Horse Floats For Sale

Horse Floats For sale

Horse Floats For sale

When looking at horse floats for sale there's many important things you have to consider. 

Visit www.equiluxehorsefloats.com.au for lots of free info today!

You see not all horse floats are equal. Every horse owner knows of a horror story when it comes to transporting horses. You may have even experienced it yourself

 - it makes our stomachs turn.

Lets have a look at the 7 most important issues you need to think about when looking at horse floats for sale

• #1 Load Capacity

Always keep in mind your Aggregate Trailer Mass (total weight of the float, and all its contents, also known as the ATM).

If the float's ATM is not sufficient for your horses' weight, plus all your gear, or it exceeds the vehicle’s tow capacity you’re asking for trouble as it may void your insurance and put your horse's safety at risk from possible failure of your tow bar. Ensure your tow bar is approved and rated for your towing capacity.

Always cross your safety chains when you're towing, so if the unthinkable happens, your hitch can rest on the crossed chains and can help avoid a bigger accident. 

• #2 Chassis Design & Material

The Chassis of a float can be built from box section steel or angle iron. One is significantly stronger than the other. Galvanising is also an important factor for life span of any float.

The design of the Chassis is very important. It must allow for maximum possible strength relative to where the load is to be carried. What this means it that its no good having huge amounts of reinforcing to areas of the float where your horse never stands such as the front tack box area, this just adds unnecessary weight  and reduces the float's carrying capacity. 

• #3 Size of Your Horse Float

A good float should be open, bright and inviting as horses are naturally claustrophobic. You'll need to consider height, width and length. Match the roof height of the float to your horse’s size. For example:

·               -  For horses under 16 hands, roof height should be no less than 2200mm

·               -  For horses over 16 hands, roof height should be around 2285mm

• #4 Angle Load or Straight Load

There are some horses that like to spread their legs during travel for balance. They can panic if they feel the wall against their hooves and can often “scramble.” For these horses, an angle load is often better suited as it gives them greater security with their footing.

Angle loads also offer lots of storage space and can be easier to load by a one-person team.

In many cases a straight load float is often suitable for horses that don't have any floating issues such as scrambling, however it still needs to be of an adequate size for the size of the horse. Ultimately, when you are researching horse floats for sale, you need to ensure it suits your horse, not the other way around.

• #5 Low Angled Ramp with Anti Slip Rubber Floor

Backing a horse out of a float is a very unnatural thing for him, so he needs to feel comfortable when stepping backwards. If the horse float has a short ramp with a steep angle it can cause injury to your horse if he rushes out or slips off the edge of the ramp. This can then cause reluctance to load again and before long; you may have a have a horse that is difficult to load and rushes off at a rate of knots! 

Choose a long ramp with quality rubber finishing that offers a slack angle to the ground and good grip for relaxed loading and unloading of your horse.

• #6 Quick Release Chest Bars

The chest bars of a straight load float should be padded, height adjustable and removable – when under load - your horse's load that is!

Horses often get injured from chest bars that are set too high or low, or are fixed. Look for safety options that allow for a quick release chest bar that can be removed from the outside of the float, especially under the load of a horse! Unfortunately almost all the chest bars we see when looking at horse floats for sale cannot be removed if a horse is stuck on top of it. 

• #7 Find a Reputable Supplier That Knows Their Stuff

To often we hear stories of hugely disappointed owners who end up stuck with a float that's totally unsuitable for either them, their tow vehicle or worse still their pride and joy the horse himself. 

Ensure that the seller is not just selling you what they may currently have in stock - It could be totally inappropriate for you and your horse!

Always look for sellers that work with you to establish exactly how you will use the float, what your tow vehicle's limitations are and most importantly; a design that's going to result in the least amount of stress to your horse when he gets off at the other end.

Repudiable sellers will always provide a rock solid guarantee and if possible find one that will give you an unconditional 30 day money back guarantee for total peace of mind.

For more information about horse floats: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_floats