This article appeared on http://www.thehorse.com. All of us who drive trailers hope that more people understood the physics of it.
My pet peeve is the person who scoots out in front of me (cutting me off) because they are worried about being stuck behind a horse trailer.
Why are so many drivers oblivious to the fact that I cannot stop my truck and trailer (with two horses inside) on a dime?
Dear Drivers,
My most valued possession is inside the trailer behind my pickup. He stepped into that rolling steel box because I asked him to and he trusts me. He’s a living, breathing creature, and all 1,200 pounds of him are precariously balanced on four tiny hooves as my truck and trailer wind down the road.
My horse is not a boat or camp trailer, and I cannot stop quickly or turn sharply without risking his safely and even his life.
Know that I will do just about anything to avoid hitting the breaks with a horse in my trailer. However, if your Suburban is hidden in the blind spot behind my two-horse trailer and I do have to stop suddenly, you’re too close to stop without ending up in the trailer with my horse.