don't travel with their bridles on, but everything else is ready to go. So to me, it's just simpler and I know my horse is dressed to ride.

One time I forgot my bridle and when I got there my friend was like "no problem, I have a spare." The spare was a tomb thumb (which I actually don't have a problem with) but it was attached to the bridle upside down......with the curvature of the mouthpiece facing upwards instead of draping over the tongue. Luckily my mare didn't care. It worked okay. I could have rode her in a halter if I had to.

Anyway, there is less to carry and less to forget if the horse is ready to go before the trip. :blueunicorn:
PS. To *Mjmuldoon56,* my horse is family too! I don't see how tacking them up means they are not family. I don't have my cinch up as tight as when I ride, just enough to secure the saddle. If the trailer is tight, I tie my stirrups up. (We usually haul in stock trailer so that rarely happens). You get dressed before you leave the house, right? My horse gets dressed before she goes for a ride. :wink:


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## COWCHICK77 (Jun 21, 2010)

Mjmuldoon56 said:


> Okay - My opinion - coming from an Endurance/Trails perspective ... there is absolutely no justification for trailering a horse in any state of tack. Itâ€™s lazy, itâ€™s CS, itâ€™s â€˜cowboyâ€™ - the welfare of the horse overrides all other considerations. There are no legitimate reasons to keep a horse saddled in a trailer - NONE - ZERO. I wonâ€™t treat my horses like livestock - Theyâ€™re family - No apologies.


Just curious what an endurance/trails perspective has to do with your opinion?

You saddle a horse to ride it, does it make any difference whether you are riding it or if it's riding in a trailer? 

By law, a horse is considered livestock. Doesn't mean those who have a saddled horse in the trailer care less about their horses.


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## Sherian (Aug 28, 2012)

I occasionally will trailer tacked up if it's a short hop - either because it isn't a great locale for standing tied to the trailer, or if it's a horse that will be amped up - much simpler to throw the bridle on, unload and go right to work. I do however have a stock trailer set up as two box stalls, so not likely to get snagged on anything and they have lots of room when unloading. I tie them in the box, run the stirrups up with the extra leather to keep them up and put a cooler or scrim on to cover the tack.


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## Smartee Pants (Sep 27, 2019)

We tack up at the farm (western and/or English) and trailer out. Tighten up when we get to where we're going - ride and untack for the ride home. I have a slant 2 horse but took the divider out. We sometimes hook the stirrups up and sometimes don't. So far so good and it's much easier if there is a lot of commotion when we get there.


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