Anyone who’s ever owned horses knows that they can cost a pretty penny. It’s not just buying a quality horse, it’s also their upkeep, from feed to shelter to vet care to the farrier. We have been fortunate enough that Stoney and Dancer tucked nicely into our mortgage–when you’re yard’s big enough to feed them, that takes care of a big bulk of their cost. But between raising the kids, fixing up our property, and our other interests, one item with a hefty price tag was always out of reach–a trailer.
Whenever we needed a livestock trailer to haul steers to the butcher or the horses to the vet, we’d have to borrow a friend’s. Which is not the worst thing in the world since we have several good friends who are willing to share. But, there’s something about owning a trailer that would allow us to be a pinch more self-reliant, and to extend that kindness to other people who might not have a trailer either.
I was willing to be patient and wait for the long haul (haha…haha…) to find a decent trailer that would work for us. Jack, though… once he’s ready, he’s going to find a way to make it happen. He perused Facebook marketplace, and found a trailer that checked off all the items on my wishlist. Predominantly, I wanted a separate tack room, a side escape door, and a trailer that was long and wide enough to haul more than one animal comfortably. I’ve used tiny trailers in the past, and trying to convince a 1,000+ pound animal to get into a tiny, scary metal box is as hard as you might imagine.
As long as I’ve known Jack, I have learned never to be surprised at the blessings he’s been able to make happen. Seriously. He is highly favored. What I have also learned, is that those blessings don’t always initially look the way I imagined them. Did the trailer he set his eye on have some rust? Yep. Did it have a cringy, hand-painted slogan that made zero sense painted on the side? It did. But did it have good flooring, good tires, a sturdy undercarriage, and a functional hitch/lights? Sure did. Jack often has the vision for projects I might not be able to visualize, but once I’m on board, I am happy to lend my elbow grease.
Jack brought the trailer home to live with us, and got to work pretty much immediately. He dusted off his old welder to repair the most dire rust issues. I sanded and buffed out the flaking paint and the ghastly slogan, and started my favorite task–painting.
It’s amazing how something is freshened up by a coat or two of paint. Initially, I started with spray paint since that’s the typical auto body paint that sticks well to metal, but after suffering several days of a sore pointer finger from pressing the spray can top and less than ideal coverage from the paint, I changed up my tactic and found roll on paint.
There’s not a lot of surface area to the trailer, but all the cracks and crevices and edges to paint around required a lot more patience than a blank piece of drywall. Fortunately, painting is also a chore that I can usually get the kids to agree to pretty easily. I’d swap them for a job cleaning up after dinner while they’d run out and put a few more strokes of paint on the trailer.
Since it wasn’t a priority project, it was done here and there as we had time and paint on hand. I didn’t do anything flashy with it either since that’s not my typical style, anyway. We did add some black accents, like the ladder, just to break up the monotony of the gray, and honestly, I think it makes it look a little more regal. If there is such a thing among livestock trailers
Overall, I’m SUPER pleased with how the outside has turned out. It’s not perfect by any means, but it’s a vast improvement to what it was. Aside from the joy of owning a livestock trailer, we have a lot of pride in knowing we made something beautiful and functional again.
I still have the tack room and inside animal area to do, but that’ll be a project for next year when the weather warms up enough to paint outside again. I’m thinking paint, lights, cushions, carpet, hooks, and saddle racks will go a long way in adding the final somethin’ somethin’ to our trailer.
The trailer is a perfect addition to our new truck, and we fully intend to haul ’em all in our new rig. Horses to shows and trail rides, cattle and hogs to the market, calves and foals to come home to stay. I *know* that things are just things, except there is something exciting about another piece of farm equipment being added to our homestead that makes me feel a little more legitimate. I’ve wanted to be a country girl my whole life, and things like a “new” truck and trailer are reminders that dreams do come true.
