Horsebox Inspection

You should clean your horsebox from inside and outside, stow your tack, fill the water, run the fridge down to the temperature and fill it up with food and some wine, fuel up the vehicle, and check the levels of coolant and oil. On the other hand, groom, water, and load the horses onto the vehicle and embark on your journey.

For driving a horsebox, you need to have insurance, road tax, and MOT. Moreover, you should also confirm the load falls within the payload allowance once everything is inside the vehicle because if this limit is exceeded, your insurance becomes void and poses a risk to you and other road users.

A new legislation for tyres was introduced in July 2020 by the DFT (Department for Transport), according to which tyres which are over 10 years old have been banned. This legislation took effect on 1st February 2021 and is applicable for axles of minibuses with single wheels fitted or on the front axle of lorries, buses, or coaches.

There are electronic sensors fitted in modern vehicles that track your vehicle’s behaviour and indicate a certain message:

• Red Colour – Warning
• Amber Colour – Advisory
• Blue, Green, White Colour – Information

To close a sprung ramp of the horsebox safely, you should give it a quick throw in an upward direction and walk up it with your hands. You should make sure that it does not stop halfway up, as more effort will then be needed to move it again.