Head Dividers

They worked!!

PVC, pool noodles, and a tie-off at each end = instant head divider bars!  They're not fool proof obviously, but they give the horses enough sense of separation that I think any not truly aggressive horse will be fine with them.  Major and Cody were perfectly comfortable.  The only improvement I want to make now is to replace the paracord with thin chain and snaps at either end, to make them a little sturdier and a little easier to take in and out.  But overall a total success!!  

New Idea

Tried to come up with an idea for some sort of head divider system for the trailer, so that I can actually look at trailering geldings with Major and not just mares all the time.  The biggest design issue is the front escape door:

The front vertical bar makes a great anchor, but if we tried to attach it straight in front, it would have to attach the door.  And then how would we open and close the door?  Just not a good plan.

So tonight I had a breakthrough.  Not ONE, straight divider, but TWO, angled dividers!

Right about where the back of that cardboard piece is, there is a steel ring welded into the trailer frame where we tie off the lead ropes.  It should be no issue at all to run a divider piece of some kind from the center pole to the rings on either side.  They would not be able to be totally immovable, of course (as we'd then have to duck around them during loading), so the design would need to allow for easy opening on one end or the other.  But this would allow something (I'm debating between foam-wrapped PVC (to make it nice and bulky) or simply a stretch of hay netting (to cover more vertical distance).  I only have a few hours in the morning to experiment with this, but I'm going to give it a shot!  I may not be able to design anything that two very aggressive animals couldn't fight through if they really wanted, but it SHOULD be enough to keep two horses that are simply a bit irritable on their own side of the trailer.  That and a full hay rack "ought" to be enough for most trips.

Pics of the experiment to follow tomorrow!

The Unexpected Project

So I ordered a set of pads to replace the chest cushions in the trailer.  Because they looked like this:

Old, ugly, torn, brown, and gross.  So I bought two shiny new black ones to match the others.  They arrived today.  One small problem.

They were 4" too long.  Also, the bolts holding the previous ones on were rusted together and would not come out for anything.  So I had to get creative.

I didn't get pictures of the "during" phase, but I cut off all the old leather and foam first.  The old backing was a piece of wood bolted to the metal- no problem.  I left it there.  Then, I removed the vinyl and foam from the new ones, and discarded the cardboard backing.  I re-wrapped the foam with the vinyl, and attached the new cushion to the old wooden backing.  

Ta-da!!!

Now all my cushions match, are new and clean, and have no rips!  :-)  Yay!

Comparison Shots

Just another side-by-side comparison of the current progress.  :-)

Paint! Part 1

I was utterly determined to accomplish something this week.  I ran out of time to do the metal painting- after the long winter, it's going to need a couple good hours of sanding and priming before I can paint it now.  But we had a good warm sunny day, so rather than waste it, I picked up some deck stain and at least got all the wooden surfaces painted.  It looks nice!

 Of course, it shows just how ugly the metal is in comparison now.  But any form of progress is acceptable at this point.  I didn't get a picture, but it does now have 2 installed magnetic lights near the front, so night time travel should be a lot less anxious for me.  Also I'm going to order the smaller chest cushions this week and get those installed so that all the cushions match (and are not torn up).  That's as far as I'll get before the next camping trip.

We'll be busy the next two weekends, but hopefully after that we'll get a day to go ahead and do the painting.  Slowly but surely!!  

Trip-Ready!

Divider bar pins replaced with locks:  Check.

Divider bar padded on both sides:  Check.

New working light installed:  Check.

Trailer clean, safe, and ready to roll:  Check.

Let's do this!!  :-)

Tires and Bars and Locks Oh My

New tires are ON!!!  And boy do they feel amazing, I didn't expect to notice a difference in the ride, but you definitely can.  It is so much smoother now, the horses will love it.

I also ordered 2 more pads, that will thankfully arrive before the trip.  I decided to go ahead and pad both sides of the divider bar, give the horses two cushions to lean into as we ride.  Those are arriving on Wednesday and will be installed before we leave for Fair Hill.

Also arriving on Wednesday are two long-shackle padlocks.

This is my solution to the horses knocking the pins out.  The ones I got are adjustable, so I can crank them down tight, giving the horses no wiggle room to get the bar up and off the pins.  This will also be installed before our trip.  As a bonus, I'm getting a giant bale of shavings to pile on the floor.  They should be very cozy and content this time around.

One last thing I'm *hoping* to accomplish is to figure out interior lights before we leave.  I have some thoughts on that.  First, I'm going to try a new lightbulb in the overhead fixture and see if the easy fix works.  If it doesn't, I'm going to take some of the click-on click-off LEDs we have floating around and see if I can mount them to the divider bar and/or plywood walls securely.  I'm afraid to use the stick-on pads in case they fall off in transit and spook the horses.  I'm thinking maybe I can drill small holes in the back panel and screw them into place instead.  Going to look at it in the next few evenings.  The biggest issue with trailering at night is not being able to see what the bastards are up to back there without the light on.  

More pics to follow as I finish my installs this week.  Going to be so stoked when I can slap some paint in this baby and see how awesome it's looking!

It's Alive!!

Finally got something done!  New divider is made.  It's heavy as hell, but it's holding together!  The horses DID manage to knock it off the pins, but I have some plans for that.  Here it is:

Also, made an appointment for next week to get the tires replaced!  Moving right along.  Just need a nice warm day to get that interior painting done and it'll be damn spiffy!