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Trailer "butt" chains are necessary for two
reasons:
They serve as a barrier so the horse cannot exit the trailer
when the rear doors are opened.
They save the rear doors on the trailer from warping when a
horse rides with his weight to the rear when
trailering.
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The most
important thing to remember when completely
replacing your trailer chains is that care
must be taken as to where you attach them to
the trailer. Be sure there are no protruding
steel clips or loops to cause injury when
the horse is moving backwards out of the
trailer. When the chain is let down, check
to be sure the snap or "S" hook
naturally hangs straight down or it can
catch on your horse's tail or blanket.
Recommended
hardware for completely replacing trailer
chains include:
1 flush
mount D-ring attached to the trailer
wall
2 "quick
links" at either side of the
trailer chain
1 heavy safety
snap or "S" hook to
attach the chain to the middle divider
1 weld-on
clip or screw-on eyebolt
attached to the top of the middle divider
(where the snap end of the chain attaches)
*Measure
the straight distance across the stall in
the trailer, then slack the chain a little.
The shortest animal should not be able to
get his back under the chain. On a horse,
the chain should naturally set about 1/2 way
between the hock and top of the tail. The
horse should be able to feel the barrier
when he puts pressure on it, then he should
move forward & the chain should slack at
rest. The barrier is adjusted correctly when
the horse cannot lean back on the trailer
doors when trailering.
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