What makes a great horse trailer even better?
High-quality horse trailer accessories.
Even just a handful of strategically chosen horse trailer accessories can help make the trailer a comfortable and personalized space for both you and your horses.
But we know there’s a lot to choose from.
With decades of experience using and selling horse trailer accessories, the Blue Ridge Trailers team has collected five items that we absolutely can’t live without.
We’ll also point you to some “honorable mention” accessories that can make your life even easier on the road.
5 Must-Have Horse Trailer Accessories
1. Auxiliary Battery
An auxiliary battery can make the difference between an inconvenience and a seriously dangerous situation.
It’s happened for me. I was once stuck under a tunnel with my horse trailer for 2.5 hours due to an accident ahead of us. As you can imagine, it was incredibly hot and uncomfortable. My auxiliary battery allowed me to run fans and pump water (more on those below) without draining my tow vehicle battery.
This kept my horses cool and hydrated–and kept me from panicking about their safety.
2. Water Tank
A water tank allows you to carry your home supply of water on long trips. That means you won’t need to accustom horses to drinking an unfamiliar water source. You can also wash off hot horses due to exertion or stress (be sure to carry extra buckets and a sponge).
Blue Ridge Trailers offers a variety of water tanks from 18 to 40 gallons and designed for a range of trailer shapes.
You can add a 12-volt pump to most water tanks, making for more efficient use of the available water (here’s where that auxiliary battery comes in handy!).
3. Trailer Fans
Trailer fans are a simple, affordable solution to promote airflow in your trailer. Horses generally become hot in a trailer in most temperatures—in fact, it’s relatively difficult to make a horse cold in a trailer unless he/she is wet and there’s a cold air draft.
It’s dangerous to a horse’s health not to have adequate ventilation and cool temperatures inside a trailer. Trailer fans, when appropriately placed, can provide the ventilation and cooling often needed.
For the best results, mount fans at the front of the horse area, facing to the rear and open all the windows. The fans will create a vacuum sending air from the front of the trailer, over the horses, to the rear, even when standing still. If you have a long trailer for multiple horses, mount additional fans, also facing to the rear, mid-way in the horse area.
4. Trailer Cameras
Once you start driving with a live view of your horses inside the trailer, you’ll never want to go back.
A camera system lets you keep an eye on your horses even while in route. The camera monitor typically mounts on your tow vehicle’s dashboard or windshield. The camera is mounted in the horse area and is powered by the trailer running lights.
Blue Ridge Trailers recommends staying away from shoddy “bargain” camera systems that’ll cost more in the long run. After decades of experience with a wide range of camera brands, today we only install proven, high quality camera systems, that last for the long-term.
5. Jiffy Jack
Unlike a regular trailer jack, a Jiffy Jack allows you to fix a blown tire safely while your horses are still inside the trailer.
It’s a sturdy tool with a unique design. You can just drive the good tire over the Jiffy Jack, which keeps the bad tire off the ground. Big secret: loosen the lug nuts on the bad tire before driving up on the jiffy jack.
Blue Ridge Trailers sells Jiffy Jack lifts in steel and plastic.
Honorable Mention
- Horse trailer door organizer
- Boot box for tack room storage (plus a step up into the gooseneck area, if you have a gooseneck trailer)
- Mesh window guards for drop-down windows in the horse area
- Electric or electric/hydraulic jack
- A trailer lug nut wrench, since lug nuts on a horse trailer are different from lug nuts on a car
Ready to give your horse trailer an upgrade? Check out Blue Ridge Trailers’ full inventory of horse trailer accessories here.