Hitching up a horse trailer, especially if it's a bumper pull, can be difficult. If you are short, your truck has an extended cab or you have a tool box in the bed, you may not be able to see your bumper or hitch ball for the horse trailer. Then hindsight may as well be zero.
We polled a bunch of horse people to collect tips that they use to speed their hitching process. Some still try to have a friend around to help guide them, but others say they've become adept at backing up to their trailers alone. Learning to hitch up quickly by yourself is imperative. If you have a veterinary emergency or have to evacuate your horses in case of a natural disaster, then the "get out, look, get in, back up, repeat" method can not only be frustrating, it can cost you precious time.
First Steps
It may seem obvious, but we'll reiterate it here anyway: The first step in any hitching process concerns safety.
Begin by checking the interior of your trailer for bees, bad hay, dust or other health dangers. Check the soundness of the floors by poking a knife into the wood. Rotting wood will take a knife blade easily. Check your tire pressure on both the tow vehicle and the trailer, and make sure all door latches are oiled and working properly. Put fresh hay in the hay bag or manger, and sweep or pitchfork any manure remnants or wet shavings out of the trailer. Check the coupling device, so that when you get into the correct position, it will slip on easily.
Because you have to line up the hitch apparatus with a 2- to 3-inch-diameter ball, and you have to do so blind, it helps to break down the hitching process into two parts - both requiring that you estimate space and distance.
The first estimation involves centering your truck so that it meets the hitch ball. The second requires you to measure the distance between your hitch and the trailer tongue accurately, so you don't bang into it or have to continually get in and out of the trailer.
Hitching Help
-Position your truck so that its rear tires form the top of a rectangle and your trailer's front tires form the bottom.
-Decals or orange-dot stickers from an office supply store can help you mark helpful spots for hitching.
-Find the center of your trailer and the center of your truck's bumper to line up your truck with the hitch ball.
-A stone or stick in the ground parallel with the hitch ball can help you measure the decreasing distance between your truck and the hitch.
-When attaching the coupling device, look underneath to make sure the clamp isn't riding on top of the ball
instead of below it.
The Friend Method
At first, the easiest way to learn to hitch quickly is to have a friend help you.
Place your truck in position by imagining that its rear tires are the top corners of a rectangle laid on the ground. The front wheels of your trailer are the bottom corners, and the tongue juts right into the center of that short side between your trailer wheels. The wheels should all line up, forming the long sides of the rectangle.
Use your passenger side mirror to see the right side of the truck and trailer and line them up. Ask your friend to stand outside of the rectangle on the driver's side but parallel with the hitch ball. Never place a person between the rear end of your truck and your trailer. Even though you are driving very slowly, you never know when the trailer could roll or your foot could slip off the brake.
Have your friend outstretch her right arm and point down at the hitch. Turn around in your seat so that you are looking over your right shoulder. Center your friend's pointing finger in the middle of your rear window and slowly decrease the size of the rectangle.
If you aren't able to come at it straight, pull forward and start again. As you get closer, have your friend signal with the left hand to keep coming, then slow way down and finally stop, with the ball directly under the hitch.
Sometimes, even with a friend helping, you'll need to get out and look at the last few inches to take a mental picture of the distance. Only you know your vehicle well enough to know how much release on the brake equals two inches of travel. Releasing the brake just enough, inch backwards until your friend gives you the stop sign.
It may be helpful, once you are lined up correctly with the hitch ball, to have your friend show you the distance between your bumper and the hitch by holding her two hands up in approximately the same width, bringing her hands together as you get closer, until she signals you to stop.
Hitching Up Alone
The first few times you hitch up alone will require a great deal of getting in the truck, backing up a few feet, getting out, eyeballing the distance between the hitch ball and the coupler, getting in, backing up the estimated distance, getting out, checking again and so on. It's a long and potentially frustrating process, but there's really no avoiding it. It just takes practice, and even trailer hitchers who've been at it for years have to get out and look now and then.
Still, it's a good idea to repeat the hitching up process a few times with your friend present, for the sake of practice. While she's there, try to find a spot in the center of your truck behind you that corresponds with the pointing finger. Later, you'll use this spot as a marker to practice by yourself.
