Thread: Freelander towing a Horse float?????

I am a series 1 Discovery owner and have always been a landrover fan for years, because my father had numerous. I now want to induct my girlfriend into the landrover owners family. She's one of those horse lovers and is looking for a car to pull a float. My Disco is to big for her garage (with the hump) and is interested in a Freelander. It should be possible but has anyone used a freelander to tow horses with?? and how does it travel?? (for you horse people, the horse is a Galoway if that helps)

I just read your post in regards to towing a float with a Freelander. To be honest, I've only ever towed with larger vehicles as my wife has huge warmbloods. But what I do know is that its more important to have the right float for your horse than the right vehicle as long as the vehicle has the required tow capacity that is.

So I thought I'd include an article she recently wrote for a publication addressing just this issue. Hope it helps

“Three Easy steps to ensure a safe and enjoyable journey with your horse”

Embarking on your first journey with your horse float begins before even driving away. Disasters can be set to occur before you even turn the ignition on, so some simple safety checks and wise decisions before loading the horse can save you and your horse stress and possible injury.

The first consideration is the actual float. I have an expression that I firmly believe in “bad floaters are made, not born”. This relates to the type of float you have selected for your horse. By their nature, horses aren’t fans of enclosed spaces, so stuffing a large horse into a small float is just going to create problems down the track. Whilst this is not a comprehensive list, some things to consider when deciding on the specifications of your horse float are:

• How tall is your horse?
o The internal height of the float is critical to the horse’s sense of comfort. Too many owners expect their over 16hh horse to be comfortable in a 7’ internal height float. This issue is compounded if your horse tends to travel with his head held high. If his ears constantly touch the roof, he is going to feel claustrophobic which adds to anxiety whilst traveling. Anxiety leads to pawing, problems loading and rushing out. These are behaviors that make travelling stressful for the driver too.

• How long is your horse?
o Again, putting a large horse in a standard sized float (generally around 9 – 10’) is a foolish decision. Bay length in straight load floats needs to be at least a few inches longer than the size of rug the horse takes, and there should be plenty of neck room for the horse to raise or lower his head. Consider the horse, should you have to brake suddenly, if he is wedged in with his head on the float window. In angle load floats, the horse needs to be able to extend his neck. Measure your horse from nose to tail with his neck in his neutral position (position he naturally stands in)

• Middle dividers
o If you are travelling alone, move the middle divider over to the left or remove it all together. This gives the horse room to move and reduces the risk of scrambling. If your divider has rubber or timber to the floor, GET RID OF IT! Horses balance by spreading their legs and if they feel restricted where they can put their feet, they tend to scramble.

• Ramp angle
o Select a float that has a long ramp. The longer the ramp, the less the angle to the ground. Your horse will have more confidence when backing out of the float if he knows there isn’t a sudden drop before his hind feet touch something solid.



Safety checks

• Your float
Regular safety checks of your float will give you confidence that nothing will go wrong and give warning to imminent equipment failure or even prevent disaster.
Six monthly checks of your float, depending on its age and how often it is used is recommended. Your mechanic should check flooring, welds, brakes, coupling, wheel bearings, to name a few.
Also, are you exceeding the Aggregate Trailer Mass (ATM) of your float? ATM is the sum of the weight of your float and its contents. Contents include your horse(s) and all of your gear. Never exceed the ATM of your float!!

• Your car
Firstly, does your car have sufficient towing capacity to tow a laden float? Your car will have two listed tow capacities. Braked and non-braked. Braked tow capacity refers to the weight your car can pull as long as it is fitted with electric brakes to your horse float (which also must have electric brakes). When calculating the weight you are pulling, you must add up:
o Weight of float and its contents
o Weight of any additional load within the car itself (including people and your gear)
Never exceed the tow capacity of your car!

Load leveling
Addition of a heavy load to your car will change the suspension dynamics of your car. To assess your car’s suspension when laden, hook up your float, load your horse(s) and note any change in pitch of the car’s nose. Un- laden, the car will sit on a horizontal plane. Addition of a heavy load may compress the rear suspension to such a point that the front of the car pitches upwards. This makes driving dangerous and steering difficult. Purchase of a load leveling kit from suppliers such as Hayman Reece solves this problem and restores suspension to within a normal range.