Cob Jockey

Say hello to Connor's new ride!

Husband says it looks like half a horse trailer.

There are going to be a lot of people out there that think I'm crazy for this, and I don't blame you one bit.  My new trailer is a 2017 Shadow Stablemate 1H slant with dressing room.  You did read that right: that's a one horse.


I've been looking at this trailer for over a year now, so this is definitely not a snap decision.  My justifications:

- I refuse to haul two horses with a half ton pickup.
- I don't want to own more than one horse at once, ever, unless one is totally retired.
- I couldn't use the KB's second stall for storage because it wasn't a stud divider.
- Connor is tiny.
- I want to simplify my life, and the amount of maintenance the things in my life require.
- Resale value is overrated (says the owner of the 1H slant and the 16" Dressage saddle)

Warmblood height, because what trailer isn't 7'6 these days?

Once I settled on a 1H, I started shopping.  There are more options than you'd think.  Some were too expensive (Double D and Equispirit), some were so narrow they made me nervous about stability (4 Star) and some didn't have enough of a dressing room (Brenderup Baron One).

The divider locks all the way to the left in case you want to use it to transport...a four wheeler?  IDK.

The Shadow ticked all the boxes. It has a proper dressing room.  It's built on the chassis of a two horse trailer, so stability is fantastic (and I got to test that out on the 2 hour drive home in 30mph crosswinds and driving rain - it never moved).  The horse's weight is positioned right over the axles, and I actually think it's slightly wider than my KB was.

Technically it's an 18" short wall.  Hahaha.

Most importantly, it's 1,400lbs less than my KB was, at 2,100 lbs empty.  I never really felt undertrucked with the KB behind me, but stopping definitely required some brainpower, planning and finesse.  I was immediately much more comfortable with the Shadow behind me - braking with it felt like I was just braking the truck.  1,400 fewer pounds also means less wear and tear on my 12 year old truck and slightly better gas mileage, too.

Grate dropped.

I had planned to buy one brand new from the dealership because they're extremely cheap as far as new trailers go, but then the local Shadow dealer raffled one off at a backyard Western show in my area earlier this summer.  I figured the raffle trailer would turn up for sale sooner or later because I think I'm the only person on the planet that wants a one horse trailer.

Brrrrrrand new.

The raffle trailer did show up for sale, and I was the only person who called about it (told ya!).  I ended up getting it for $2,000 less than I was going to pay the dealer.  Brand new with every option I wanted, and a seven year warranty plus a two year tire warranty.

Factory insulated roof!  I was going to DIY this, very glad I don't have to!

The dressing room has slightly less square footage than my old one, so I need to maximize available space by mounting everything I can on the walls, which sounds like a party to my organization-obsessed self.  But that's a subject for another post!

Boot for scale.  I can stand comfortably underneath that saddle rack, I have no idea why it was mounted so high.  Good thing I don't ride Western.

So there you go.  It's not the trailer for everyone, and I don't blame you if you think I'm crazy, but I'm in love with it.  I can't wait to use it the next two weekends!

Anyone else ever considered or known someone with a one horse trailer?