Trailering a pony and miniature donkey together

[Chicken Lily]

Next month, I am bringing my yearling Chincoteague pony and four-year-old miniature donkey to a show 3 hours away. I have an Adam Rustler combo two horse slant load trailer. I was thinking I could put my pony tied in the divider and my donkey tied on the open side of the divider. What do you think? I am worried about my donkey getting stuck under the divider as it is not full length. I would like to get a full length divider or divider extension, but I have only been able to find one (http://www.chicksaddlery.com/page/cds/PROD/2400/PD1000). Has anyone had any experience with “Paddie"? Does anyone have any other recommendations? Thanks in advance for the help!

This is what the inside of my trailer looks like.

 

[mindylee]

I think if ya can tie him he would be just fine... Loose I wouldn't recommend it.

I have minis too and used to have a full size trailer so I hear ya on wonderings. Lol
Now I have a calico miniature horse trailer.

 

[res]

For that short of a trip, if you REALLY wanted a solid-to-the-floor divider immediately, you could get by with using a THICK piece of plywood, as long as it was secured so it could not slip. I'd drill enough holes in it to secure it to both the top AND bottom rails of the divider. Edited: I don't mean screw the plywood to the divider, but instead drill holes thru it and secure it with twine - rope - bungies - whatever. I wouldn't recommend that approach with a full-size horse, but a mini donkey and a yearling Chincoteague aren't going to have the kick power of a full size horse.

The other option, if the donkey and yearling are kept together and get along, is to just secure the divider back to the wall and let them ride loose. Your trailer is plenty big enough for them to be loose and have room to shuffle around if they need/want to. My 2 geldings ride loose in my 12' open stock trailer. Never an issue.

Regarding the "Paddie" I would be afraid that it would have just enough give or flex to let one or the other of them to push it over or push under it and get stuck.

 

[Chicken Lily]

Thank you both for your feedback!

 

[Chicken Lily]

Do you wrap your horses' legs? If so, do you use shipping boots or polos? My yearling is pretty energetic, so I think wrapping would be a good idea? I am new to trailering, so I don't know what works and what doesn't. Sorry for all the questions!

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I never wrapped my horses' legs and we've been one some very long trips and never had an issue. Sometimes show people would do it to keep them from knocking themselves on the trailer. I'm not sure it's entirely necessary but it's not a bad thing to do either (if the horses are used to it)

You have to be careful about wrapping though. You don't want to wrap them too tight. Also, with the little guys, you don't want to use commercial trailer ties because they are too short and will hold the head up too high. You have to tie them so they can drop their head but not too loose that they get tangled, which can be tricky. I agree with the other posters though that they should be ok loose if they normally get along fine at home.

 

[res]

I don't wrap either, unless I know my horse will be traveling next to an unfamiliar horse, or a known kicker.

Chickerdoodle is correct about wrapping. It takes a lot of practice to do it right. Too tight and you can damage tendons, too loose and it can slip down, even off, and cause a whole bunch of problems like freaking the horse out.

My current horses, 2 Arabs and a QH/Morgan grade, are also too short for commercial trailer ties. But I also do not trust slip knotted ropes to actually release when needed. So I have "Blocker Rings" that I use, and also, crosstie-length Turtle Snap ties - I can adjust those long enough for the trailer but short enough to not be a danger.

My trailer is also a slant load 3 horse and my tie rings are practically at the ceiling. They are between 6 1/2- 7 high. That's a long ways down to a 14h horse.

 

[Peaches Lee]

If neither one are used to having their legs wrapped, probably be best to leave them unwrapped. I myself never wrap for trailering, nor any trainers I've worked with. I think it's a personal preference thing. Good luck and have fun.