# Stall length for larger horses - advice needed!



## lhorgus (May 12, 2014)

I'm considering upgrading my 2009 3h CM Drover GN slant trailer as it is only 6' wide and one of my mares is about 16.3hh. She is too long to fit in one stall. I measured the stall length at 88". Her blanket size is 82-84. I really like my CM trailer, but I just need something wider!

I looked at a 2006 3h GN Charmac this weekend that's a full 7' wide but measured the stall length at 90". It seemed way wider than my CM, but 2" seems like it wouldn't hardly make a difference at all.

Can anyone out there with some experience fitting larger horses in a slant trailer offer any advice or words of wisdom? It seems like 90" should be plenty... and it's not like my horse is 18h or something - lots of people have big horses!

The trailer is over an hour away... otherwise I'd just haul my horse over there and see if she fits. I just don't want to go through all the trouble buying a new trailer if she still isn't going to fit.

Thanks everyone!


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## jenkat86 (May 20, 2014)

I'm not sure you can even get a trailer wider that 7'. I could be wrong though...

Do you have a rear tack? If not, have you tried loading that horse in the last stall?


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## lhorgus (May 12, 2014)

jenkat86 said:


> I'm not sure you can even get a trailer wider that 7'. I could be wrong though...
> 
> Do you have a rear tack? If not, have you tried loading that horse in the last stall?


Yes, you can get 8' wide but often times those are LQ trailers and they start to get REAL expensive. I don't need LQ or anything fancy.

I think she would probably fit in the last stall if I took the rear tack down. But again, I can't really be sure unless I physically take her to it and try it out.


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## Dreamcatcher Arabians (Nov 14, 2010)

lhorgus said:


> I'm considering upgrading my 2009 3h CM Drover GN slant trailer as it is only 6' wide and one of my mares is about 16.3hh. She is too long to fit in one stall. I measured the stall length at 88". Her blanket size is 82-84. I really like my CM trailer, but I just need something wider!
> 
> I looked at a 2006 3h GN Charmac this weekend that's a full 7' wide but measured the stall length at 90". It seemed way wider than my CM, but 2" seems like it wouldn't hardly make a difference at all.
> 
> ...


A friend of mine bought a CM 2 horse slant load a few years ago and discovered one of her 2 really big horses just could not fit comfortably in the trailer no matter what she did. She took the trailer to CM and they reworked the layout of the trailer and took some space from the front tack and made the slant more sharply angled. Solved the problem nicely.


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## jenkat86 (May 20, 2014)

I only have a 2h slant, but I do have a rear tack and even with it up I have more room in the last stall. I would think she'd be fine...but that's putting an awful lot of faith on an assumption. 

Does she fit in any of the stalls on your trailer now? If so what's the length of that stall?


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## lhorgus (May 12, 2014)

jenkat86 said:


> I only have a 2h slant, but I do have a rear tack and even with it up I have more room in the last stall. I would think she'd be fine...but that's putting an awful lot of faith on an assumption.
> 
> Does she fit in any of the stalls on your trailer now? If so what's the length of that stall?


The middle stall on my CM measures 88" long and she will not fit. I have put her in the last stall and it works, but she's squished in there so we only do that if it's a short haul and/or have no other choice.


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## verona1016 (Jul 3, 2011)

The 88" and 90" measurements sound like just the "pure" length of the stall- with a slant load you also want to measure the diagonal length (which will take into account the width of the stall as well as length) to get a better idea of how roomy it will be for the horse. If the stall is wide enough, the horse doesn't have to stand parallel to the divider, which helps with larger horses. Here's an illustration showing the difference:










To see if the new trailer you're considering would really be any roomier for your horse, check the diagonal length.


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

You don't have a "small" horse by any means either....

I know you know this but....
When measuring for the length of the stall in a slant you need to measure from tip of nose to tip of tail and add some wiggle room. The horse needs to be relaxed with his head in a level position when measured to know if the trailer fits the horses needs.
Straight load trailers stall length _for the body_ for that size horse would be 90" ++ in a warmblood sized trailer....so in a slant load it needs to be longer for the neck & head to fit..
I believe I have read a slant load needs 112" stall length to fit a average sized horse...
If you measure the length of the slant divider itself in any trailer you will have a pretty good idea of fitting or not..._now don't forget to measure that stall width. _ I would _not_ consider a trailer without at least 39" ++ stall _width_ for a horse of yours size so he can breathe and you not be exhausted pushing closed that divider and more importantly you not have it "pop" open when released...

It has to do with the angle of the stall and the actual stall width to accommodate the horses bulk confined.
Do some googling of slant load horse trailer dimensions and see what you get....

I found this article although older it still applies to "dimensions" and gives some good ideas fo how to adjust or compensate with many manufacturers stock offerings...
_Slant load trailer stall sizes -- help!!_

Happy shopping....

_jmo..._


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

My dividers on my slant load are removable. I noticed that my 16'2hh gelding seemed tight, so I removed the first partition, so it looks like a 3-horse slant instead of a 4-horse slant. He is more comfortable now.


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## greentree (Feb 27, 2013)

My Featherlite bumper pull is a 7'6" wide, 23' long 3 horse draft size trailer. The slant stalls are 42" wide. We hauled our Clydesdale, and a very LONG Paint horse in it. It was not a custom trailer. We have had it about 8 years.

It is set up with the tack room door on the short wall side, so we could have the wall cut open and hinged, and this way haul a carriage and a pair of horses.


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## DuckDodgers (May 28, 2013)

I have a friend with a long bodied 17hh TB and she won't even try to put him in a slant load trailer unless there's an extra stall and she removes the divider. She's tried in enough of them with no success. That's not to say it's impossible to find a slant that will fit large horses, but it can be very difficult so she has a straight load. You can only go so wide while keeping it reasonable (and legal) for the roads, though you can make it less slanted and add more stall space as someone mentioned. If you do that you're going to be increasing the length and getting closer to straight load territory, though.


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