Thinking outside the (horse)box
Horseboxes don’t come cheap, which is why horse owners are getting creative with ways to make the investment worthwhile, discovers Andrea Oakes
THE advertising slogans on the side may give away the fact that Penny Powell’s 3.5-tonne conversion is also used by her husband Mark for his garage door repair business. But it took her and her pure-bred Spanish mare, Arquera, to Royal Windsor this summer — and, as Penny points out, there are benefits to its dual-purpose nature.
“I book the horsebox in Mark’s diary when I want to take Arquera somewhere,” says Penny, who lives in East Sussex. “It’s always full of diesel and ready to go, so I never have to worry about a flat battery or seized brakes.”
With hefty price tags associated with horseboxes, Penny is not alone in finding other uses for her vehicle.
When Martyn Lewins’ trailer is not transporting his Irish draught gelding, Benny, to arena eventing competitions, the Ifor Williams HB511 becomes a stock wagon for his Derbyshire-based business. “It’s just the job for plants — the ramp, height and length allow me to get four Dutch trolleys in and out very easily,” says Martyn, who runs Mill Hill Garden Centre and adjoining tack shop Bobbo Equestrian.
“I bought Benny last year and at 17hh he was too big for my old trailer, so I invested in a new one that’s also ideal for these heavy trolleys. I get some funny looks when I arrive at the wholesaler with a horsebox, but I can collect more than anyone else.”
Martyn’s business insurance takes care of any technicalities about use, which is a sticking point for many trying to make their transport multi-task. Sarah Black has also cleared this hurdle, reaching perhaps the ultimate nirvana by using her transport for work and play.
“I deliver parcels in it for Hermes [delivery company] as my job,” explains Sarah, who was a secondary school teacher until she was made redundant and took over part of her mum’s delivery round. “It’s a little Renault
Master 3.5-tonne van, insured through Hermes for delivering, and carries around 60 parcels per day.”
A layer of straw is all that’s needed before Sarah loads up her 16.3hh sport horse Casper for eventing, and occasionally her 13.2hh Welsh pony Rueben for a beach trip.
“It does have ‘Horses in transit’ stickers all over it, though, so customers sometimes ask if that’s what I’m delivering,” adds Sarah, of County Durham.
Chartered physiotherapist Clare Howard’s Friesian gelding Amke travels by Equi-Trek trailer to dressage lessons and shows, but she can quickly convert the multi-purpose vehicle into a treatment room and tradestand for her business — The Balanced Rider.
“It has extra roof vents and windows to make it as light and airy as possible, plus heating, lighting and fans so that it can be used for rider physio for longer in the season,” explains Clare. “This also makes it more comfortable for Amke.”
WHILE Surrey-based Lucy Moreton doesn’t make money from her trailer, the Ifor Williams 505 is a true family all-rounder.
“My husband Gregory is a wood-turner, so when the trailer is not full of horses he uses it to transport his demonstration lathe and equipment,” she says. “It becomes a ‘team store’ while my daughter Rowan is at Pony Club camp and a mobile demo unit to represent the Pony Club at our village’s ‘get involved day’ every year.”
Some horseboxes work hard even when they’re standing still. Liz Roberts’ trailer becomes a spare bedroom for guests, while Joan Watt uses hers for orphan lambs — parking it beside her house so she can pop out to feed them in her pyjamas. From a handy space for hanging Christmas turkeys to doubling up as a dog kennel, a children’s den or a carriage store, many stationary vehicles do more than just collect cobwebs.
Non-horsey other halves are also claiming their share, loading up quads, motocross bikes and beach buggies for alternative days out.
One owner’s trailer becomes a private bar for her husband’s gun club. Apparently it’s easier to push a large icebox full of beer up the ramp than manhandle it into a pick-up truck.
While trailers are popping up as converted photo booths and catering outlets, maintaining necessary hygiene standards can be difficult if they’re also used for horses. Sue Root turns her trailer into a different kind of milk bar, however, when not transporting her ponies.
“I pressure-wash it and use it as a milking parlour for my herd of goats,” she explains. “Twice a day the ladies trot up in there and are connected to the little milking machine. It’s perfect as I can keep it clean and pest free.”
ONCE the horses are unloaded into show stabling and any mess is swept away, even a trailer can be turned into comfortable accommodation.
Claire Shearer lays cream carpet in her trusty pink Ifor Williams 510, fits a gazebo to its side and pumps up an inflatable double bed.
“It’s ideal for staying over at events such as Balmoral and the Dublin Show,” she says.
“We don’t yet have the funds for a luxury lorry and we prefer to be close to our horses in case anything happens, so we don’t stay in fancy accommodation.”
Berkshire-based Stacey Collins also transforms her Bloomfields horsebox for trips away with her part-Appaloosa mare Sasha and Knabstrupper gelding Panama.
“It can’t be too bad, as my long-suffering partner Les also comes with me,” she laughs.
Claire Gray went one step further with her 7.5-tonne horsebox.
“I use it for staying over, especially at the three-day National Haflinger Breed Show at Moreton Morrell each summer, but we took it to Norfolk on holiday — just me, the hubby and the dogs,” she says. “We used it as a glorified mobile home, staying off the beaten track and stopping off for ice cream.”
For sheer ingenuity, however, few can beat equine vet Alison Swift and her husband Garth.
“We estimate that we saved around £2,000 by using our lorry as our wedding transport,” explains Garth. “We cleaned it inside and out before decorating it with carpet, curtains, two armchairs and an old-fashioned television.
“As I worked for DAF Trucks and Alison has horses, it was perfect. Once married, we converted it back for Alison’s competition warmbloods — but we did use it as a removal van when we bought our new house last year.”
‘I pressure-wash it and use it as a milking parlour for my herd of goats’ SUE ROOT ABOUT HER ‘MILK BAR’ TRAILER