Following some scare mongering in the "horsey press" I would like to make some comments on the safety of rear facing travel for horses. As most people know rear facing has been heralded as the most natural, stress free mode of travelling for the horse. This coupled with the low centre of gravity and horses standing between the axles giving such stability makes the Renault Master an obvious choice. However in rear facing and in forward facing boxes (where ever the horses heads go over into an open space) there is always the chance that a nervous horse could try and escape by climbing over the breast partition/bar. There are several ways of preventing such an accident.
Consider the following:
- Anti weave bars (with or without infills) (We are happy to fit these on request)
- Jump barrier as offered by Racemaster and Galloper. (We also do a version)
- A model with a separate horse area as in our new build section.
- There is also the long stall model which has no breast bar at all. Lots of people seem happy with these but manyhorses are not comfortable standing on such a long length with no breast partition to contain them and help them balance .The other problem associated with this solution is the possibility of head and neck injuries being incurred in the event of sudden braking or a back shunt .
- A travelling groom seated in the groom's area - old fashioned I know but it works!
- A bit of horse sense! Not leaving unattended horses in stationary boxes and even more important not removing a travelling companion and leaving one horse on board.
- I have to add this one as it is the only other cause of these accidents I have traced -failure to shut the ramp and in particular the canopy quietly! Two such incidents to my knowledge have been caused by people slamming the canopy shut.
From a horse welfare perspective I feel that I must point out that a horse is unlikely to be travelling quietly and calmly and then suddenly attempt to jump the partition! These are close contact boxes, with either a viewing window or cctv fitted, a horse can be visually monitored, but also any unusual sounds will be heard in the cab (do take your ipod out!) from the horse area should also alert the driver. I think we expect a lot from horses generally and if a horse is to travel in a new/strange box - particularly on its own I would advise asking a friend/family member to act as "groom" on the first couple of journeys and sit in the groom's area, firstly to give the horse some reassurance and secondly to monitor its reactions so the driver can be alerted if a problem seems to be developing.
I have noticed that a number of these reported incidents seem to have occurred with commercial transporters using these boxes. For the sake of your horse if you use hired transport insist on anti weave bars or better still a jump barrier or another safety measure mentioned above and/or an accompanying groom.
These incidents are rare when the box is moving, they more commonly occur when the box is stationary, being stuck in a motorway jam is no fun at the best of times but when travelling horses it is a nightmare. It is at times like this you might expect horses to become restless and anxious so keep checking them! Other incidents have typically occurred at shows and events when the horses are left on the box unattended, one person told me about a horse becoming stuck over the breast partition while its owner was "walking the hunter trial course".........words fail me!
Common sense also should tell one that if two horses are travelling companions it is unwise to unload and remove one leaving the other unattended in the box with his friend disappearing from view.(Another cause of these incidents).
I have just been reading the report of a racehorse climbing over a partition in a forward facing Ford Iveco, ending up in the cab with the driver and then smashing its way out via the windscreen . This happened on the M25 and happily neither horse nor driver were seriously hurt.At one point the head and forelegs were through the windscreen with the horse trapped with its hind quarters still in the cab.
If I had greater internet skills I would put a link into this report. This is not intended to scare people but just to bring home the point that a horse that panics can go any way in any box (I have heard of one doing a back flip in a herringbone box and ending up upside down in the stall of the next horse.) I think that this media scaremongering of rear facing travel is very unfair and unhelpful. Rather articles should be written offering sound advice on travelling horses, what to do if a horse starts to panic and what can be done to make designs safer in all types of boxes.
In recent times I have been viewing a number of Renault Master/Vauxhall Movano builds which are quite frankly dangerous. The bulk head between horse area and cab must be either steel or re-enforced with steel bars. I have been seeing builds that just use ply, this is really unsafe because it allows the possibility in an accident of the horses coming through into the cab with potentially fatal
consequences for driver or passengers. There is no regulation, as yet, anyone can build and market a horsebox so choose a horsebox inspector before purchase who will look at the whole vehicle for you do not rely on a simple mechanical inspection.
In the good old days when it was first discovered that Renault Masters made such good horseboxes most of these boxes were built and designed by coach builders who knew about horses! For this reason some of the best designs are found on the MK1's. Names like Marlborough ,Dereham, Equipe, Simon James, Horsemaster and Kingfisher should give todays buyer in the second hand market some reassurance. Unfortunately by the time the MK11's became available for horsebox building the popularity of the Renault Master had grown to such an extent that a lot of people were jumping on the band wagon and boxes were being built by people who one suspects had never seen a horse at close quarters let alone tried to travel one! The situation has worsened with the MK111 and as a consequence these boxes are starting to get a bad press. My advice to any one wanting to buy one of the more modern boxes, either second hand or new build is to stick to a known name or in other words an established coach builder.
On the issue of structure do make sure the box is properly constructed with re- enforcing bars between cab and horses and also on the side. Probably the strongest build on the market is the Racemaster. On the issue of design there are numerous issues to consider and this can be more a case of "horses for courses". So for someone travelling two strange horses a good beefy three quarter height partition complete with bite board is probably essential. For someone who is travelling just one horse or two "friends" this will not be an issue, for someone with a claustrophobic horse a partition like this could be undesirable. If you have a "nervy" or "excitable horse" you should be looking for a high breast partition and consider one of the preventitive measures listed above. If you are travelling ponies you might want a lower partition so they can get their heads over. If you have a horse you don't know or one that is likely to come back out on you load guides are important.Length of horse standing area is another issue to consider you don't want to buy one that is too short for your horse to be comfortable. On the other hand they do need to be snug so a short backed horse/pony on too long a length is also undesirable especially in these boxes, where the horse balances with his haunches on the bulk head rather than in forward facing boxes where the horse balances more on the forehand against the breast partition. A good guide is rug size. Rugs being measured to centre chest a horse in a 6'6" rug is not 6'6" long! I would say a horse in a 6'6" rug, to carry this example on, would be most comfortable on a horse standing length of 6'6" to 6'9". When we have a customer who wants to travel two equines of very different lengths together we fit a secondary breast bar on one stall to shorten it . So recently we have sold two boxes with the maximum of 7'6" horse standing which are great for your very large horse, and have fitted the secondary breast bar on one stall at 6'6" to accomodate the smaller horse/pony.
My advice is to think hard about what you want from a box before purchase.
Returning to the build on any Renault Master/Movano chassis there are a couple more issues to look out for.
Building on short or medium wheel base Renault Masters results in a shorter horse standing space (as does a crew cab) sometimes the wheel arches actually protrude into the horse area in these models. (I would never buy one of these). One giveaway from photographs is an angled ramp with the body sort of cut away buy the horse's head - you try unloading a horse from the ramp side stall in one of these!(N.B. David Rees at Marlborough Horseboxes has just had a "friendly" discussion with me over the medium wheel base model, he tells me the wheel arches in the Cob are properly protected and not an issue for the horse.)
The other type of Renault Master build that I would never buy is the one built above the wheel base - these are usually built on a different type of chassis. (The photographic giveaway on this is a full length ramp - a split ramp would be too steep as the horses are standing higher than in a Renault Master conventionally built on a platform chassis) These boxes miss out on the very features that have made the Renault Master so popular, the stability resulting from the low centre of gravity. And I should add due to the differences in chassis these may not have an all steel floor so a close inspection of just how the floor has been constructed is needed.
I am quite happy to take phone calls from people just needing advice - you don't have to buy from me! A donation to the Nowzad Dogs in return is always appreciated.