TRANSPORTATION
Hauling your horse short or long distance can be stressful for you and your horse, but it doesn’t have to be. With the right tools and information you can prepare yourself and your horse for a safe trouble free hauling experience.
Your horse doesn’t care whether the trailer matches the truck pulling it or whether your living quarters boast a state-of-the-art stereo system. But your horse does care that he can load and offload without slipping or scrambling, ride as comfortably as possible, breathe fresh air (with a minimum of dust and exhaust fumes), rest during a long trip, and put his head down once in a while to clear his respiratory passages of inhaled particles. The information in our transportation section should help ease the stress.
Trailering Information Resources
Compliance Circular for Boat, Horse, Snowmobile, Automobile and Motorcycle Trailers
Drivers License Requirements for Hauling A Horse Trailer in BC
A Common Transportation Question
TRAILERING INFORMATION RESOURCES
If you have questions about towing a horse trailer in B.C., here are links to some good information:
- Compliance Circular for Boat, Horse, Snowmobile, Automobile and Motorcycle - Non-Commercial Towing/Trailering
- Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement Branch Info Sheet titled Trailer Towing - Frequently Asked Questions dated 2008.
- Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement Branch Info Sheet titled Gross Vehicle Weight Rating Frequenty Asked Questions dated 2003.
Additional websites that contain excellent trailering resources:
- US Rider Equestrian Motor Plan
- This site includes a form to attach inside your trailer for Emergency Responders with instructions and authorizations for care of your horses in an emergency.
- etrailer.com.
- They have information on a number of subjects related to trailers, trailer wiring & towing.
- Certified Livestock Transportation
- This site is an excellent resource of information for commercial and private horse haulers.
DRIVERS LICENSE REQUIREMENTS FOR HAULING A HORSE TRAILER IN BC
See Licensing for Recreation Vehicles information sheet from ICBC.
ICBC also has a study guide for learning how to tow a recreation vehicle and the information can be applied to horse trailers. Sections include: Before You Tow, Pre Trip Inspection and Driving with a Trailer, which includes information on braking and how much space to allow for stopping and on driving in icy or wet conditions.
A COMMON TRANSPORTATION QUESTION
Scenario:
An HCBC member is leasing a horse, they are trailering the leased horse and they are involved in an accident. Does the third party liability insurance cover them as a non owned horse or is the lessee considered the owner in this case?
Answer:
In the situation of non commercial transportation of non owned horses the lessee would have to be found responsible for the accident. There is coverage with the basic HCBC membership for non commercial transportation of non owned horses but the horse owner would have to take legal action against the person trailering the horse and the maximum per horse that would be rewarded is $10,000.00 per horse. If anyone was to purchase the Members Named Peril (MNP) coverage it should be the owner. This would give a maximum payout of $4,000.00. If the horse is worth more an Equi Care policy would be ideal.
