Towing: all you need to know

Legal requirements, maximum loads, snaking and braking – there’s much to think about when towing your horse. Victoria Rea navigates the minefield

- Victoria Rea

HOWEVER much we love competing, show days can be a stressful enough experience without the journey itself causing palpitations. Keeping your trailer in tip-top condition, and knowing how to hitch on, reverse happily and drive smoothly will all reduce the stress levels.

We break down the elements of trailer driving from storage to travel, plus the smallprint, to get your competition season off to a safe and peaceful start.

PREPARATION

OVER the winter – and the past year’s lockdowns – many trailers have been largely redundant. It’s vital to ensure they’re roadworthy well before they’re called into use.

Although there is no specific legal requirement for servicing a trailer, as there is with car MOTs, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) explains that “the law states that all trailers used on the road must be roadworthy”. The best way to be sure of this, and for your peace of mind, is to have your trailer serviced regularly.

Alex van Rooyen, owner of Berkshire County Trailers, recommends trailers are serviced “once a year”.

“There is a standard NTTA [National Towing and Trailer Association] safety check on trailers,” he says, adding that a service checks trailer electricals, tyre condition and pressures, axles, handbrake, breakaway cable, jockey wheel, couplings and wheel bearings, as well as the chassis, floor and body.