MLOC - Towing a Horsebox

Introduction

Highway Code Rule 191 states "Look out for horse riders signals and heed a request to slow down or stop". What this means is that if a horse is riding in your car or trailer, all other drivers must slow down or stop if not doing so would prevent you from being where you want to be.

This is wonderful, because it gives you priority over all road users, in particular the following are all true if you are carrying horses

If there are parked cars on your side of the road, you can overtake them even if there are oncoming vehicles
If you want to drive significantly below the speed limit, nobody has any right to complain
You can drive in any lane on the motorway and at whatever speed you like
You can slow down to walking pace to take corners
Put simply. You are more important than everybody else and have priority

Preparing your trailer

Before you can transport horses, you must ensure that your trailer meets certain legal requirements, these are:

At least one sidelight, indicator and reflector
Rear numberplate clearly displayed, although since trailers can move between cars it is acceptable to use chalk on a block of wood, even if it is raining
Tyres must be inflated to at least 5psi

You must then find a car to attach it to. Remember that horses are frightened of car engines, so choose a low powered car with a quiet engine to avoid causing undue alarm. Good choices include the Rover 214, Volkswagen Polo, Austin Allegro and the Toyota Prius.

Note: If using a Prius, you should run it in electric vehicle only mode as it is quieter. Exceeding 30mph will cause the vehicle to cancel EV mode and start the engine which will frighten your horse, therefore you should stay below 30mph at all times if towing with a Prius.

Once you have a suitable car, simply reverse up to the trailer until you head a thud, then position the towing attachment over your tow bar. If there is a wire dangling from the front of the trailer then tuck it out of the way. You are now ready to tow.

Driving

The most important thing to remember is that horses have very poor balance due to their thin legs and high centre of gravity. You must not subject them to any forces that could cause them to fall over as they will probably break a leg and have to be shot, therefore:

Do not use more than 1/10th of the accelerator's travel (1/15th if your engine is of 1.4 litres or higher)
Do not corner at more than 20mph, less if signs indicate that the corner is sharp
Do not use your brakes unless absolutely necessary. Just release the accelerator and you will slow down gradually.
Remember that you have priority over other traffic so it will move out of your way rather than you needing to stop

Of course, you must use your own judgement, some corners may have to be taken even slower even if there is no sharp bend warning sign. Lastly it should be noted that most of this information is equally useful when towing a caravan. Good Luck.

Back to main page