Horse Trailers - Slant load vs Straight load – Which is better?
You have decided it’s time to invest in your own horse trailer but there are many decisions to make and choices to consider. One important choice being a straight load design or a slant load. Which is better? We hear this question almost every day at our dealership and is debated by horse owners as one of those “hot topics with strong opinions”. Although, the short answer to this question is, there is no “best” for every person or horse. What works well for one person and their horse, is not necessarily best for someone else. Before you make a decision, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of each design and debunk some of the myths that surround both. In the end, what you choose is really a matter of preference for your situation.
One of the biggest misconceptions about both the straight loads and slant loads, is the idea that one straight load represents all straight loads and vis versa with slants. For instance, people make the mistake of saying, “slant loads are 7’ tall and straight loads are 7’4” tall. This statement is far from true. Why? Because both come in different heights, lengths and widths. Some straights have very small stalls and others, large warmblood size stalls. Slant loads also have these same features. Either model can have a rear ramp or be a step-up and may or may not have escape doors or the escape doors may be different sizes. And the list goes on. Some of the differences have to do with the age of a trailer because as we all know, models change over the years. What you find on the new-trailer market today, is much different than what we found 15 years ago. Now let’s talk about some pros and cons for each configuration and consider the options for each.
Straight load
In this design, horses are generally loaded from the back and stand facing front to back. When unloading, the horses must back out. The older straight load trailers tend to be smaller in width, length and height. Hauling a larger horse in a tight stall can be uncomfortable and cause problems in the way of scrambling, nervousness and difficulty loading. Generally, in today’s market, manufacturers are building the straight load in a “warmblood” size trailer, meaning they are allowing appropriate room for the larger horses. The trailers will often be 7’4” or 7’6” with extra width and length in the stall but again, there are always exceptions. Generally, they will have escape doors, but their usefulness can depend on the size of door and the ease of getting out of it as needed. They allow for walking in with a horse when loading and then going out the escape door. We recommend trying this out when considering a trailer, making sure the doors work for you if needed. There are many different opinions on whether you should or should not be walking in with a horse but that’s a subject for a different blog! Having a ramp on the rear of the trailer, a hotly debated subject for another day also. But either way, you can choose what you would like.
Straight loads can have a walk-in dressing room in front of the stalls, which is the floor plan you will see offered by most manufacturers today. This creates an open floor plan with no mangers which can be considered safer by some people. You have a breast bar in front of the horses’ chest and a feed bag if desired. A horse with his front legs in the manger (yes, it happens!) is in a predicament to say the least. The breast bars have their own issues, with some horses getting legs over them or smaller horses getting caught under them. A straight load with a walk-in dressing room will usually be a longer trailer than a slant load with the same because of the length needed for the horses from front to back. Some manufacturers still offer the tack area under the mangers which gives you a shorter trailer with smaller tack area. It’s not a design you see much anymore but still desired by some who want a smaller, lighter trailer. This was once the most popular design in horse trailers before the slants were available.
There is a lot of discussion as to whether a straight load or slant load causes less stress on the horse during a long haul. Most believe that riding at a slant allows for less stress when bracing for turns and stops rather than facing forward. Most trainers have found that when a horse is hauled loose in a stock trailer some will choose to ride at a slant, but most will ride facing backwards. Two of the biggest cons with a straight load would be first, the need to back out a horse versus turning them around and second, the frequency of scrambling. There isn’t room to turn a horse around in a straight load, so they are forced to back out. Whether this is an issue or not is generally a question of training and is also hotly debated. For the purposes of this blog, it needs to be considered for your situation and your horse then you can make an informed decision. Regarding scrambling, some horses need more room and if there is a wall to climb, they will climb it. This tears up the trailer and obviously the horses legs. In a slant load, only the first stall has one wall and horses tend to spread out their legs and balance better. This can solve the scrambling problem for most horses.
Of course, if you need to haul more than 2 horses, the slant load is more common. In a 4-horse straight load configuration, the trailer will be much longer than a 4-horse slant and be in a different price range, so is not normally the trailer of choice. The advantage of a 4 horse head to head trailer, is that each horse can be unloaded individually without the other horses being unloaded, a big advantage over a slant load. So again, the choice is available and will depend on your horses, the size of trailer you want to haul and the price you are willing to pay.
Slant Load
All slant loads are not created equal. I found so much incorrect information out there stating that slants loads are too small. The stall size in a slant load depends on the configuration of that brand and model. The width and length of the trailer will determine the pin settings for the dividers. Moving the pin settings back creates a longer, wider stall. Same for the height. The standard size for most brands today is 7’ tall. A warmblood size will normally be 7’6” but taller heights are available. The older slant loads tend to be smaller in length, width and height, just like the straight loads. Also, the entry level trailers (read less expensive) tend to be a smaller size than the higher priced units. That’s why the price is lower, because they have less material in the trailer. (The better made brands tend to have the larger- roomier stalls no matter if straight or slant load. A quality trailer won’t include a small stall). So, take a tape measure when you visit a dealer’s lot and if extra-large stalls are your wish, consider ordering a custom trailer specific to fit your need.
A rear tack is an option in a slant load and can be a benefit or not depending on the situation. As a benefit, the rear tack provides extra storage for tack, feed or buckets and fills the dead space in the left rear corner of the trailer. A rear tack can be either collapsible (and removable) or permanent, meaning the walls are welded in place. A permanent rear tack is cleaner, not allowing urine or manure to leak under the walls but a collapsible tack has the benefit of being folded up or removed when needed. If you have a horse that is difficult to load or you need to haul a quad that is too wide for one door, just collapse the tack wall. It’s a common misconception that all slants have a rear tack but it’s obviously not true. Some feel that the partition is dangerous for loading, so this comes back to knowing your horses and their preferences. Claustrophobic horses can cause a large amount of trouble by climbing the walls, scrambling and needing to spread their legs out beyond what the typical straight load may allow. A slant load allows for a little more flexibility with a troublesome horse. Try moving a horse to the back stall which is generally the biggest or opening a divider to give a horse 2 stalls instead of one. A 2 horse trailer becomes a large 1 horse, or a 3 horse slant becomes a 2 horse slant.
Walking into a slant load with your horse while loading can be good or bad depending on the situation. A slant load is more open and inviting when training a horse and allows for leading a horse in without worrying about escape doors. Most of us can safely walk in with our horse, tie them and walk out but there are times when walking in puts you at risk of being pinned by a horse or stepped on. Most trainers will agree that this is a training issue, but we all know there are horses that are just going to have a few challenges regardless. The same is to be said about whether you should back your horse out of a slant load or let him turn around. Slant loads often give you the choice of turning a horse around to unload. But this isn’t always a good idea. Turning a horse around can also put you in a sticky situation if he rushes, and backing takes more control and restraint from the horse. Some bigger horses won’t have a choice, not having enough width in the trailer to turn around and it can even be unsafe. Flexibility is the key here, as choices are available with the slant.
Slant loads also come with or without escape doors in the first stall. These can be used when loading a difficult horse for you to escape or also as a way to gain access to the first horse without unloading all the others. This can be a drawback to a slant load in that the horses in the back needs to be unloaded before any horses in the front stalls can be. The escape doors are not intended to unload a horse except in an extreme emergency. Of course, a slant load allows for a walk-in dressing room that most horse people love for storing all their horse’s paraphernalia. This dressing room/tack room usually comes without adding as much length as needed to get the same space in a straight load.
Of course if you want to haul more than 2 horses, you will need to consider a slant load. As I already mentioned, 3 or 4 horse slant loads are much shorter and more economical than a 4 horse straight and you won’t find many of the latter on a dealer’s lot.
Summary
Neither the slant nor the straight load is perfect for every horse and horses have a way of getting into situations we would never dream of! Many will tell you a stock trailer is the way to go if you really want safety and ease. Just load them up let them stand how they want. The point is, there is a lot of variety out there, so there is no reason to have something that lacks an escape door, or height or a ramp unless you choose that. Slant loads do not "lack escape doors" nor are all slants the same width -- these features vary by brand and model. Straight loads do not all have a ramp, they come both ways. Remember, if you want escape doors; buy a trailer that has them! Or if you want more width or height; buy a trailer that has that! Many issues that people mention regarding either design have to do with training or purchasing choices, as well. How well a horse loads in any trailer depends on whether you put the work in to train it and how good your trailer loading skills are. Choosing whether your trailer should be a slant or straight needs to be based on more important issues than ramps and escape doors. There are a lot more variables at stake than which way the dividers face.
Horse trailer inventory linked below:
https://www.thetrailerspecialist.com/all-inventory/horse-trailers