equi travel safe system

Horse Safety and problematic horses

by KPH admin | Feb 20, 2018 | KPH Safety First

Safety and primarily horse safety must be at the heart of any good horsebox design. For KPH our ethos continues to be manufacturing the safest possible horse transport for our customers and their horses. Planning and manufacturing around worst case scenarios generated a considerable list of safety items.

Here are just a few considerations we take into account and include as part of our horsebox design:

Colours and making an inviting entry and horse area, soundproofing and reducing vibration and rattles (our manufacturing process reduces sound and vibration by over 40%), sharp edges and cappings, strength under accident conditions, grip and finish of horse area and ramp, internal sizes, airflow, ventilation and vehicle exhaust gasses, heat, stress in transit, stress when standing, surveillance with a view to problematic travellers, load height and vehicle sway, ramp angle, safety paddings, visual and audible warnings, payloads, tie rings and hay net rings, chemical washing and steam cleaning, construction strength, build and individual component longevity, smooth ride characteristics, bespoke breast bar heights and stall widths.

We then considered behavioural characteristics; horse boredom, kicking, rearing and pawing as priorities. Finally at hand over, we demonstrate our horsebox safety features to customers.

Through design we have reduced as much risk as possible and we are constantly reviewing and developing safety features for our builds. Fortunately, our bespoke design exactly tailored to customers’ horses adds another level of safety and we can report very few incidents in more than twenty years of manufacturing.

Unfortunately there are always unpredictable events or circumstances we cannot plan for including other road users, or even external influences such as loud noises. Some horses simply present with problematic or ingrained behaviour and then there are the few who are first time offenders.

New Technology for Horse Safety

Within the industry, rearing horses or ponies are the hardest thing to design for. We see plenty of reactive designs, either driven by sales or dealing with the serious after effects of rearing. Reading a review of horse transport safety the study explains that 51% of reported incidents involve horses rearing. Looking to the future and further development of our horsebox safety, we want to offer our KPH customers preventative solutions rather than ones that deal with serious incidents after they occur. To this end we contacted Equi Travel Safe and started a dialog that led to further research and eventually a sample harness and field test.

The results were so impressive we now fit part of the system as standard into our Aeos horseboxes. Plus, for customers with more problematic horses we can add the full Equi Travel Safe system at any time in the future.

• The Equi Travel Safe helps prevent the horses from rearing/jumping over the breast bar or onto lockers
• Designed to make horse transport as relaxed as possible for horse and owner. This effective aid is not only the simplest but one of the most effective solutions.
• Thanks to it’s clever design, the horse is free to move, balance and relax.
•  The Equi Travel Safe really does take the stress out of travel.

Equi Travel Safe testimonial

Deborah is one of our customers with an Aeos 4.5 tonne Hybrid horsebox and a 16.3 Irish Sports horse who exhibits some challenging behaviour. We modified our design with extra padding etc and although it was much safer, it did little to prevent the rearing and travel issues. After contacting Equi Travel Safe and talking through the problem we decided to use this horse as a case study. It is worth pointing out we have no affiliation with the company, they just have an excellent product that fits our ethos perfectly and makes horse transport safer for problematic horses.

From Deborah:

Thanks for your call to check in on how the Equi Travel Safe is working for us.

I’m delighted to hear you are doing a blog on horses with travel issues. I read so many posts on forums from people with similar issues to what I was experiencing and there needs to be more awareness of this product as it could help a lot of people.

Safety for my horses travelling is of utmost importance to me. Since owning my own horsebox I have only ever had KPH and I know this is core to what you do so I knew you’d be there for us when I approached you with a travel issue.

December 2016 I traded in my much loved KPH 7.5 tonne horsebox for a new Aeos 4.5 tonne Hybrid horsebox. I am still thrilled with it.

My 16.3 Irish Sports Horse has always given us challenges when out on the horsebox, thankfully not so much loading or on the move, but when he’s standing – he becomes impatient.

As you know, we made a few modifications to the horse area and I appreciate all your help with this, however, when he learned that he could sit back on his hocks and launch himself over the partition or onto the tack locker at the time it seemed like a stallion box was the only option and I had to do something as we wouldn’t travel again with this horse, it was a matter of time until something terrible happened.

You mentioned the Equi Travel Safe but you didn’t have a case study of one being on one of your boxes so I think we were both a bit sceptical at the time……. but it was worth a try…….

Kevin, it works. It has changed our life. No longer do I have to take multiple people out with me when I travel for fear of what he’s going to do if he decides it’s one of those days. I have no evidence of this but I truly believe he feels safe when he’s wearing it. He still has the odd moment when he starts trying to climb but when he realises he can’t lift his shoulders he just stands there eating his hay. For the first time since I have owned this horse I have been to a show on my own. I now go training weekly on my own. I do have the odd meltdown when a hear someone else’s horse kicking off in the horsebox but I know it can’t be mine…….

Horses jumping on tack lockers is a massive problem. This product solves it….

I really do hope that one day this is fitted in every horsebox as safety standard.

I’m very much looking forward to reading your blog. If you need any more anecdotal evidence or context let me know.

Best Regards

It addresses a problem mostly glossed over, it works perfectly and it has been thoroughly tested.

In fact it is so good we have incorporated Equi Travel Safe into our safety features on the Aeos horsebox range as standard.

Any queries or questions?

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Equi travel safe

• Thread starter Lancelot
• Start date 5 July 2018
• 5 July 2018

Well-Known Member

Does anyone have any experience of this system please? Good or bad? Thanks!  

• 12 October 2018

riding reluctantly into the sunset

I would be interested in HHO’s views on this too.  

Heavans - what happens in an accident? Can rescuers cut the horse free? I presume he can't free himself in a panic as that would defeat the point. I can understand it has developed in response to the problem with those types of lorries but I would worry that restraining the horse in something he cannot break out of will cause just as many problems as the risk of him getting over that bar. Butt then I don't own one of these lorries or allow my horses to travel in them. I can understand if you have made that massive investment in wanting to make your horse safer in an inherantly unsafe design.  

• 16 October 2018

Yes we bought & use one all the time with one pony - its been a godsend we have a 6.5 tonne forward facing lorry & having had her attempt to jump over partition which was one of the most scariest incidents I have had I never wanted to give her the opportunity again! I did research a lot about how to resolve the issue but wasn't comfortable putting bars or barriers up - I did get our breast bar raised at the same time as having the equisafe fitted. I always travel with sedative which I wouldn't hesitate to use if an incident arose. Ive never really thought about your comment Shay - but thank you as I now know what I would do - I always have pair of scissors in my vet bag on the lorry & I would cut through the strap which is like a seat belt strap obviously if it didn't put myself or horse in any more danger. In my mind you have to weigh up the likelihood of being in an accident as described by Shay or the higher likelihood of finding yourself with your horse stuck over the partition or worse & having to call the fire brigade to cut the horse out! Initially our pony did try to jump up again but once she realized she couldn't she doesn't bother anymore. We wouldn't travel anywhere without a camera checking her though & we don't mess about either end as shes still learning what its all about. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending to anybody.  

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Resources are out there for LGBTQ+ travelers looking to stay safe

NEW YORK (AP) — Do LGBTQ+ tourists have a green book-like system for staying safe while traveling in these politically precarious times? They don’t have one. They have many.

In recent years, there’s been an outpouring of specialized blogs, cruise and tour operators, and booking sites for accommodations. There are organizations that certify the support of transport operators, destinations and special events. And there are watchdog groups with eyes on the laws and customs of the world.

“People are concerned because we realize that our rights are under attack in some cases,” said Mark Chesnut, a New York-based travel writer and speaker with 30 years of experience in the industry. “People aren’t going to stop traveling. They’re just more careful and taking precautions. They’re choosing destinations wisely.”

Read reviews. Network with locals. Know the laws and customs of a destination, Chesnut and other seasoned LGBTQ+ travelers and their allies suggest. Is it illegal there to be gay? Is it a taboo that can get you killed? Is it safe to embrace or hold hands in public? What are the ramifications for HIV-positive travelers? How about misaligned documents and security scans for trans people?

The potential pitfalls are many for LGBTQ+ travelers, especially couples looking to express their authentic selves, advocates said. But the possible dangers should be weighed against the joys of discovering new places, said Stefan Arestis and Sebastien Chaneac, the globetrotting couple behind the travel blog the Nomadic Boys.

“We as gay people have to do that extra layer of research compared to my straight friends. They can hop on a plane and go,” said Arestis, a Greek Cypriot.

He and Chaneac, who is French, left their London jobs (the former a lawyer and the latter in tech) to make Cyprus their base. They turned more than a decade of extended travel into a detail-rich website and, this year, a handbook for LGBTQ+ travelers, “Out in the World: The Gay Guide to Travelling with Pride.”

Granular due diligence will help

Arestis said it was clear in 2014, when they began blogging about their year-long sabbatical in Asia for friends and family, that LGBTQ+ travelers were hungry for information.

“After about a year, we started getting random people coming to our site. We thought who are these people? Basically, they were googling things like where are the gay bars in Bali? Are there gay hotels in Shanghai? Is it safe to go to Taiwan? They were finding our content,” he said, because at the time there was little else about the subject online.

Arestis has visited 97 countries of all sorts. Chaneac doesn’t count but does have places he wouldn’t go out of safety concerns, including Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

On their site and in their book, the Nomadic Boys tell it like they see it, with practical tips and a feel for political and cultural landscapes.

They had a scare in Lebanon, for instance, when they were told they were blacklisted while trying to leave the country. And among their book’s listings are these warnings about Peru: It “lags behind its more progressive neighbors” in terms of LGBTQ+ rights but introduced anti-discrimination laws in 2017.

“We advise caution over PDAs unless you’re in a gay-friendly environment. Having said that, Peru relies heavily on tourism so gay travelers will feel comfortable and welcome,” they advise.

The couple went on to note they had no problems getting a double bed in any of the hotels they used in the Peruvian towns of Barranco, Miraflores, Cusco, Arequipa and Lake Titicaca.

That level of detail and practicality is what drew Black travelers to green books during the Jim Crow era.

Friendly locales only or venture out?

Some other LGBTQ+ travelers prefer to stick with safer and more accepting locales, for comfort and as a boycott of sorts against hostile destinations. Others travel out of their comfort zones for adventure and to support local and often suppressed gay communities.

“It’s a really robust debate,” Chesnut said. “It’s a personal judgment and a personal decision that travelers need to make.”

Traveling can be particularly fraught for trans people.

Gabrielle Claiborne in Atlanta is co-founder and CEO of Transformation Journeys Worldwide, a training and consulting firm that works with Fortune 100 companies on creating cultures of belonging for trans and gender-diverse people. She’s also the chair of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association Foundation’s Transgender Advisory Group.

Claiborne is a trans woman who frequently travels globally. At 6-foot-2, and taller in heels, she often draws stares in security lines.

“I get a lot of people whispering and gawking, just by being present and being visible in that space,” she said. “The security checkpoint is triggering for trans people because of the experiences with TSA agents, from other people in the line.”

Some trans people have documents with photos and gender markers that don’t align. Going through security scanners can be troubling, Claiborne said. Agents must press a button designating male or female.

“If they pressed the wrong button and an area of our bodies is flagged, we have to go through a very triggering pat down,” she said.

Claiborne doesn’t support boycotts of unfriendly destinations.

“We have a long way to go, yet I’m optimistic about the progress that is being made,” she said. “The reality is we make progress when people are willing to stand up and be visible. Until we’re visible in a space where we might be the only one like us in the room or in that space, people are not going to know what they don’t know.”

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Reviews and Recommendations

"it has changed our life"., "we are now four weekends into his travelling and he has not managed to get up once and is no longer a sweaty mess", "takes the worry out of travelling. ", i can honestly say that i see my horse physically relax when i put his harness on it’s like his comfort blanket, "wow - it works absolutely delighted....can’t believe it...... what a brilliant product - so simple, he doesn’t even try and rear or climb anymore" ,  very safe and effective this could help a lot of people and i will spread the word, "i am crying with tears of relief i can now have our life back going out safe in the box thank you so much highly recommend this harness", "it addresses a problem mostly glossed over, it works perfectly and it has been thoroughly tested", click on the picture for the full review.

We would just like to thank Equi Travel Safe for there amazing product.

We were at the end of our tether with our boy Winston and we were so close to giving up. He would rear onto our internal lockers in our 7.5t horse box and would thrash at the bars on the windows rocking the lorry from side to side. Extremely scary whilst trying to drive!! 

We tried everything we could think of and what everybody else could think of to help us.

We then found Equi Travel Safe on Facebook and did some research on their product and it looked the perfect solution for Winston...and what a solution it was!!! 

We are now 4 weekends into his travelling and he has not managed to get up once and is no longer a sweaty mess! He may just do the odd paw when he knows he is arriving home but apart from that is just silent...I think we can cope with that!!

Just to also let you know that today he went to a dressage competition where he won Novice 22 with 72% and travelled there and back in silence!! 

I am so proud to say that we have defeated him thanks to your product and cannot believe that this time 3 months ago he was nearly having to go!🎉🎉

We highly recommend to anybody struggling like we did.

Recommendation from Danielle Marshall 29.01.17

Patent Number- DJM/P030977GB 

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