Horse Trail Chicks

I am an organization geek so when I recently bought my first horse trailer, I spent a lot of time outfitting it so that the horses would be comfortable and our gear would be easily accessible without the tack room being a jumbled pile of stuff. I thought that I would share what I did in case any of it might be helpful to anyone else.

TACK ROOM

Tack hooks: the trailer came with several hooks that we use for bridles, halters, etc. I really like that there is a piece of thin carpeting attached to the wall below the hooks to prevent the tack from banging loudly and scratching the aluminum wall.

Grooming supplies: The trailer came with this but if it had not, I would have gotten one – a wall-mounted grooming bag that is attached to the inside of the tack room door.

Manure fork and broom: to use space efficiently and keep these items under control I hung them on the wall of the tack room. I got the holders at Staples.

Shelf: There was a lot of wasted space up near the ceiling of the tack room, so I built a shelf and wove shock cord on the front so we can store soft items such as saddle pads and blankets that otherwise would take up a lot of room.

Lighting: I installed a motion-sensitive battery-powered light just above the door inside the tack room. It senses existing light so it only turns on at night when you enter the tack room. I got it at Lowe’s.

Water buckets: the first time I trailered my horse with a friend I wondered why we brought water, since there would be water where we were going. I soon learned that (1) horses often won’t drink water they are not used to so you should be prepared to offer them water from your barn, (2) you might find that there actually is no water available where you are going, and (3) anything can happen on the road and if you get stuck somewhere for a while, water might be critical to your horse’s survival. So I got 2 food grade 5-gallon buckets and added screw-on lids (a note about these lids – unscrew the inner part before you try to attach the ring to the bucket or it will not seat itself properly). Since water is heavy you need to secure them to the wall, which I did with a bungee cord.

Mounting block: Since space is at a premium in a trailer, carrying a mounting block is a challenge. I found a collapsible step stool to use as a mounting block (see my review here).

Gear: I got 2 plastic bins for gear that I don’t use every day such as rain gear, extra stirrup leathers and reins, and medical supplies. They are on the floor, secured with bungee cords.

Since there are always a lot of small things that you need to have handy such as a knife, flashlight, treats, etc., I hung 4 plastic baskets that I got at the Dollar Store on the wall, using Command brand stick-on hooks (from Lowe’s or Staples) that so far have not fallen off. I also like to keep paperwork such as Coggins tests and my US Rider card handy, so I hung a document pouch from the wall.

Whip/crop storage: I installed a whip holder on the wall.

STALLS

Hay feeders: I got awesome hay feeders for the stalls. See my product review here.

Water bucket hooks: providing water to your horse in the trailer is always a challenge. I fortunately had enough room on the wall to install bucket hooks in front of each stall. When we are stopped to rest I can hang a water bucket which he can easily reach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lighting: I found an awesome battery-powered light at West Marine that I installed (using double-sided sticky foam that came with it) just inside the door to the stalls. It lights up the stall area really well with just a flick of the switch.

Door latch: my trailer has an escape door in the front of each stall and a tack room with the door on the right side. I love the configuration but the problem is that on the right side, although you can open both doors at once, you can only have one latched open at a time – either the escape door or the tack room door. I like to have both latched open at the same time. My brother came up with an awesome solution for keeping both doors open and secured, pictured here. Not all trailers have this issue; if yours does and you want to know exactly how I did this, email me at info@horsetrailchicks.com.

 

Tool storage: one of my best purchases was a tongue box which mounts on the trailer tongue. This allows me to store tools, a trailer jack, tire iron, wheel chocks, bungee cords, rope, emergency flares, jumper cables, and other important items that I don’t want to keep in the tack room. I ordered it online from Reese Hitches.

Wheel chocks: I got wheel chocks with 2 characteristics I liked – they are yellow so I would be less likely to leave them behind than if they were black, and they have rope handles that make them easy to pull out from under the tires. I found these at my local trailer store, Lucky’s Trailer Sales in Colchester, Vermont.

Speaking of color, I put aside my color preferences and intentionally bought brightly colored items for the trailer such as brushes, hoof pick, and lead ropes. Since items are often placed or dropped on the ground and sometimes in deep grass, red and yellow and orange things are less likely to be left behind than blue or green or black ones.

Happy trails!  Leave a comment about cool things you have done with your trailer!

Monica