Not my favourite things by a long shot, but saw a something today that made me chuckle.
I am no lover of horses, but from what I’ve seen you can either afford a horse or you cannot. If you can afford it, then you have gots pots of cash, big house, land etc. If you can’t you have probably got a knackered car, small house and a bit of rented land because the horse uses all your cash.
Anyway today on the M25 just past J5 (A21) climbing the hill towards J4 a 6 wheeler Scania horsebox (can afford horses) came flashing past, I was empty and running at about 58 so this was going some. As it disappeared i had to move out to overtake an old J reg DAF 7.5t horsebox (can’t afford horses) with a body about 2 ft wider than the chassis that was struggling up the hill.
One probably had a racehorse, the other a donkey. Seemed fitting somehow.
8wheels:
One probably had a racehorse, the other a donkey. Seemed fitting somehow.
Not necessarily. I’ve spent a fair bit of time over the last 18 months travelling to racetracks (mostly in the midlands: Great Yarmouth to Hereford, Windsor to Southwell area) and the horseboxes come in all shapes and sizes. Most are those normal custom bodies, but there are a few that run on old J reg 7.5 tonners, that has a people area then a horse area at the back.
Likewise I have seen the brand spanking new HGV Rigid’s that have all mod cons and everything. They usually weigh a lot and get stuck in the field next to the racetrack
jammymutt:
They should be banned [zb] things are stupid, Horses are stupid and people who spend their money on them are even stupider.
They should start a new BIG scrapyard for Horseboxes their owners and fridge trailer scarp the lot.
Now now. If all those people that bet on horses stopped there would be more people taking to the roads If it wasn’t horseboxes it’d some other form of racing.
Then companies like Lingfield, Dales and Racetech would have to find something else to do with their time than filming horseracing
Common days are Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays for racing, either day or evenings most places in the country.
all i know is i ALWAYS have a gander when i see a horsebox because 80% of the time it’s a posh horsey bird driving and most of them are rrrrrrrather nice - some even wear riding boots and jodphurs sorry i’ll get me coat
Big Joe:
Posh box/scrap box, Its not the horse box that wins the race, its what walks down the tail board
NEVER A TRUER WORD SPOKEN!!!
I don’t have racehorses, I have show ponies (10 of!!) and while yes it would be very nice to own a £150k plush Scania 6 stall Whittaker we are more than happy with whatever we come out in!!! Because we know when we pull up we have as much chance in the ring with what we have on board as the ‘posh box people!!’
I recently sold my 17ton super duper fantastic dream lorry to purchase an even more super duper pony - so now I am quite happy driving round in my little M reg Iveco for the time being!!!
The last few horseboxes that i’ve gone past (bearing in mind i’ve been looking for the pretty ‘boots & jodpuhr’ kinda girls!!) have all seemed to have ‘boots & jodpuhr’ wearers who, if they actually sat on their horse, should probably be reported to the RSPCA for cruelty to animals or overloading the horses ‘axle weights’!!!
It’s quite an entertaining gamble as you drive past - ‘pretty or pig’? If I had’ve been betting on pretty ones . . . i’d have soon been skint!!
Big Joe:
Posh box/scrap box, Its not the horse box that wins the race, its what walks down the tail board
NEVER A TRUER WORD SPOKEN!!!
I don’t have racehorses, I have show ponies (10 of!!) and while yes it would be very nice to own a £150k plush Scania 6 stall Whittaker we are more than happy with whatever we come out in!!! Because we know when we pull up we have as much chance in the ring with what we have on board as the ‘posh box people!!’
I recently sold my 17ton super duper fantastic dream lorry to purchase an even more super duper pony - so now I am quite happy driving round in my little M reg Iveco for the time being!!!
What irritates me is when you get one on a single carriageway A road with National Speed limit and it is being driven at about 25mph by someone who has no awareness of anything else but there cargo. Now you can’t tell me that it would startle the horses to go at 40mph if it is safe, because the big Scania types would do it. It is more a case of them being driven occasionally, by someone who is out of their depth in a vehicle of that size.
Now a few months ago I was watching a nice old Bedford TK Fire Tender in really good condition on Ebay, it sold for £950. I quite fancied that, but if were to drive it at 25mph on an A road I bet I’d get some grief from horsey types in their Range Rovers.
And it really bugs me when I have slowed right down so as not to startle one of the daft creatures on the road and cause an accident, and you don’t get a nod, wink, wave or whatever in return.
'Oss box drivers should be done by the cops for an insecure load or alternatively, the 'osses should be drugged and laid out for the length of their journey then they the boxes could drive at the same speed as everyone else and they wouldn’t have to worry about anyone spooking the oss.
Rob K . I agree.
If they were all lying flat it would make my life so much easier. (be a ■■■■■■■ getting them out tho! )
What most 'oss drivers don’t realize tho is, that if they drove at an optimum speed (I’ve always found about 54mph M/way ) the 'osses actually “stand up” properly, and become less of a “haz” load. … too busy self preserving to kick-off.
It’s rare to find a driver to do that tho, ('cos they only usually drive at the weekends)and get too scared or “precious.”)
If you get 2 out of the 10/12 I carry messing around, it can be a nightmare. (pardon the pun) just put yer foot down, and they (usually) become more stable.
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