Horse Trailers: Ramp-Load or Step-In?

Santa won't be bringing me a horse trailer, so this is all academic. Horse people seem very committed to one type of horse trailer or the other -- either you're a ramp-load kind of person, or a step-in. And from my observations, you can predict which kind of person someone is based on whether they ride English or Western. English riders use trailers with ramps. Western riders use step-ins.

I was a ramp person once I was the one buying the trailer. It worked great. Horses got in and out very sanely and decently. Then one day a friend wanted me to ride with her to a show a few counties away and offered to come pick me and my horse, Jack, up. Though she had a sideline of buying TBs off the track, retraining them as hunters and selling them, she had a step-in trailer (so much for my theory but she was from out West). All was fine. Jack liked her horse just fine. He liked her trailer just fine. We arrived at the showgrounds in time for me to school and get to my first class. In theory.

Here's a not very good scan of a photo of Jack (that's me riding). I'll try to post a better one later. Well. Jack, who was a very nice, cooperative horse, got spooked when he backed carefully toward the trailer door, as always, and when he reached his hoof back for the ramp, it wasn't there. In fact, he reached a little farther down, and there was no ground. I was obviously unloading him over a bottomless canyon, and he pulled his hoof back up as fast a cat who'd accidentally stuck his paw in the water. Then Jack squished his 16.2 frame as far into the trailer as he could get. He wasn't getting out. He was going to be very small and very much in the front.

We did nice things to him to get him to back up. We tried to entice him with Good Things. We reasoned with him. Then we did not nice things to that wonderful horse to get him to back up. We did even worse things to him to get him to back up. Nothing doing. Jack wasn't about to fall into the bottomless canyon. A couple of times we got him to put his dainty little hoof back into the air, but each time he quickly withdrew it before the alligators got it. His mind was made up, and he would endure ANYTHING not to get out of that trailer.

It was painful for everybody. Eventually, a brave stranger came over. "Need help?" I offered to have his children.

He helped us remove the center partition of the two-horse trailer. And then he helped us bend that big horse into a U-shape and turn himself around (scary, because if Jack slipped or panicked we were at risk). But Jack was not panicked or silly. He just wasn't going to step where he couldn't see. So he bent himself into a U-shape and walked out of the trailer. Then we put the trailer back together again. I'd missed a couple of my classes, which was too bad, because we ended up with a Reserve Championship that day. Oh well.

We got him out at home by finding a high spot of ground and backing the trailer against that. When Jack felt earth, he got out just fine.

When Lily was two, I thought I'd never ride again and sold Jack and my trailer. Life had changed so drastically. Now that I'm back "doing" horses, the best deal we could get on a trailer was a step-in, and so far, all the horses are coping just fine. I wonder how Buddy would load in a ramp-load trailer. Since he likes to hop in (Buddy is all about jumping), I wonder if he'd just skip the ramp-part and jump right over it into the trailer.

I think I detect a little snobbery between the ramp vs. step-in crowd. At this point, as long as it's safe and it rolls, I'll take it. But I hope I never, ever have to take a trailer apart to turn a large TB around to get him out.

If you have a trailer, what kind and why? What are your theories? What's your dream trailer? Here's mine (this is not an ad, unfortunately).

Comments

[Beckz]

We have a horse truck. So a big truck witha living quarters and four horses angle loaded with chestbins. Before that we had a ramp tandem horse trailer which is fine. I think horses like the truck the best though- they like having all that space. The ramp on it is really steep and sometimes Fred finds it a big effort to stumble up. Meanwhile Cow leaps up the whole thing. I dont really think there i much difference between them- horses just get used to one way or the other.

[Katie]

I've never seen a step in horse float in NZ. There are all times of ramp ones. Im sure there are step ins somewhere in the country... I just havent seen them lol. I vote Ramp (since thats all I know)

[lori]

yeah, cool - but what color?? smirk

[kathy]

Um, we're really hick here. I use a stock trailer that is a step in. Our horses are exposed to each other, as I tie them to the side of the trailer for the ride.

That said, I have had but one horse problem and that was our one eyed horse Sam who hated riding alone. He went up and hit the top of his head on...well, lord knows what, I certainly don't That cost me a visit from the Vet and Sam an Idiot hat for trailer riding.

My dream trailer is a three horse slant with tack a small tack area in front. I doubt that will ever happen, but that's why it's called a dream, right?

[Shelly]

I agree with your theory, we ride western and always have and I've never seen a ramp load at any event that we've been to. We also have never had any problems loading our horses, it's just something that they learn when they are young and they are fine with it. But I do also agree that some do not like backing out, we've had that with a few but luckily it's been many years since we've had a two horse trailer and have since always had room to turn them around.

[Katie]

I'm in the process of buying a trailer... Requirements include no mangers, padded stalls, chest and butt bars, tack room, bumper pull, and I have to decide today whether or not I'm going to settle with a step up... See we've mainly used ramps with my mare, but a step up a few times in the past few years... And she's been fine. But I'm just concerned, I wish we could just keep everything like the trailer we borrow currently. I don't want any more scary experiences!!