Last weekend was a very stressful one for me - on Saturday a friend of mine borrowed my truck to go and colect her mare from Hartbury - her daughter Sophie's doing an Equine degree there. They have their on trailer, parked at a friend's yard. We borrowed a couple of years ago and commented on the fact that the floor wasn't safe and that an extra metal support should be fitted at the rear of the trailer.
So they went ahead and got a new floor fitted a year ago and in fact, only used the trailer in September to take Mistral up to the college.
At 6pm, I got a phone call from George, who was in floods of tears. Cynically, as she couldn't speak, I was glumly thinking they'd pranged the truck when she managed to tell me that they'd just had to have the mare destroyed.
A mere 1/2 mile from home, the mare's off hind went through the trailer floor. Because the road is pot-holed and because she's always been a fidgety mare and they aren't used to hauling, they didn't realise - and I honestly don't think anyone would have. The poor mare's hoof was half sheared away, her fetlock was broken and she was in immense pain - the blood was also indescribable.
George bred this mare herself, from a much-loved mare she'd owned since a teenager and, at 18 years of age, Mistral was also dam of a couple of very good novice eventers and a poppet.
After a long evening, Phil luckily knew George's farming neighbour, who met him there with his Merlo and lifted Mistral onto the low-loader, where she was towed here, for collection by Tellams on Monday. The trailer also came here in order to remove as much evidence as possible from their house - Sophie was in real distress.
When we looked at the trailer next day, the floor had been replace using marine ply, not hardwood, and they hadn't put in the metal support... George hadn't realised this, as thick rubber matting covered the floor and she assumed that all was well.
The box was kept under trees, which meant it was always damp and the air wasn't circulating properly, hence why the floor rotted.
The reason for posting this is to remind anyone on here who uses a trailer to check that the struts under the floor are correctly positioned, that rubber mats are lifted when the trailer (or horsebox) isn't in use, and that the floor is made of hard wood that is in good order.
So they went ahead and got a new floor fitted a year ago and in fact, only used the trailer in September to take Mistral up to the college.
At 6pm, I got a phone call from George, who was in floods of tears. Cynically, as she couldn't speak, I was glumly thinking they'd pranged the truck when she managed to tell me that they'd just had to have the mare destroyed.
A mere 1/2 mile from home, the mare's off hind went through the trailer floor. Because the road is pot-holed and because she's always been a fidgety mare and they aren't used to hauling, they didn't realise - and I honestly don't think anyone would have. The poor mare's hoof was half sheared away, her fetlock was broken and she was in immense pain - the blood was also indescribable.
George bred this mare herself, from a much-loved mare she'd owned since a teenager and, at 18 years of age, Mistral was also dam of a couple of very good novice eventers and a poppet.
After a long evening, Phil luckily knew George's farming neighbour, who met him there with his Merlo and lifted Mistral onto the low-loader, where she was towed here, for collection by Tellams on Monday. The trailer also came here in order to remove as much evidence as possible from their house - Sophie was in real distress.
When we looked at the trailer next day, the floor had been replace using marine ply, not hardwood, and they hadn't put in the metal support... George hadn't realised this, as thick rubber matting covered the floor and she assumed that all was well.
The box was kept under trees, which meant it was always damp and the air wasn't circulating properly, hence why the floor rotted.
The reason for posting this is to remind anyone on here who uses a trailer to check that the struts under the floor are correctly positioned, that rubber mats are lifted when the trailer (or horsebox) isn't in use, and that the floor is made of hard wood that is in good order.
