07/05/2022
A very interesting and when thought about in hindsight.. a very logical arguement !
There have been multiple studies confirming that this mode of transport is more desired by our horses.
What to you think? Would you ever consider something like this ?
REVERSE LOAD OR REAR FACING FLOATS
People ask me why I travel all my horses facing the rear of the float or truck so I thought I would explain this in detail. Horses by nature, have a dislike for small or confined spaces. They are a live, breathing animal with emotions like fear and anxiety. When they feel threatened and scared, their instinct is to flee.
So now let’s picture your horse, standing in a float, looking forward, or in an angle load float, facing the driver’s side, watching the traffic come toward them. They are looking out the window at fast cars, B-Doubles, headlights, and emergency lights racing toward them at 100 kph. They have not evolved over 10,000 years looking at these things, and they don’t cope at all with them.
Sure, many may not show any anxiety, because again, over the last 10,000 years, the horses that did show anxiety, became a target for predators, and were eaten. So those that showed anxiety were eaten, the ones that were able to hide it, kept on breeding.
So here is your horse, facing forward, assessing every object coming toward them, deciding if it is a threat to them or not. To flee or not to flee – that is their question! But then, they realize, they CAN’T flee if they need to. They want to turn and run, to flee, but can’t. They are trapped. The hidden anxiety levels rise dramatically, and we now get walking around, weaving, pawing, scrambling, and other problems like sweating and stomach ulcers.
You get to your destination and open the front of the float to untie them, looking around for any injury during travel. You walk to the back of your float and let the tailgate down. You make another quick assessment to see if they have hurt themselves during travel. You then wait for the right time to open the rump bar, being very careful in case you get kicked or stood on, and wait to see if they will come rushing out and bowl you over, or back out quietly, or even the occasional one who refuses to come out at all. Many come rushing out, looking around doing a very quick assessment of their new environment, looking for the lion that could jump out from a hidden spot, to eat them.
Sure, there are no lions around to eat them in our modern world, but your horse did not get that email, remember it is their evolved state of mind. They feel like they finally escaped this 100 kph bullet that has been stopping them from turning around to run away from all these things that may have been attempting to kill them. Remember, this is how THEY feel, not what you know.
Now let’s put that same horse in a rear facing float that faces the passenger side. Your horse walks in and turns around to be tied up. This is not hard to teach. I have even taught my bigger horses to back up the tailgate into the float. You tie them up, close the tailgate and off you go. Your horse looks out the window on the passenger side and sees paddocks, green grass and trees, or if in suburbia, a front garden of a house, or a slow-moving truck that they are passing. They make a quick assessment of whether this object is a threat or not.
While doing this, they notice this object is leaving, or moving away. It is backing off and going away. It is no longer a threat. Your horse can relax. There is nothing coming straight toward your horse, nothing to threaten your horse. No assessments from your horse as to whether he will live or die. There is now no desire to turn and run. Your horse soon realizes that there are no more life-threatening situations to assess and he can relax.
Your horse can relax, lower their head (drainage) and watch the world go by, having a quiet nibble on a hay net. No desire to turn and run, no elevated heart rate, no scrambling, walking around, crib biting and the list goes on.
You arrive at your destination, lower the tail gate, and there is your horse looking at you and their new environment. Your horse is looking at you and watches you open the divider. You are at their head, not the dangerous kicking end. You untie them easily because they are definitely not going to pull back to go further into the float. You are at their head and can control any forward movement easily. They walk out quietly and calmly – no more rushing out backwards.
The end result – a happy relaxed horse and a safe relaxed handler. It’s the perfect start to your ride, event or competition.
Now some of you may ask, why not face them toward to middle of the road, because the float will tow better, due to the camber of the road. Having spent a lifetime in the heavy vehicle transport industry I certainly understand your question. Here again it is more important to think of the comfort of the horse, than tyre wear or towing characteristics.
Your float may (or may not) look like it is drifting a fraction to the passenger side. The more severe the camber of the road, the more it will look like it is drifting. The difference between the towing characteristics of facing your horse toward the middle of the road, or toward the passenger side is minimal, and most drivers will barely notice this difference.
But your horse will really notice the difference. Facing the driver’s side, your horse has vehicles swishing past their head, and they are standing slightly up hill, again depending on the camber of the road. Now think back to every time you see your horse resting in the paddock. They are standing down hill because they are most comfortable when 60% of their body weight is on their front legs, and 40% on their back legs. This is how your horse likes to stand in a relaxed state, so let’s replicate this in your float.
If after reading this you feel converted, but can’t find a rear facing float, don’t worry. There are many people who have experienced the benefits of rear facing floats, and more of these floats are becoming available as people upgrade. The racing industry are leading the change because it is safer, particularly around highly strung young horses.
Change from old thinking is always slow because people are scared of change. If you can afford a new float, be courageous and get a rear facing float built. If not, adapt the angle load float that you have. I promise you that you will never regret it.
