LONG-DISTANCE TRAVEL FOR THREE HORSES.
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A Description of a Special Horse-box, Designed to Accommodate Three Full-sized Animals, or a Mare and Foal.
THE most modern method of clrrying valuable pedigree horses to and from various meetings in different parts of the country is by motor horse-box, which is rapidly superseding transport by rail, particularly where the distances are not great, but even for long-distance work this method is becoming more and more popular.
Until recently it was considered that the maximum number of horses which could be conveyed in a vehicle of ordinary size was two, but by,very clever design this number has now been increased to three, despite the fact that each animal must be afforded a width of 2 ft. 6 ins., strong partitions and ample padding must be provided and the overall width of 7 ft. 6 ins, not exceeded.
To fulfil these requirements would appear to be impossible, but it has actually been achieved, advantage being taken of the fact that the forward portion of a horse is narrower than the rear portion ; thus by allowing two horses to face backwards and one to face forwards, and inclining the partitions at suitable angles; the three animals can easily be carried without any undue congestion
or difficulty when the animals are entering or leaving the vehicle.
The actual box to which we refer is the Curtis, marketed by the Curtis Automobile Co., Ltd., 18, Berkeley Street, London, W.1, and built for it by the Dartford Engineering Co., Ltd., Hythe Road, Willesden, London, N.W.10, where we recently examined the latest model and experimented with its capabilities, using for •the purpose van horses of fairly large size.
It is of no advantage to provide for each horse more than the width to which we have referred, otherwise the animals sway about and not ouly throw stresses upon the partitions, but decrease the ;Stability of the vehicle as a whole. There are other important requirements in the design of a horsebox; for instance, the animals must not see each other, and there must be no possible chance of a horse catching its legs anywhere, whilst the padding should reach to within 2 ins, of the floor. Feed troughs must be provided, breast straps are necessary to keep the animals in position, and it must be possible to g,iva the horses individual attention. Then the \Thiele has to be able to carry one, two or three horses without upsetting its balance. Loading and unloading must be capable of being carried out with the utmost ease, and the slope of the ramp must not eaceed one in three. In addition, all padding and partitions should be removable so that the box can be used for any other purpose within rea son, anti it is a great advantage to be able to adapt a box to carry a mare and foal in an efficient manner.
All these requirements are met by the Curtis box, and, in addition, being built
up of aluminium panels on Viers' Duralumin framework, it is wonderfully light ; in fact, if built of any other material suitable for the work, it would weigh something like a ton more than its actual weight of 28 Cwt. and this in itself Would necessitate the provision of a heavier built chassis.
The Curtis box is built under two patents, and there is another pending. Three registered designs are also embodied in its construction.
Reference to our illustrations will -show the details of the general design. One of the most important features is the manner in which part of the near 8ide is made to constitute a ramp longer than the distance between the roof and the floor. To achieve this, the side is carried below the floor level to a hingebar which is mounted in strong brackets. Lifting and lowering are done by means of a winch carried at the-off side, the rope passing down inside the body to pulleys over the roof. The ramp actually constitutes slightly over half the width of the ne-ar side, and when it is dropped the forward end is actually below the floor level, and herein lies the secret of the invention, for this end can easily be lifted until the hinge-bar drops into sockets at the top of its carrying brackets, where it is locked by chained rings, although these do not take the weight: the forward end of the ramp is thus brought flush with the floor.
There is a very neat compensating spring device which takes the load of the ramp so that this can easily be lifted by one hand for return to the vertical. There are eight springs in this device, four taking the first fall from the upright position, whilst the main load is taken by four very much stouter springs on what is known as the treble-fall-block principle. An 38 ins. stroke on the springs gives an 8. ft. inavement of the wires, which are secured to a cross-member in the centre of the ramp. This arrangement, however, is not shown in our illustrations.
Seating accommodation for a mom is provided at each side of the vehicle at the rear, access being afforded by two doors with drop windows. The middle horse can be attended to bya groom sitting beside the driver, for which purpose a narrow door is incorporated in the p.art.....ion between the cab and the interior. In addition, half this partition is double-folding, and the double scat beside the driver can be removed. This greatly facilitates loading or unloading.
When the ramp is dropped the safety sides for it are first exposed. Each of these has a triangular-shaped bottom portion hinged so that it can be folded up when the sides are closed. When the sides are in position with the ramp down they afford complete protection.' The sides are braced by iron rods to two points on a windscreen pillar and to two points on the Dnralumin vertical brace above the near-side wheel arch. When it is desired to load the first horse, the forward innermost partition (which is hinged at its front end) and the second partition (which is hinged at its rear end) are swung outwards, when the animal can be led straight up the ramp and into what may be termed its stall. If necessary, that portion of the innermost partition at the rear can be swung outwards slightly, but this is seldom necessary. The partition is then closed and bolted to the floor and roof.
To allow plenty of room for mancenvring the second horse, the folding partition between cab and interior is pushed back against the driver's seat, when the animal can be led in and forward into the space thus afforded, and when its hindquarters are clear it can easily be backed into the second stall. The second partition is now returned to its proper position, and space is left for the third horse, which can be led straight in without any backing.
The feed troughs are mounted on channel-shaped cross brackets and the breast straps are of stoat rubberized canvas.
The alignment of the horses' heads is one of the patented features of the body.
To carry a mare and foal it is necessary to remove some of the partitions and alter the position of others, also one extra padded panel is added. The arrangement is such that the foal can feed without inconvenience.
As regards the capacity of the vehicle, three of the biggest hunters were carried in this box on the first occasion, and they were all off-loaded within five minutes of the vehicle being pulled up. It has been found that the animals display no aversion to entering the vehicle ; in fact, when used after a hunt, the horses often prick up their ears when their particular box arrives and eater most readily.
Precautions are taken against accident and each stall is not only electrically lighted but each of the attendants at the rear has a bell push by which he can signal to the driver.
It will be quite understood how the van remains in balance when fewer than three horses have to be carried. If there is only one horse it is carried in the central stall, and if two then the central stall is left empty.
Such a van as this is available for other purposes, such as the transport of hounds and other forms of livestock.
Apart from this box, the company can provide special Curtis boxes for one horse, two horses, or six polo ponies.