Lauren Theroux shares the story of a Dunkin Donuts, a starving auction rescue who found a forever home in her heart. (more…)
Fall Fashion Forecast: Horse Print Leggings, Anyone?
No matter how much we fight it, fall is on its way. Check out these fashion trends for the chillier seasons to come. (more…)
What Happens to a Trailer in a Crash?
When my family was recently in a trailer crash in which all parties were able to walk away (eventually), I knew I had to investigate how everyone stayed safe.
Surprisingly, there’s not a lot of information available over the internet on the physics of horse trailers or trailer collisions. There are pages upon pages of advice about how to teach a horse to load, or best practices for keeping your horse healthy and happy on long-distance hauls, or tips for safety pre-checks of your truck and trailer before you hit the road. There’s lots of advice (mostly from trailer manufacturers) about how to select the best trailer for your needs–based almost entirely on size requirements, ease of use and comfort of the horse while moving. Maybe the idea of getting into a trailer accident with your horses is just too terrible to consider.
And yet when the unthinkable happens — my fiancé and his father were struck by a car on the way back from our annual draft horse fair, with the horses and all of our equipment loaded in the stock trailer — all you really want to know is if your horses are safe. After all, there are no airbags or seat belts back there — just the engineering of the trailer designers working to keep your animals safe in this worst-case scenario.
Remarkably, our Percheron mares walked away from this accident: Their ties had been severed and they both suffered facial lacerations and bruising; Sue had fallen completely to the floor of the trailer while Rose stood over her, and then somehow gotten back to her feet before anyone could get into the trailer to assist her. Other members of our draft horse community hurried to our aid with their own stock trailers and the mares loaded without a fuss to be taken home to meet the veterinarian. My fiancé and his father were hospitalized and later released with treatable injuries. The truck and trailer, despite going through such forces as to jackknife the trailer completely free of the truck, performed their jobs in saving everyone’s lives. Extraordinarily grateful for everyone’s relative safety, I reached out to Featherlite, manufacturers of our (now totaled) stock trailer and asked them how their trailers worked in an accident.
Physics was never my strong suit, so Featherlite’s clear explanation of how the trailer was designed made the entire process much easier for me to understand: Basically, like an automobile, the trailer is built to have certain “crumple zones” which will deform in the case of an accident but continue to be strong and intact in normal use. The crumple zone is the area which is designed to absorb the energy of impact, and generally is built towards the front of the trailer. (Keep this in mind when considering what might happen when a trailer is rear-ended — it’s crucial that drivers understand this and not tail-gate a horse trailer.) If the crumple zone does its job and absorbs the impact, less of that energy is transferred to the cargo — in this case, our horses — as well as the occupants of the tow vehicle.
Crumple zones are achieved in varying ways depending on the kind of trailer — they can be as simple as part of the frame that’s designed to bend or collapse during impact, or as complex as combinations of metal and material engineered specifically to absorb kinetic energy. Featherlite (as I imagine most companies would do) puts individual structures through a thorough testing process which then classifies them according to their energy absorption. This process allows the entire trailer to be built according to what parts need to serve what purpose in a crash.
In this particular accident, the crumple zones did exactly what they were supposed to and kept everyone involved as safe as they were going to be in the kinds of extreme forces acting on the truck and trailer. The impact was strong enough to shear the truck from the trailer without the coupler lock actually disengaging, to give you an idea of what kind of forces I’m talking about. And yet thanks to well-built vehicles, everyone inside lived to tell the tale.
Go Riding.
Best of Craigslist: ‘Horse Training’
Can’t say I’m familiar with this particular training method.
Tuesday Video from Dubarry: Horses Inside Out
It’s not yet Halloween but skeleton horses and riders were out in full force at the World Equestrian Games. (more…)
9 Snazzy Norwegian Fjord Haircuts
How many horse breeds have a built-in two-tone mohawk? A little snip-snip with the scissors and… voila! (more…)
LIKE ♥ HORSES from Julien Guntz on Vimeo.
The Barn in Black and White
Barns are full of universally familiar sights and unique sounds that, for horse people, can be music to the ears. Reader Julien Guntz of Strasbourg, France, sent us this video she made that captures both in high definition. (more…)
My One-Eyed, $500 TB Intermediare Dressage Horse
“You don’t have to have an unending check book to have success in this sport,” says Elizabeth O’Connor, an adult amateur who earned USDF Bronze and Silver medals on an unlikely horse.
Sea-horses: A Look at Belgium’s Horse Fishermen
Combining the power of draft horses with the shrimp fishing industry, this tradition still lives strong in just one Belgian coastal village. (more…)
Weekly Instagram Round-Up
The best of last week’s Instagram submissions, rounded up for your viewing pleasure. #horsenation
Monday Morning Feed from SmartPak: Taking Your Horse’s Vitals
Do you know how to take your horse’s temperature, pulse and respiration? Dr. Lydia Gray shows us how. (more…)
5 Tack Ads to Make You Giggle
In my late-night wanderings on the dangerous streets of Facebook tack trader groups, I’ve found many ads that made me laugh, whether intentionally or not. (more…)
A Day in the Life of a Horse Show Groom
Once the horses are bathed, braided, and loaded on the trailer, a horse show groom’s day is just getting started. (more…)
A Bunch of Horses That Are Really Unhappy About Living in 1895
Or, “A Review of The Standard Horse Book: Comprising the Taming, Controlling and Education of Unbroken and Vicious Horses.” (more…)
The Secret Life of McKenna: Horseless in College
Starting college is tough, and it’s tougher still when you have to fly solo without your horse. McKenna Oxenden checks in. (more…)
‘Chasing Girls on Horseback’ Among Bizarre Events at World Nomad Games
If the boy catches the girl, he gets to kiss her three times. If the girl escapes, she gets to whip him three times. Seems fair. (more…)
Meet the Horse Who Makes Fart Noises With His Mouth
Because we bring you only top-shelf entertainment here.
Every horse has a job that it’s naturally suited for. For some horses, it’s snapping up their knees over 1.5-meter jumps, or cutting cows so fast people can hardly keep up with them. And some horses are even artistically talented.
And then…there are horses with even more unusual talents.
Ahh…horses make everything just a little bit sillier, don’t they?
Go Riding.
Weekend Welcome from Kentucky Performance Products: On the Road Again
KPP-sponsored event rider Megan Lynn and her horse Hoosier are ramping up for an exciting fall season. (more…)
Cowboy Dirty Dancing or… a Lesson in Sitting Trot?
Clinician Max Jefferson had a little fun with the concept of teaching riders how to stay with their horse’s motion. Hey, whatever works: Free your mind and your hips will follow! (more…)
Welcome to Horse Nation, Total Saddle Fit!
We are very excited to announce our newest member of the HN sponsor dream team, Total Saddle Fit. (more…)
Celebrity Equestrians: Christie Brinkley
Christie Brinkley is an internationally successful model, actress, author, Cover Girl and cowgirl. (more…)
The Horse Soldiers of 9-11
Watch this video about the first American troops in Afghanistan post 9-11. Spoiler Alert: They rode horses into combat. (more…)
5 Hilarious ‘Mary-Kate Olsen Rode at a Horse Show’ Tabloid Headlines
When the 28-year-old competed at the Hampton Classic a couple weeks ago, the paparazzi did what they do best: lose their minds completely. (more…)
Best of Craigslist: Baby on a Horse — Classic!
Reader Debra saw Wednesday’s “Best of Craigslist” headliner featuring a 2-year-old on a Belgian Draft and raised us THIS. (more…)
Friday Standing Ovation by Ovation Riding: Equine Encore Foundation
Each week we recognize an organization that is doing good work in the horse world. Today we salute the Equine Encore Foundation. (more…)