On the road

Buying a new horsebox

You’ve saved up for ages and at last you can stop begging for rides to shows. You have enough money to buy your own horsebox. So what do you have to look out for before parting with your hard-earned cash?

First, you must decide how you’ll use the lorry. Do you want a small conversion box to carry your own horse to local shows or are you hoping to stay away? If the latter is the case, living accommodation could be a must.

The easiest — although most expensive — way is to buy a new horsebox from one of the many manufacturers who advertise in our magazine and website. If this is your chosen route, make a list of exactly what you need and which extras are most important to you. Expensive luxuries won’t necessarily help your horse travel any better and aren’t needed if you’re a weekend rider who keeps to one-day shows.

The second-hand option is often cheaper, but remember that you get what you pay for. There are certainly bargains to be had, but the most vital thing is that the lorry has been regularly maintained and that the seller can provide proof of servicing.

Remember your payload if you want to fill up your tack lockers

If you drive overloaded in a 3.5-tonne horsebox and stamp on the brakes, don’t expect to stop – Nichola Elliott

If you aren’t confident of spotting potential problems, you should take an expert such as your mechanic with you when looking at a second-hand box. The first priority should be to test the ramp. Ensure you can lift it on your own and that the fixtures and flooring are in good condition, then jump up and down on it. If it feels unsafe or as though it won’t carry your weight, it certainly won’t stand up to your horse.

Move inside the lorry and check the floor, which is the most important part of any horsebox. Try to look underneath any rubber flooring, as urine can quickly rot the wood. Also, examine the chassis for excessive rust. Ensure the lights work and check the condition of the tyres.

Before any test drive, you should verify with your insurer that you are covered and get the seller to show you the lorry’s MOT, to ensure that the mileage is genuine. Ask the owner to drive the lorry first, then take over yourself and try it on small roads, hills and an A road or motorway. If there are no problems and you and your mechanic are happy, you can then negotiate on the price.

The Galloper Horsesafe is fully adjustable

Rules and regulations

If you buy a newer or bigger lorry, you will enter a brave new world of rules and regulations, including “tachographs”.

A tachograph is a device that can be used as a speedometer and also records the distance and time the vehicle has travelled. EU regulations to try to cut the number of accidents enforce rest periods for lorry drivers after a specific time on the road and any horsebox over 7.5 tonnes gross and those under 7.5 tonnes registered after 1 April 2007 must have a tachograph fitted.

Privately owned horseboxes not exceeding 7.5 tonnes used for non-commercial personal carriage and registered before 1 April 2007 are exempt. If a tachograph is already fitted on such lorries as a speedometer it will also be exempt from MOT inspections as long as the seals remain intact.

VOSA has published a horsebox plating guide that gives information about tachographs as well as other useful topics. This can be downloaded from website www.vosa.gov.uk

The Freight Transport Association has also produced an essential guide for anyone involved in the transport of horses by road. Subjects covered include driving licences, operator licensing, towing trailers, road traffic rules and animal welfare in transit.

“The safe transport of horses by road” is available for £5 plus postage from Shopfta on 08717 111111 or e-mail sales@fta.co.uk

You may also have to pay for lessons before you can drive your new lorry alone. The British Horse Society has been campaigning against driving licensing legislation that came into force on 6 April and revoked the rights of experienced drivers to accompany learner drivers in lorries up to 7.5 tonnes.

Sheila Hardy, BHS senior safety executive, says: “It’s concerning that this legislation wasn’t more widely publicised and left people no time at all to prepare themselves.”

However, a Driving Standards Agency spokesman explains: “It was never the intention to allow learner drivers to drive a vehicle on public roads unless being supervised by a qualified driver who had passed a test for that category of vehicle.”

If you want to stay away at shows, living could be a must

Calculating payloads

If you decide small is beautiful and go for a 3.5-tonne box, you’ll have to be careful that you don’t overload it. Although many such lorries are advertised as two-horse boxes, unless you carry Shetlands it’s difficult to stay within the legal weight.

“Knowing how heavy your horsebox is when you drive out of the yard could save you a fine and a few points or could quite literally save your life,” says Nichola Elliott of Cheshire-based Stratford Horseboxes (tel: 0845 6038243).

Payload is the additional weight you can add to the specified unladen weight of your horsebox. In the case of a 3.5-tonne horsebox, the gross (loaded) weight must not exceed 3.5 tonnes.

“We advise deducting from the maximum vehicle weight to calculate what can be loaded onto a 3.5-tonne box,” explains Nichola. “As our 3.5-tonne horsebox weighs 3.5 tonnes fully laden, to calculate the payload we start from the unladen weight of the box. With a full tank of fuel and a spare wheel, that’s 2,350kg, which leaves a payload of 1,150kg.

“A spare wheel isn’t a legal requirement, which could add 25kg to the potential payload. A spare tyre is required if you’re travelling on a motorway, but it’s certainly not essential if your destination’s a ‘non-motorway’ local show or training venue.”

Assuming you do carry a spare wheel, the biggest item on any horsebox payload will be your horse. An average 16.1hh Thoroughbred-type is likely to weigh around 500kg or an Irish Draught-type up to 680kg.

Tack, including a saddle, saddlecloth, bridle and rugs for the day, will total around 30kg and a 100 litres of water another 100kg. Two people with their clothes and footwear, including coats and extra personal items, could total 85kg each, which, together with 5kg for food, drink, the contents of a typical ‘handbag and even a Jack Russell at 5kg will mean the remaining payload would not be enough to carry a second horse.

This Stratford lorry weights 3.5-tonnes fully laden

“The biggest problem is the people who want to load everything ‘just in case’,” says Nichola. “There really is no need to take an entire first aid kit, loads of rugs, deckchairs and a whole grooming kit on a day trip; just take what you really need and the payload should be OK.

“Also, the specifications for 3.5-tonne lorries are much more limited. If you drive overloaded in a 3.5-tonne horsebox and stamp on the brakes, don’t expect to stop, because you won’t!”

Galloper Horseboxes (www.galloperhorseboxes.com) is another company that has looked into how smaller lorries can be made safer without altering the payload significantly.

“Having seen nasty photos of horses that had gone into groom’s areas, we thought something had to be done,” says a company spokesman.

The Dorset company decided to build its own boxes with a full-height bulkhead to prevent horses being able to climb over, but realised that this wasn’t a practical solution for second-hand lorries. After working with a horse transport company, they came up with the Horsesafe, which weighs around 22kg and can be fitted to existing vehicles.

Finding out the unladen weight of any horsebox should be a priority, whether you buy new or second-hand. The more living, the less the payload for horses, tack and equipment.

“If you own a lorry and don’t know its unladen weight, take it to your nearest weighbridge with a full tank of fuel and find out. It’s a criminal offence to drive overloaded,” adds Nichola Elliott.