Floating Your Horse
It is important to guard your horse's legs during transit. Protecting your horse's legs with bandages or travelling boots might minimise the possibility of injuries that could occur while travelling.
Bandage Tips
Properly applied wraps may take more time to apply but they are usually more secure, especially on a horse that tends to fidget. While travelling, boots can be considerably easier and quicker to apply, they can shift during travel. Transporting a horse with bandages, knee boots and bell boots protects the horse from above the knee and below the coronet. Travelling boots, if well fitted, provide an easier alternative when floating. A head bumper might be advisable if your horse has a tendency to carry his head high while in the float.
When using bandages and wraps that do not give full protection, knee and hock boots can be used as well.
Leather Halter
Leather headstalls also tend to have more give if for some reason your horse becomes hung up. Horses can get themselves into some very awkward positions in a float. In panic they can get themselves up over, or under the chest bar, under the center divider or even turn around completely.
Bell boots or overreach boots are often used during transporting. These boots protect your horse's hooves, heels and coronets from misstep injuries that can occur. Bell boots come in a wide selection of sizes and styles, just make sure the type you choose fits your horse properly and doesn't rub.
A tail wrap or tail bandage can be used to protect your horse's tail from being rubbed against the tailgate of your float. They will also keep your horse's plaited tail protected. Again, it is important that if you choose to bandage, that it is done correctly. A badly bandaged tail can cut off the horse's circulation on the tail, causing the loss of hair. Or the bandage could be too loose to do any good and cause more irritation than you originally meant to prevent.
A light rug can keep your horse from catching a chill when travelling, but too heavy a rug can cause him to sweat, increasing the chance of becoming chilled.
Floating Tips
Improvements in floats and trucks today have allowed greater comfort for people and more efficient gear storage, but generally the ventilation is not as effective as it was in the days of open sided trucks. Feed bins in front of the travelling horses do not allow the horse to lower his head to clear respiratory infections. Vets agree that if a horse stands in a position that does not allow him to lower his head for more than eight hours there is a high risk of the horse developing a respiratory infection.
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Preparing Your Float
Before every trip you take with your horse, even if it is just down the road, make sure both float and towing vehicle are roadworthy.
This means more than just checking whether your registration sticker is up to date. !
If you are not confident that you can carry out some of these mechanical checks, attain the help of someone you know who is
capable in spotting problems.
You must check that floats wheel bearings, suspension and brakes are in working order, particularly if your float has been sitting around unused for some time. Your mechanic is probably the best person to service your wheel bearings, drum brake pads and electric brakes.
The tyres should be properly inflated with plenty of tread left on them. Cross ply and radial tyres are the most common type of tyre on floats. Different float manufactures advocate both, the choice is yours. The spare tyre on both your float and tow vehicle should be in good working order, so check these before you travel.
When the float is connected to your tow vehicle, check that the coupling is securely fastened. Make sure the coupling socket and ball are the correct corresponding size and fit together properly. The coupling and ball should be well greased. If two safety chains are fitted, these should be crossed when attaching them to the tow vehicle.
Crossing these chains will provide better control of the float, and ensure that the drawbar does not hit the road should the coupling become disconnected. The float lights should be checked, and an inspection of the brakes is advisable. The electrical connections for your lights and brakes should be checked to make sure no moisture can cause shorts.
Pulling the float will increase your fuel consumption, so make sure you keep an eye on your fuel gauge while travelling to ensure you don't run out of petrol !. The mechanical aspects of maintaining a float are not the only things that should be checked before loading your horse up to travel. The condition of the interior of your float is just as important, especially as this is the area in which your horse travels. Occasionally, you will hear a story of a horse falling through the floor of a float, or kicking through the tailgate. Often these horror stories could have been prevented by an inspection of the condition of the floor, tailgate and sideboards.
If you do not have shelter in which to park your float, a tarp or cover is advisable. Wet weather, manure and urine will eventually take their toll of the wooden fittings in your float. Most floors are made of hardwood and are usually at least 30mm thick, with a rubber matting over the surface. It will be necessary to check your float's floor, ramp and kickboards periodically to make sure there is no rotting occurring.
Acceleration, braking ability and general control will be greatly decreased when towing a float, so certain considerations must be made to safeguard you and your horse during travel. Towing a float requires much more knowledge and expertise than normal driving, and with this places considerably more responsibility on the driver. The animal you are towing behind you is not only a precious, and perhaps a valuable asset, he is probably your best friend. Consequently, you need to make sure you are confident and understand the general principles of driving with a float before you attempt to tow. When towing, you must allow for the extra width and length of floats and their tendency to cut corners and curves.
You must check that floats wheel bearings, suspension and brakes are in working order, particularly if your float has been sitting around unused for some time. Your mechanic is probably the best person to service your wheel bearings, drum brake pads and electric brakes.
The tyres should be properly inflated with plenty of tread left on them. Cross ply and radial tyres are the most common type of tyre on floats. Different float manufactures advocate both, the choice is yours. The spare tyre on both your float and tow vehicle should be in good working order, so check these before you travel.
When the float is connected to your tow vehicle, check that the coupling is securely fastened. Make sure the coupling socket and ball are the correct corresponding size and fit together properly. The coupling and ball should be well greased. If two safety chains are fitted, these should be crossed when attaching them to the tow vehicle.
Crossing these chains will provide better control of the float, and ensure that the drawbar does not hit the road should the coupling become disconnected. The float lights should be checked, and an inspection of the brakes is advisable. The electrical connections for your lights and brakes should be checked to make sure no moisture can cause shorts.
Service Checks
Pulling the float will increase your fuel consumption, so make sure you keep an eye on your fuel gauge while travelling to ensure you don't run out of petrol !. The mechanical aspects of maintaining a float are not the only things that should be checked before loading your horse up to travel. The condition of the interior of your float is just as important, especially as this is the area in which your horse travels. Occasionally, you will hear a story of a horse falling through the floor of a float, or kicking through the tailgate. Often these horror stories could have been prevented by an inspection of the condition of the floor, tailgate and sideboards.
If you do not have shelter in which to park your float, a tarp or cover is advisable. Wet weather, manure and urine will eventually take their toll of the wooden fittings in your float. Most floors are made of hardwood and are usually at least 30mm thick, with a rubber matting over the surface. It will be necessary to check your float's floor, ramp and kickboards periodically to make sure there is no rotting occurring.
Acceleration, braking ability and general control will be greatly decreased when towing a float, so certain considerations must be made to safeguard you and your horse during travel. Towing a float requires much more knowledge and expertise than normal driving, and with this places considerably more responsibility on the driver. The animal you are towing behind you is not only a precious, and perhaps a valuable asset, he is probably your best friend. Consequently, you need to make sure you are confident and understand the general principles of driving with a float before you attempt to tow. When towing, you must allow for the extra width and length of floats and their tendency to cut corners and curves.
Purchasing a Horse Float
A thorough invesigation of the floats on the market will help you choose one that best suits you and your horse's needs.
There are some features on floats, that most float manufactures include, that you might want to look for when considering the float you purchase. You might even want to add some of these features to the float you already own.
Floats come in standard forward travelling styles as well as angle travelling styles. Horses that may not be the best travellers often travel best in angle floats. You can get floats that have extra height and width, if you have horses that are bigger and require a little more room than most standard floats.
Towing Laws
Floating Tips
When travelling with two horses, removable head dividers and rubber matting that hang from the center partition are to ensure they don't have too much contact with each other. The removable head dividers make sure if you ever have an accident and your horse becomes caught up, you can reach your horse more easily.
Some horses travel more easily if given hay or feed when travelling, and some float manufactures provide brackets to which feeders can be attached.
Rubber lining on the kickboards often provides a less slippery surface for horses that tend to scramble.
Padding on the center dividers, chest and tail bars, and walls provide protection from bruising and rubbing that may occur without padding.
Lights on the outside of the float, near the roof, enable traffic to see the float better when travelling at night and in bad weather.
Enclosed drawbars are an added safety feature. This protects your horse from getting tangled in the draw bar or brake cable.
Ventilation is important, some floats have windows, side vents, or aerators placed in the roof. If your horse over-heats, he will dehydrate and stand the chance of getting travel sickness.
Brake With Caution
Longer distances must be allowed for not only when stopping, but also for merging into traffic, and crossing interesections. Movements that are sudden or abrupt can cause your float to sway and decrease your horse's ability to keep his balance.
Floats often can pull against the back of the tow vehicle, and cause the float to sway or snake. Sudden changes of direction or lane changes can increase the possibility of sway and endanger the safety of your horse. The horse travelling in the float is a live weight. This means he will shift his weight when you drive around corners and manoeuvre while driving. A sudden movement may cause your horse to shift suddenly and lose his balance. If you have never had a horse fall down in a float, consider yourself lucky, as it is a horrific experience for your and your horse.
If your float does start to sway, your brakes should only be applied as a last resort. If you apply the float's brakes by themselves, they should be operated very gently. Otherwise a steady speed or slight acceleration might help to stop the swaying. If you find that sway does occur with the particular type of car and float you have, a tow bar with anti-sway bars can be fitted to prevent the swaying.
When travelling downhill, a lower gear is advisable to ensure control of your vehicle and reduce the strain on the brakes.
In NSW, the law states that the loaded float must not exceed two thirds of the tow vehicle's GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass).
In Victoria, the loaded float may equal the total GVM. Enquire with the manufacturer of your particular tow vehicle, what the
GVM of your vehicle is. With this information you can work out the weight of your horses and float to ensure you are
legal to tow.
The RTA also warns drivers to keep to 80km/h for floats.
There are many vehicles on the road pulling horse floats. This does not mean many of those vehicles are legal to pull these floats. When it is time to but a vehicle to pull your float, look into it carefully. Often buyers can be misled by manufactures that claim potential tow limits that vary greatly from legal limits. Find out exactly what the legal towing limit is on your vehicle, then look into whether the size of the engine the vehicle has to cope with the stress pulling a float will put on it.
Horse Travel Sickness
For any serious competitor, travelling long distances is a fact of life.
The single most difficult part of transporting horses such a long way is the prevention of travel sickness, the incidence of which has increased over resent years for a few reasons.
Pinch the skin on your horse's neck. If the skin flattens back into place when you let go in less than 1 second, the horse is fine. If it doesn't, it means he isn't drinking enough water, he is dehydrated.
The single most difficult part of transporting horses such a long way is the prevention of travel sickness, the incidence of which has increased over resent years for a few reasons.
Signs To Look Out For
A rise in temperature
Uninterested in food and water
Dehydration
Pinch the skin on your horse's neck. If the skin flattens back into place when you let go in less than 1 second, the horse is fine. If it doesn't, it means he isn't drinking enough water, he is dehydrated.
Dull eye
Hot feet
Hard manure
Discharge from the nostrils