Saint's Log

Used Truck and Trailer Purchase Notes

One of the downsides of horse ownership is the cost. The cost of the horse is just the starting point. Transporting the horse is a non-trivial cost. We needed to buy a trailer and many of the trailers we looked at are heavy enough that we needed to buy a truck as well. This raised the question of what the minimum required towing capacity would be. It’s strange that these trucks are classified using tons. What Does Half-Ton, Three-Quarter-Ton, One-Ton Mean When Talking About Pickup Trucks? | Cars.com gives me the impression that tonnage is a historical artifact of payload measurement. A ton seems to be a reference to a Short ton – Wikipedia. It is also interesting that Toyota and Nissan don’t really have offerings above the half-ton classification. The approximate weight of the trailer (and the horse) that I want to transport (or alternatively, our camper) requires at least a 3/4-ton truck.

I can only afford used trucks though, so which models should I avoid? bad years for cars – Google Search did not have as many helpful results as I had hoped for. Used Cars to Avoid in 2024 | U.S. News (usnews.com) only covered 2019 and newer models. At least Worst Vehicles | CarComplaints.com had a list of vehicles to avoid. Used cars to avoid, ranked by Consumer Reports – Autoblog: Car News, Reviews and Buying Guides also had such a list and also recommended a pre-purchase inspection. I read the list of tips they linked to: How to buy a used car — 9 tips for the best deal – Autoblog: Car News, Reviews and Buying Guides. I was left wondering how you would know if there was a lean on the car? The title should show this (as per Guide to Car Liens: Lien Titles, Lienholders & More – CARFAX). It also suggests a Carfax Vehicle History Report – sounds like a good idea, not sure how costly though. Based on these resources, I concluded that we need to have the title and a bill of sale. Some due diligence related to the title: all persons on the title must sign/release the interest on the back of the title. The seller needs to print their name and sign beneath their printed name. At the end of the day, it turns out that we don’t really need a bill of sale.

One of the trucks we considered is the 2012 F 150 Towing Capacity Full Guide (with Charts) (truckauxiliary.com). The concern here was that even though it had a towing package, it was still a half-ton truck. It was also likely to be outside our budget, so we didn’t really wait for that seller to give us a price. We also looked at a 2006 RAM 2500. Our mechanic took a look at it and exclaimed that everything that could possibly leak on that vehicle was leaking (transmission, power steering, etc). That was an easy pass given that it was already at the top of our price range.

Fortunately, the next truck we looked at worked out. Cylinder 6 was misfiring on this truck (we could hear the tick) and this was confirmed by the digital codes from the vehicle. We decided to buy a new spark plug and coil for that cylinder to see if we could fix it before driving off with the truck but neither AutoZone nor Oreilly Autoparts had the right coil in stock. We walked out with just the spark plug and our mechanic replaced it. In the process of pulling out the old spark plug, the spark plug wire came apart, and we had to buy an entire Duralast Silicone Spark Plug Wire Set. Thankfully, that was all that was needed to address the cylinder misfiring. We were glad to have our mechanic available to fix that problem before we drove off with our “new” 2002 truck (through a private sale). We had also confirmed with our insurance company that the new vehicle was covered as we drove it away and that we had up to 5 days to add it to our insurance plan.

Ironically, the towing hitch was significantly damaged on this truck (one of our most important requirements). However, the mechanic pointed out that it can be readily replaced (just don’t do any welding on the existing setup since its integrity cannot be guaranteed). The only question I have remaining is how to compute the tongue weight (came up when we were looking up new hitches online). What is Tongue Weight and What Does it Mean for Safe Towing? explains various ways to determine the tongue weight. They also recommend their weigh-safe hitch, which has a built-in scale (I like how convenient this hitch makes it). This is the video they linked discussing this option.

I decide to buy the Adjustable Trailer Hitch, Adjustable Ball Mount, Truck Ball Hitch, Aluminum Trailer Tow Hitch w/Built in Scale for Anti Sway, 12,500 lbs GTW – Weigh Safe (what a mouthful). I wasn’t sure whether to get the aluminum or steel hitch even after reading Aluminum Vs. Steel Hitches so I settled on that one because I couldn’t even find the steel equivalent. We’ll see how it holds up.

Horse Purchase Contracts

We decided to sell our horse a few months ago and buy another horse better suited to drill riding. The topic of which contract to use when buying a horse came up naturally. More specifically, the seller of the horse we were interested in wanted a right of first refusal (which I didn’t understand). My first go-to was the Horse purchase agreement – YouTube search. The video on Sales Fraud in the Horse Industry (youtube.com) was exactly what I needed. I’m summarizing the key points in this post so that I don’t have to watch the whole video again.

Some issues that horse buyers run into:

1. Training and disposition are misrepresented. The buyer didn’t seek enough info, or the seller wasn’t clear/transparent (e.g. about horse vices)
2. Horse is smaller/larger than represented, e.g. with minis where the seller doesn’t make a representation about the horse (or it is misrepresented).
3. Horse being drugged during buyer’s evaluation.

She gives advice on reducing disputes by sellers ensuring advertisements are true and accurate. One of the behaviors mentioned (that buyers complain about) is cribbing, which I don’t think I have heard of before.

Some recommendations from the video include:

1. put things in writing
2. avoid one-size-fits-all forms (e.g. are they valid in your state?)
3. don’t leave major terms to guesswork
4. specify the buyer, seller, price, terms, and the horse (registered date, foaling date)
5. avoid underage contract signers (such contracts will not be enforceable in most places).

She also reviews the buyer perspective, the top tip being “if it’s important to you, get it in writing.” Any seller not willing to put things in writing (e.g. the horse is bomb proof) is a red flag. I had to research the meaning of this term but got the gist of it from Bombproof – Western Horseman and The Myth of the “Bomb-Proof” Horse – Horse Trail Chicks. Other things to consider putting in writing are medical conditions:

1. if the horse has a medical colic.
2. whether the horse needs to receive joint injections (that’s a thing?).

Other recommendations include:

1. having the seller’s name and signature on the contract (thus ensuring promises are not just from a seller’s agent, who might not have really known the horse) and to specify who pays the seller’s agent’s commission.
2. hiring an independent vet to examine the horse before buying (e.g. to avoid paying a lot for a horse that has been denerved).
3. getting a drug screen.

She delves into the topic of releases, giving an example of a closed head injury that resulted in institutionalization of the rider, but the release didn’t use the language required to make it enforceable! Definitely caught my attention.

Other Recommendations

• She recommends liability insurance for owners in trial period or lease to buy scenarios.
• She mentions clipping a horse in one of her answers to a question from the audience. I wasn’t sure what this referred to until I found Horse Clipping Guide (smartpakequine.com)
• The video ends with a question about releases, which was the reason I wanted to watch this video in the first place. One of the big questions we had was the right of first refusal. I end up browsing through Right of First Refusal Clauses: Equine Law Blog for additional information about this.
• She brings up insurance, e.g. how having an equine insurance policy could allow you to euthanize a horse and still collect (unlike life insurance policies). She recommends purchasing it just before your new horse gets on the trailer (she gives an example where a horse got spider bites after getting into the trailer for transport as part of the purchase but the buyer got a payout after euthanizing the horse).

This was a great talk overall so I looked up the advertised references: My Horse University Online Horse Management and My Horse University | Facebook appear to have tons of resources on all matters equine. I’m also inspired to learn about types of horse insurance.

Horse Ownership Basics

Horse Trailers

We have been searching for horse trailer and wanted to learn the types of things people consider before buying one. We started with this video by Equine Helper:

The factors she mentioned include:

1. Your vehicle’s towing capacity (trailer weight + the weight of the horses). This is the first time I’ve ever thought about how much a horse weighs. See How Much Does a Horse Weigh: Understanding Equine Weight – All About Horses.
2. The length of your vehicle’s wheelbase (longer is better).
3. The difference between the weight of the vehicle and the loaded trailer.
4. The vehicle’s braking system, e.g. can it use the trailer’s brakes?
5. The limits on the vehicle’s payload (weight of passengers & cargo inside the vehicle itself) when towing.
6. Trailer style:
   • Straight load vs slant load vs stock trailers. Stock trailers don’t have support (e.g. for sudden braking), are open so projectiles can injure your horse
   • Trailer ventilation: (e.g. untreated ceilings can get really hot). Consider one with windows that can open, or ceilings that can be opened.
7. The hitch on the towing vehicle needs to support the tongue weight of the trailer.
8. The receiver needs to match the ball size of the trailer.

The video links to the Double D Trailers website, which has this relevant and detailed article: Horse Trailer Safety Standards Guide: Ensuring Equine Welfare – Double D Trailers. They also have various Bumper Pull Horse Trailers For Sale (which is interesting since I can see the price ranges of such new trailers).

This next video was helpful as well because it focuses on the practical considerations when buying a used horse trailer.

Horseshoes

We were hiking recently when we came across some hoof-prints in the mud. The kids asked: why do horses need horseshoes? This page has a detailed explanation: Do horses need shoes? The pros and cons of shoeing (horseandcountry.tv). I also picked 2 videos from the do horses need shoes – YouTube search. The first was interesting because it showed the shoeing process.

The next video was helpful since his perspective is informed by his profession.

Cost of Horse Ownership

After having our horse reshoed more often than is reasonable, I looked ran this search: how much does it cost to own a horse – YouTube? It’s interesting how many of the results for these horse queries are from Equine Helper.

Some of the factors affecting the price of a horse include the:

1. the amount/type of training a horse has
2. the registration and pedigree: there are breed associations?? See Breed association| Britannica and Associations | Equine Science (iastate.edu), for example. For details on the pedigree, see Understanding Horse Bloodlines: The Basics of Pedigrees – Horse lovers With Passion.
3. breed of the horse

Horse Breeds

The discussion in the previous video mentioned a number of breeds, none of which I’m familiar with. The List of horse breeds – Wikipedia is much longer than I expected! I look up horse breeds on YouTube and find this video of her favorite breeds. She lists these:

1. the Appaloosa (which is also apparently prone to Equine recurrent uveitis).
2. the Fjord horse (what is a draft horse?)
3. Morgan horse (what is a quarter horse?)
4. Miniature horse
5. Icelandic horse

Our horse is a Thoroughbred and is 16 hands tall. This is another thing that has puzzled me. Why is horse height measured in hands? Looks like it goes back to before standardized units as explained in the video below.

Working with your horse

Our thoroughbred had a leg/foot injury. After a few weeks without being able to ride him, he was quite a handful when my wife hopped on him once more. She worked with him, and things are much better. However, I decided to learn what advice is given on how to not get thrown off a horse and what to do if it happens. This next video is one of the results I found on this. It includes tips like keeping your nose behind your belly button, learning how to do a one rein stop (while not leaning forward), and getting off as soon as you feel uncomfortable.

A YouTube suggestion that came up afterwards was this video on gentle horse training. I find the approach interesting because she shows the frustration of the horse and the progression of the training.

One of the risks that came up when working with our horse was the fact that we didn’t have a round pen. I didn’t know why a round pen is used – and why is it round anyway? The Benefits of Using a Round Pen | Ride Magazine came to my rescue: you don’t have to teach the horse to stay out of the corners! The round pen size needs to match the speed/character of the horse as well.

…what is neat about a round pen, it is a small, quiet, safe environment and it makes it easier to get control of the feet.

The Benefits of Using a Round Pen | Ride Magazine

Horse Nutrition

One of the things I’ve found myself marveling at is how such an animal can be so big and muscular while just eating grass. Where does the protein come from? And this horse really likes alfalfa, which I had seen around the property without knowing what this plant was. I haven’t looked too keenly but there didn’t seem to be any videos addressing the breakdown of the nutritional value of grass.

A search for videos on the nutritional value of hay – YouTube is closer to what I want. I like this next video for its overview of things hay growers consider:

There are so many considerations in horse ownership. I’m happy to have my eyes opened into how this world is run, not to mention a new appreciation for some of the rodeo performances!

Equine Basics

My wife joined a local drill team last year and we bought our first horse this year. As a total newbie to the world of horses, I have started picking up a few things. After some basic instruction on Mothers’ day, I thought I might as well compile a list of YouTube videos touching on the topics that she has taught me about so far. One of them is the existence of a “shedding blade.” The blade in the video below looks like something I can make in SolidWorks :D. Nerdy? Perhaps, but still…

While brushing the horse, she pointed out the flank as one of the sensitive areas. So why not learn the parts of a horse?

The discussion about sensitive parts of the horse naturally transitioned to how to stay safe around the horse, e.g. how to avoid getting kicked. The next video explains this in detail.

Next, I was tasked with walking our horse around the property. And the first mistake I made was in wrapping the lead rope around my hand! Don’t want to get dragged or stepped on. Here is a video with tips on the proper way to lead a horse.

I don’t recall exactly how the topic of horse gaits came up, but I found some videos describing them.

Overall, it has been quite interesting learning about this area from the periphery.