# "Mini" Van



## Tab (Mar 19, 2010)

It has been ages since I've posted or read here, so HI to everyone! I've owned miniature horses since 1997 and oh how so many things have changed! Compared to some almost 13 years is infant stuff but it seems like it counts for something



When I started out Egyptian King was the big name in minis and Miniature Horse Voice was a favorite magazine



Finally, after owning for 12 years and producing 3 beautiful foals I may actually be able to enter my horses in a show this year or next. It sounds like a ridiculous wait, but good things come yada yada...

I wanted to share our recent mini transport with everyone. *I hope to learn the different ways you've hauled your minis!* We have used a ford mini van and 2 different pickup trucks to haul. This year one wasn't at our disposal so we got creative. We found a cargo van, much like the one above. It has many miles on it and is a bit dinged up, but I'm excited that my husband and I finally have a way to haul the minis!

Its bed is rubber lined, and there is a cage between the cargo area and the front. It seems like it will work well for its intended use.

*What should I use as bedding for best absorption, odor control, ease to clean up post haul, and to minimize "splashing"? I have looked at equine pine and sweet pdz, but will probably end up using pine shavings with a top layer of hay.*

Please share your transporting tales and thank you for reading!


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## TheCaseFamily00 (Mar 19, 2010)

We have a stock trailer that we haul with a cargo van. We recently won a mini on here from the raffle for Chances mini horse rescue.I talked to the lady who had him and asked if she thought he would do ok in the van ,id seen people were using these to haul there horses. We put down a heavy tarp and just used shaving and it worked really well. I just folded the tarp sides when I was done and pulled it out.How do you get them in the back? The mini we got just jumped in,couldn't believe it! The van we have is pretty high up,we too a pedestal for him.


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## Reble (Mar 19, 2010)

This is our set up, van and 2 horse trailer.

Also have transported with just the van, trip was from Ohio to Ontario, just last fall, as long as they are under 34" it works fine, by taken out the seats, & putting in a childs plastic sandbox with *wood pellets. *


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## Tab (Mar 19, 2010)

TheCaseFamily00 said:


> We have a stock trailer that we haul with a cargo van. We recently won a mini on here from the raffle for Chances mini horse rescue.I talked to the lady who had him and asked if she thought he would do ok in the van ,id seen people were using these to haul there horses. We put down a heavy tarp and just used shaving and it worked really well. I just folded the tarp sides when I was done and pulled it out.How do you get them in the back? The mini we got just jumped in,couldn't believe it! The van we have is pretty high up,we too a pedestal for him.


Hi! I'm glad to hear you had such an easy hauling experience! Did the tarp become slippery? Was unloading the mini out of your van harder or easier than expected?

We haven't used our "new" van yet, but unloading/loading into the pickup trucks was somewhat challenging. The mini van was relatively easy because it was so low to the ground. We always had to pick the minis up slightly to get them into the back of the truck. We used porches, hills, and bales of hay to get them up just a little higher. Unloading was also interesting until my husband and I moved to our current house. Our driveway goes up a relatively steep hill. We back up to the hill and unloading is a cinch.

Once the mini was in the back of the truck I held the lead rope in between the truck and cap windows. The human contact was very comforting to them. The mini van wasn't as safe, but luckily that horse that we hauled was a very gentle old gelding!


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## Tab (Mar 19, 2010)

Reble said:


> This is our set up, van and 2 horse trailer.
> Also have transported with just the van, trip was from Ohio to Ontario, just last fall, as long as they are under 34" it works fine, by taken out the seats, & putting in a childs plastic sandbox with *wood pellets. *


Creative! Thanks!


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## minilegends (Mar 19, 2010)

How interesting! My husband has always driven our truck and gooseneck trailer to haul the little guys. This year I want to do some therapy work and parades with my little ones and will be doing the transporting. So...I found a used Ford cargo van with 39,000 miles on it, took all the back seats / hardware out and found a guy to make a lift gate that folds against the back (like a Tommygate lift, only gobs cheaper). The inside is where I am having trouble getting any kind of a visual as to how to set it up.


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## Sandee (Mar 19, 2010)

We have now a mini trailer and had a big gooseneck before that. But when we bought our first mini , our now "old man", we were several states from home without a trailer. We picked up a used "topper" for our pickup truck and brought him home in the back. We drove down in a ditch to load him but new when we got home there was no such "perfect" place to unload. We stayed for a couple of days with my sister in Kansas, which is where he is from, and worked out a way of stacking hay bales so he could walk out and down. Of course this wouldn't have been possible with a horse that wasn't already very calm and easy to work with but this old guy had been shown and driven for many years. We stacked hay and bedding around the sides of the truck to pad it and we already had a rubber floor in the bed. The topper had darkened windows so no one could really see him and it was sure funny to watch people look for the horse they heard when we stopped for gas.


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## TheCaseFamily00 (Mar 19, 2010)

He unloaded like a dream as well



. We just put a whole bale of hay in in case he needed to lean on it or he could just eat. It was a 4 hour trip,and we went through the drive thru at Mcdonalds,wish I had a picture.This was a heavy duty tarp and it didn't move or wasn't slippery at all,that was a concern.


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## shadelady (Mar 19, 2010)

We use a very similar setup here in the UK. My partner bought a Ford van and completely converted it inside. Fully lined, new rubber floor fold out ramp at the rear, and partitions. Mesh grille just behind the seats means we can keep an eye on everyone whilst we are travelling. Itworks really well and we can carry up to four minis at once. Easier to drive and cheaper than running our old car and bumper haul trailer.


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## targetsmom (Mar 19, 2010)

There are at least 2 people who haul their minis to the New England Pinto shows in vans like this but I never paid close attention to how they are set up inside. One carries her cart on the back of the van too.

We have hauled weanlings home (one at a time) in the back of our Ford F250 pickup with a cap. We padded the sides with hay bales and used a rubber mat and shavings underneath. We could talk to them (and feed and water them) through the cab's sliding window, which was a huge benefit for the 15 hour trip the first one had. Someone stronger than us picked them up to load, and we stacked hay bales to get them down. We didn't get as many strange looks on the highway as I would have expected.


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## barnbum (Mar 19, 2010)

I'm trading breeding for therapy work. We've had a bus load of assist living residents here for the past three summers, but I've always wanted to get the horses out more. I also didn't want one wee horse in the trailer all alone-we'd both be lonely.



So, I came up with this:

Wheelchair ramp attaches to the van. I had to practice a lot with it to learn how to fold it up quickly. It's placed in the very back of the van with small winches on nylon straps to hold it securely in place. It has a sandy surface--so no slipping.






Cargo liner fits inside to protect it. Shavings has worked perfectly. Mazie poops a LOT when we go somewhere, but she's never peed inside the van.






We went on many short practice drives, so she could see she always came home. She's tied on that blue nylon tie hanging from the back grip. It's long enough for her to eat, but it's long enough for her to stand between the front seats and snuffle in my ear






so I added this top triple padded curtain to keep her back. She hates staying back.



:






And here she is having a snack in there--just to get used to the idea. All my horses fit in there, except for one. I'm hoping to be able to haul two this way. I need more horse loving adults around to do this. Mazie has the best personality to be a therapy horse, but she is the only horse who doesn't willingly climb the ramp to get in. Of course.










Mazie's been out once, but that's another story. You can read it here, if you'd like Mazie's first therapy visit


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## ruffian (Mar 19, 2010)

I've hauled horses in back seats of pick ups, (one from Indiana to Michigan), back seat of a Monte Carlo, and in the hatchback of a Geo Metro - emergency to the vet.





I would definitely use either wood pellets or corn pellets. Pellets absorb much much more than shavings. I used them in my GN trailer on every trip. Even to Oklahoma they worked great, breaking down and absorbing as needed, and turning into sawdust.


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## Davie (Mar 19, 2010)

Wish Na-Kar (Karin) would get on here. She uses her E150 Ford Van to haul with and has an stall insert that slides in the back that will haul 4 minis with the middle seat still in it. It has a slide out ramp that stores under the insert. She came over from Louisiana to the Sale of the Century and picked up a little stallion to take back. He just jumped in and rode like a little champ. Really a nice way to go if you only had a couple to take some where.


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## Suzie (Mar 20, 2010)

We use a Chevy Express van and handicap ramp to haul our stallion. We bought 4 chain link gate panels and just zip tie them together. We put down a tarp and shavings. Our stallion really enjoys riding with us and we can take our show cart along too with all our tack.


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## Tab (Mar 22, 2010)

I have enjoyed the replies so much! Thank you! I enjoyed sharing all the replies with my hubby. Great ideas and pics. Sounds like this is going to work out well. Did some of you buy your wheelchair ramps used? I checked out prices online and they are pretty steep.


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## Nathan Luszcz (Mar 22, 2010)

Make SURE there is some kind of restraint to prevent the horse from hitting the driver in case of an accident. When I hauled I had a seperator between the horse and me. A 250lb missile can do some damage to the driver which can put everyone at risk. Don't haul loose (or even tied) in an unconverted minivan!


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## Katiean (Mar 22, 2010)

Back in the '70's when we had our first mini, I had to take him down to UC Davis Vet Hospital. He had a knee problem (had it before I got him) that I felt should be addressed. I didn't want to take the truck and trailer for one so small. So, I took the bottom of the back seat out of my Pinto hatchback (2 door). I added a bit of shavings so he had good footing and if he did anything bad in my back seat it would cover it. I put him in the back seat and off we went. When I got to Davis and went in to register him for his appointment they told me they would send a tech out to help me unload my rig. As we got to the parking lot they are like "Where's your rig?" I pointed to the Pinto Hatchback. They thought that was about the funniest thing they had seen "A pinto in a Pinto". He was a Black and White pinto. He loved to ride in the car.


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## SilverDollar (Mar 23, 2010)

Thanks everyone for the great replies and photos. This was very timely as we are considering converting a van. I have an oversize gooseneck trailer for my big horses but it's kind of overkill to haul just one of my minis. Plus I will be doing visitation so it would be helpful to be able to bring a smaller vehicle.

Nathan, you are so right! For everyone's safety, it's best to have some kind of divider between horse and human.


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## Joanne (Mar 23, 2010)

Tab said:


> *I have looked at equine pine and sweet pdz, but will probably end up using pine shavings with a top layer of hay.*


Sweet PDZ is an excellent product to control ammonia. I would suggest the granular form in this situation. It also comes in a powder form that I think would become more airborn in a car and could cause eye irritation. We use it in our barn stalls daily.


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## Tab (Mar 23, 2010)

Here's a picture that shows the cage divider and rubber floor. (and my dh lol



) The ladder rack won't be in there when the horses are lol. Thank you for all of the helpful suggestions!


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