Horsebox Breakdown Cover

Even if you take care to maintain your horsebox and drive carefully, a breakdown can happen. This is why it’s so important to have comprehensive breakdown cover. With it, you can recover quickly and get on the road again. The following two guidelines will help you ensure the safety and protection of you, your horse, and your transportation.

Guideline 1: Preparation For The Trip

If travelling alone, someone should be aware of your departure time and estimated arrival time so that they can get help if you don’t show up after a long time.
Charge your mobile phone before leaving to be able to contact your roadside emergency service, your insurance company, your veterinarian, and anybody else you need to inform about a breakdown.
Travel with extra clothing for yourself and extra blankets for your horse in the event of unexpected inclement weather.
Carry a high-visibility vest, a warning triangle, a fire extinguisher, and a box of tools.
Keep human and equine first aid kits.
Take extra hay, a bucket, and plenty of water to calm your horse if there’s a breakdown.
Change gears, accelerate, and brake smoothly to prevent your horse from panicking due to sudden starts, stops, and swings.
Check the health of your horse before and after the trip. After arriving at your destination, take the horses temperature and check to see if it has been injured. If your horse is not well, it will not be interested in food and water for a day.

Guideline 2: Handling A Breakdown.

Contact your recovery provider as soon as you have a breakdown.
If the vehicle can still be driven, park it in a safe place, one far to the left and clear of bends. Alert 999 if you can’t find a safe place to pull over from passing traffic.
Use either a hazard warning light or place a warning triangle 50m to 100m behind your vehicle if you are parked close to a bend to warn approaching vehicles.
Turn on side lights if it is dark or visibility is poor.
If possible keep the horse on board, and if you need to move your horse for safety sake get police assistance as it’s dangerous to unload horses on the side of the road.
Stay off the road, don’t open doors that face the road, and wear reflective clothing.
Keep your horse calm and comfortable, ensuring it has enough ventilation, hay, and water. Use a horse
blanket if it is winter.

How To Shop For Breakdown Cover

When shopping for breakdown protection, you will need to find a specialist who is a provider for horsebox breakdown cover. Compare the differences between specialists before deciding on the best one.

Ideally, choose a provider who has a nationwide service for horse trailers and horseboxes so that you can be helped anywhere in the country at any time of the day on any day of the week all year round.

A good provider will have the resources to help you cope with an emergency in a highly professional way. You should be able to call a free emergency number and be able to talk to someone who has had years of experience dealing with this type of roadside emergency.

The emergency service will dispatch a patrol team who will try and offer mechanical repair, and, if that fails, they will recover your vehicle to either your home or the nearest garage. It’s estimated, however, that 70% of breakdowns can be fixed with roadside repairs. Often breakdowns are due to issues like dead batteries, blocked fuel lines, and flat tyres. If the horsebox has been severely damaged, they will also be able to transport your horses to another vehicle. The horses will be put on another horsebox and the vehicle will be driven by somebody knowledgeable about caring for horses.