Archive for the ‘Half Ton Trucks Pulling Horse Trailer’ Category

“Does Your Horse Buck? Rear? Bite When Saddled?

Then Your Saddle Probably Doesn’t Fit!”

A saddle that doesn’t fit can make a horse uncomfortable and can even hurt him.

It can give your horse back pain and stiffness and it can eventually lead to lower leg lameness.  Here are a few tips you can use to check the saddle you use on your own horse to make sure it isn’t causing any harm.

First, take a moment just to look at how the saddle fits your horse overall.  Look at it from the side and from the back and try to determine if it conforms to the shape of the horse’s back.  Since some horses are fat and wide and some are skinny and narrow, and since some have straight backs and some have sway backs you absolutely must be sure to use a saddle that drapes over and wraps around the horse without pressing down too much in any one spot.

In saddles, one size does not fit all.

Next, look at the front of the saddle.  It should be completely behind the shoulder blades.  If it is too far forward it will hamper your horse’s shoulder movement and this will probably cause head tossing and stumbling, and if not corrected could cause cinch sores or even scar tissue to form behind the shoulder blades.  Then take a look at the pommel.  There should be a big enough space under it so that you can put two or three fingers between it and the horse’s withers.  This applies english and western saddles.

So many times I have seen riders put their English saddle right up on top of the shoulder blades.  This is wrong.  That will inhibit the movement of the shoulders which you need to have when riding dressage or jumping.

Then check the seat to be sure that it is setting level from side to side.  And then look at the cantle.  It should be level with, or just a bit higher than the pommel.  Then check the panels under the saddle.  They should touch the horse all the way from front to back as much as possible.  Sometimes when you get into the saddle your weight will help the panels to snug up to the horse.  Then look at the saddle skirt.  It must not dig into the horse’s hip bones.

When fitting the saddle to the horses back…sweep your hand up under the saddle, without the pad, to feel for any bridging, or gaps under the saddle and the back of the horse.   Most sore backs come from a saddle that is too small or too narrow.

Having a saddle that’s too big can cause problems too by sitting down right on top of the withers.   One good thing to remember is that if a saddle is too narrow it will keep trying to tilt back.  If it is too wide it will tilt forward.

The shape of a horse’s back will change over time as it ages and gains or loses weight.  A good saddle maker can often modify your saddle to respond to these gradual changes so that it keeps fitting right but sometimes you just might need to get a new saddle.

Go Here to Find Good Used and NEW SADDLES

Well, I have been practicing on those blankets I picked up from my first New Blanket Repair Business Customers!

If you remember, I told you about the Barn Manager that gave me those 15 blankets to take home and work on. Well those are the ones I have been practicing on.

So while I am working on those…I figured it would be a good idea to go out and line up new blanket repair customers so I would have a back fill of customers when these blankets are done.

So I filled out those forms that Karen included in her book “How To Make Money Repairing Horse Blankets” and went around to some of the bigger barns today.  A couple were really interested but they needed to check with the owners before they gave me the blankets.

And then Karen suggests going to feed stores and seeing if they are interested in putting a sign up about Horse Blanket Repair so that I could target new blanket repair customers.

So I stopped at the three local feed stores and let them know I am in business, and gave them my cards and a flier.  And one store sounds really interested in the idea as an added service for their customers.

See the thing that Karen Krueger explains in her book, is that feed stores see the value of a customer coming in two times and having twice the chance of them buying on impulse.

So it’s a win win for both of us.  I have a chance of gaining new Blanket Repair Business Customers, and the feed store has a chance of increasing their sales.

Hot TIP:  Never let the feed store put your checks through receivables because then you will have to wait to get your check, and then it will look as if you are a contract employee for the feed store.  The cleanest way to stay in business is to be your own business.  They can collect a check for you to pick up, but it must be kept in a seperate container.

Now I’m to make more New Blanket Repair Business Customers and take a look at Karen’s Book Here.

Until next time…Horsey Gal is sewing blankets! Yay!!  I will update you on my financial progress!

Take Care!

“Is A Half Ton Pick-Up Truck Able To Pull A Two Horse Trailer?”

Well, according to the Car Salesmen…A half ton pickup can pull just about anything, especially now that their lots are full of pickups.

But in my humble opinion…if you buy a two horse trailer, and you ever want to upgrade to a three horse trailer, it’s a whole lot cheaper to buy the bigger truck now, and not have to worry later if you buy a bigger trailer.

In fact any horse, will fit in a bigger trailer, but not any horse will fit in a smaller trailer.  And not any truck will be able to pull a bigger trailer.  So in this case…Bigger is Better!

Okay, let me explain my opinion.  Alot has to do with the transmission, and the gear ratio.  The gear ratio has to do with the torque that it has in order to pull a loaded trailer up a hill.  You will never want to worry, if you are going to make it up the hill especially with your precious horses in the back.

The other thing are the shocks.  They are designed to carry the weight in the back.  But I always use an equalizer hitch to distribute the weight through the whole frame of the truck.  Again, you want all four wheels on the ground and not feel like all the weight is in the back and the front end is up in the air.  You will know when this happens, because you will be sitting up taller trying to see over the hood of your truck…haha!

But seriously, it’s dangerous not to have full traction in all four wheels.

I have an arrow pointing to the torsion bar that uses a lot of torque to balance the weight of the trailer and the truck.  And then you can see the chain that is adjusted to the correct tension, and the hitch.  These run about $350 and is a very valuable piece of equipment.

Because not only will this create a greater level of safety, it will also allow you to haul about double the weight that you would normally be able to pull if you were just relying on the bumper hitch.

So if  your bumper hitch is rated for 3,500 lbs, you can could probably haul 7,000 lbs comfortably.  They will always tell you more, but I play it safe.

So a half ton could feasibly handle the extra weight, BUT it still is considered a light duty truck and is not designed to pull 7,000 lbs with the transmission and engine that comes standard on the half tons trucks.

I hope this answers any questions for you…and if you are ever in doubt about what you can haul with your truck as far as weight goes…go to a travel trailer supply or hitch house where they sell the equalizer hitches.  They will be honest with you…because they are in the business of matching hitches with trucks.

Good luck hauling your horses and be safe!