# Horse killed on motorway



## PippiPony (17 March 2010)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/8571649.stm

Very sad


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## BBH (17 March 2010)

My God, how does a horsebox just overturn, was it bad weather, mechanics ? Either way how sad poor bl@@dy horses.


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## jens (17 March 2010)

oh no.  That is so sad. Thankfully no people were injured but the driver must have been devastated.


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## willhegofirst (17 March 2010)

Maybe it was a trailer rather than a lorry, these things are not always reported correctly. Very sad, for all involved.


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## PippiPony (17 March 2010)

Looks like it was a trailer
http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/ne...0-after-transporter-overturns-92746-26049420/


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## catdragon (17 March 2010)

How devastating for all involved.... my thoughts are with the owner of those horses as well as the poor folks who hit them


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## stencilface (17 March 2010)

How sad 

After being in an accident where a trailer overturned (was being towed by a new disco) luckily no people, horses or dog suffered serious injuries, I don't want to travel in one again.  Our accident was caused by the grooves that are made in the road surface by trucks on the inside lane - no-one at fault.


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## Serenity087 (17 March 2010)

Having been nearly sideswiped by a horsebox going WAY too fast and changing lane WAY too violently on the M6 on sunday, I can believe boxes turning over!

Very sad for those involved, but one has to wonder whether enough people understand the dangers of driving trailers and boxes on the motorways.  My mother saw a dangerously leaning trailer simply because the large horse inside was on the wrong side, and had no ballast to level the trailer out.


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## Kat (17 March 2010)

Very sad, when I opned this up I thought it was going to be about the accident on the M1 on Monday. I heard that it was a three lorry pile up, and when I went past where it happened (after sitting in tailbacks for 2 hours) there was a horsebox on the hardshoulder. 

I hoped very hard that it wasn't one of the vehicles involved.


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## MrsMozart (17 March 2010)

So sad. Cannot know how the driver will be feeling.

I think, and this is just my opinion, that trailers are becoming too light. We've just bought one - it's old, it's heavy, and very, very stable. I don't drive over fifty miles an hour when towing and that is only on a good motorway or dual carriage way. 

I also don't think that a large portion of people know how to load a trailer, i.e. having the only horse or the heaviest horse in the right hand section (in the UK).


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## LauraWheeler (17 March 2010)

MrsMozart said:



			So sad. Cannot know how the driver will be feeling.

I think, and this is just my opinion, that trailers are becoming too light. We've just bought one - it's old, it's heavy, and very, very stable. I don't drive over fifty miles an hour when towing and that is only on a good motorway or dual carriage way. 

I also don't think that a large portion of people know how to load a trailer, i.e. having the only horse or the heaviest horse in the right hand section (in the UK).
		
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I agree. Trailers are to light these days and also to flimsy. This is my worst nightmare about travelling a horse, i am much happyer in a lorry (driven sensably ofcourse)
RIP horse and my thoughts are with the owner and others involved in this horrable axcident.


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## applecart14 (17 March 2010)

Very sad.  I have a dreadful feeling this horse may have been competing at Solihull Riding Club last night if the accident happened southbound from Solihull area.  RIP poor horse, the driver would never be able to get over something like that even if it was/wasn't their fault.


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## skint1 (17 March 2010)

This is so sad for all involved. What a terrible thing to happen.

Towing is always a fraught experience for me, I can't imagine how the poor driver must be feeling.


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## _jetset_ (17 March 2010)

A user of this forum knows the person involved... Hopefully she will fill us in but my thoughts have been with the family ever since I heard last night


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## T_K (17 March 2010)

It's so sad, i was quite upset when I first read the news this morning.

I know I've said this before on here but it just reaffirms my view that i will never put any of my horses in a trailer - no matter how short the journey. I just feel so much safer in a box. I hate overtaking trailers on the motorway, I feel so sorry for the poor horse(s) inside - goodness knows what they must be feeling.


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## carthorse (17 March 2010)

Yes it was my friends horse and Claire was phoned and took a horsebox to the scene to collect the other horse. It was a terrible scene and none of them will ever get over it. Mouse [ other horse ] loaded up beautifully into our lorry and was taken home. The emergency services were very good and the vet ,John Brooks , was fantastic. 
I have always hated trailers and now even more so , they were cut up by a van and braked and the trailer started to snake, then it happened. They are a lovely family and my thoughts are with them.They had just been jumping at Solihull and it was terrible to get home and see the stable waiting.
Please take care everyone.


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## Amymay (17 March 2010)

Jesus, everyones worst nightmare.

My thoughts are with the family.


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## T_K (17 March 2010)

I just can't imagine how they are feeling, I bet the van driver didn't stop and will get away scott free!


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## stencilface (17 March 2010)

carthorse said:



			I have always hated trailers and now even more so , they were cut up by a van and braked and the trailer started to snake, then it happened. They are a lovely family and my thoughts are with them.They had just been jumping at Solihull and it was terrible to get home and see the stable waiting.
Please take care everyone.
		
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I really do feel for them, once the trailer starts to go, it is an awful feeling, and there really is absolutely nothing you can do about it - at all. 

It did take me a while to get over mine, even though everyone was ok. Hope they can just take some small comfort from the fact that no people were hurt (afaik?).

I never liked trailers before, but I would never put my horse in a trailer now.


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## carthorse (17 March 2010)

Just realised that the news articles all say the trailer went over , it didn't but all four tyres blew and I don't know how it happened exactly but the partition was on top of the other horse , who was under the breast bar and the ramp had burst open and the horse escaped. Tonight I have just stopped someone leaving Kingswood with their ramp down still, they had no idea and I then notice how much room there is for a horse to escape over a ramp!


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## applecart14 (18 March 2010)

I just knew it was someone who had jumped at Solihull as my partner lives on site as one of the groundsman and I knew that there was jumping on Tuesday evening as I was going to do it myself but then changed my mind.  I guessed that it would have been who had competed as the jumping actually finished at 7.45pm so the time of the accident being 8.30pm would have been around that time that a competitor was driving home.

 I am sure people won't mind me expressing on behalf of everyone at Solihull Riding Club, members, non members, competitors and staff our deepest sympathy to those involved. The poor owner/driver who has lost their horse, words cannot express how they must be feeling right now.

I would like to say however that I do not share the views of people who say trailers are dangerous.  I have travelled all my horses in my trailer (old rice/richardson) for 14 years without any problems.  I tow sensibly and my horse loads and travels beautifully but you can never judge what other road users will do and people have cut me up and even done three point turns in the middle of a country lane in my path as I am coming towards them.   I don't doubt for one minute that the driver of the towing vehicle was driving correctly and in a sensible fashion but it is a very tragic situation that no matter how well or carefully you drive there are other road users who are stupid and drive like idiots.  My thoughts are with your friend. xx


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## stencilface (18 March 2010)

applecart14 said:



			I tow sensibly and my horse loads and travels beautifully but you can never judge what other road users will do and people have cut me up and even done three point turns in the middle of a country lane in my path as I am coming towards them.   I don't doubt for one minute that the driver of the towing vehicle was driving correctly and in a sensible fashion but it is a very tragic situation that no matter how well or carefully you drive there are other road users who are stupid and drive like idiots.  My thoughts are with your friend. xx
		
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Just to say, I don't doubt that the driver was careful - but I just think that when other road users are idiots, or an external factor affects the trailer such as wind/road grooves etc you are just so much more vulnerable in a trailer imho. I know I feel much safer in a wagon


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## xmanda90x (18 March 2010)

How awful, my thoughts go to all involved


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## Mike007 (18 March 2010)

MrsMozart said:



			So sad. Cannot know how the driver will be feeling.

I think, and this is just my opinion, that trailers are becoming too light. We've just bought one - it's old, it's heavy, and very, very stable. I don't drive over fifty miles an hour when towing and that is only on a good motorway or dual carriage way. 

I also don't think that a large portion of people know how to load a trailer, i.e. having the only horse or the heaviest horse in the right hand section (in the UK).
		
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All very true mrs M but NOBODY should drive over 50mph with a trailer because that is the speed limit.Incidentaly the reason for a 50 mph limit is because a trailer has a much higher centre of gravity than a lorry,which is what makes them turn over so easily.At 70 mph a trailer has TWICE as much kinetic energy ,than at 50 mph.


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## kerilli (18 March 2010)

Sincere condolences to the driver and owner, terrible thing to have happen.
I'm no expert on driving trailers, but i think there is something you can do (if there's room ahead of you, which there prob wasn't in this case) if a trailer starts snaking, and that is to accelerate carefully and pull the trailer straight - our trailer started snaking once when i was a kid and this is what my mother did, successfully, to regain control of it...
so sorry that this happened. R.I.P. poor horse.


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## T_K (18 March 2010)

Stencilface said:



			Just to say, I don't doubt that the driver was careful - but I just think that when other road users are idiots, or an external factor affects the trailer such as wind/road grooves etc you are just so much more vulnerable in a trailer imho. I know I feel much safer in a wagon 

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I have to agree, I once saw my friend's family's caravan at the bottom of an embankment once, with their belongings strewn everywhere - luckily the tow bar had snapped when the thin g went over so the car stayed upright and on the road. The driver was driving sensibly but a wagon came past and the gust just sent the caravan off rocking....I really can't imagine what would have happened if they had been towing a horse trailer.


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## Azabache (19 March 2010)

Such a tragic incident and condolences to those involved. Just a couple of other comments. The speed limit for towing on the motorway is 60mph although personally I stick to 50 as you can feel everything becoming ever so slightly unstable much over 50mph. Also the article said it was a Nissan pick up that was towing. A comment was made to me once that you have to be careful towing with pick ups as their centre of gravity is towards the front of the car. This by no means detracts from from the tragedy. As someone said earlier it is often drivers cutting in that cause the problem.


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## stencilface (19 March 2010)

kerilli said:



			I'm no expert on driving trailers, but i think there is something you can do (if there's room ahead of you, which there prob wasn't in this case) if a trailer starts snaking, and that is to accelerate carefully and pull the trailer straight - our trailer started snaking once when i was a kid and this is what my mother did, successfully, to regain control of it...



			There are two schools of thought on this one, whether to slow down, or speed up.  We tried to speed up when it happened to my friends, but just couldn't pull out of it.  The trailer flipped, flipping the brand new discovery.  Both of them slid across the road, hit the central reservation. slid across again and came to rest near the hard shoulder.

I have never driven a horse trailer (driven with big boats behind though) and it really is something that gives me the willies. 

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## applecart14 (19 March 2010)

Information from the Organisation of Horsebox and Trailer Owners regarding towing horse trailers in the section entitled towing - "If you do find the trailer starts to "snake" whilst you are travelling down the road, do not try to correct it with the steering wheel, you will only make it worse. Hold the steering wheel straight ahead and slow down gently, do not brake hard, the trailer will eventually come back in control. Some people will tell you to try and accelerate through it; generally this is a very poor idea. Firstly it may get worse before it gets better; secondly you are never going to be able to accelerate faster than you can slow down."

I thought you were meant to change down gears to slow down, this is what I have always done all my life whilst driving, I much prefer to change down a gear than constantly brake, brake, brake.  I adopt this rule whilst driving without towing also.  Continously braking drivers in front of me always irritate me.  Always have a lower gear down a hill and you will find the trailer will be unable to push the car forwards as the engine gearbox is braking for you.

My trailer snaked once going down a hill (i was in too high a gear and the wind caught the side of the trailer).  I changed down quickly and found I came out of the snaking okay, but it really shook me up and I learned my lesson and always go down steep inclines in a low gear.


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## Faro (19 March 2010)

My condolences to all those involved too.  An awful tragedy which I couldn't wish on anyone.

Obviously we don't know the exact story behind what happened here.  But when we do hear about accidents such as these, we all really do sympathise for those involved - and it is genuine sympathy - yet how many of us go out and invest in something simple like a sway brace/stabiliser for towing?

I know a stabiliser's not going to stop 4 tyres blowing out, it ain't going to prevent every accident - but surely it's a small price to pay in order to minimise the risk of an accident being caused if a trailer begins to snake/sway?

Yet still the majority of horse trailers I see on the roads don't have a stabiliser.  Please, please can I be very patronising here and urge you all to go out and get a stabiliser if you don't have one already.

Once again, my greatest sympathy to all those involved re. the accident above.


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## perfect11s (19 March 2010)

I would make two general coments one is how important mainternance is  esp tyres for instance old tyres can blow out without warning, so if they are older than about 5 years it would be a very good idea to renew them... also LOW PRESSURE is the number one cause of blowouts as soft tyres will overheat and then fail!!!!, IMHO its madness that  trailers dont need an anuall MOT... 
The other thing is unsuitable towing  vehicles Hardly a day goes by without some wally posting a question about whats the smallest tow car they can get away with!!  the lighter the tow vehicle the more likely you will lose control  in a situation like an emergency stop or having to swerve  ...


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## aregona (19 March 2010)

i'm really sad that it is my first time back on the forum in a while and this is the first story i read. My depest sympathy goes out to the owners, i can't imagine what they are going through.
just out of interest though, does anyone know what sort of trailer was being towed???? was it an older one or an ifor??? Just curious as H+h news said it almost all seemed to break apart at the seems so i was just curious as to the age. 

RIP horsey xxx


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