Ah, the trusty old horsebox, truck or wagon, depending on what you like to call it. Older than your car (and possibly yourself, or even your parents), you can’t afford to replace it, so you look after it carefully in hopes it may last – and you wouldnÆt get much for it if you sold it. It still does you proud, though there are a few things that may be familiar…
“There’s a knack to it”
If one of the uninitiated, or the unwary, is borrowing your older wagon, this always comes with a list of things you have to do to persuade it to run as intended. “Put the key in the ignition, wait 10 seconds, turn it once, wait for that light to go out – no that one – then you can start it.” Plus, of course, when you do try to start it, you have to have one foot on the accelerator/on the clutch/out of the passenger window. Then it starts every time. Simples.
There’s also a knack involved in many other things, whether it’s opening (or closing) the groom’s door – “No, really slam it!” – or the windows in the horse area (who thought those designs were a good idea? Anyone ever managed it without breaking a nail/your fingers?) or the driver’s door (“You have to sort of lift it, then you can pull the handle”) or the bit where the isolator is hidden. Yes, it’s got an anti-theft device. No, it probably doesn’t need one.
MOT time
No owner of any horsebox ever sees the approach of plating time with joy, but when your horsebox is older than most of the people testing it, it’s more problematic (“Is that really a J-reg, or is it on a private plate?”) It’s been reported that first-time passes are possible, but this has to be taken with a pinch of salt; anyone who achieves either this, or that prized certificate without spending north of a grand (both is in the realms of fantasy) will be seen shimmying out of the test centre to buy a lottery ticket – and they’ll need a winning one, to pay for next year’s test.
Parts
It only needs a bulb/handbrake cable/fuel pump; how hard can it be? Oh, my dear, sweet summer child. No stockist is going to remember when he last saw one of those for this model, let alone be able to produce one off the shelf, and it gets tedious having to repeat “Yes, it’s a pre-2001 build” (pre-1991, to be honest). Ebay is your friend here (other online marketplaces are available).
Speed
Oh, how you laugh when other people mutter about their lorries’ being limited to 56mph, yours doesn’t have any technical limit to how fast it can fly. That may be because such technology wasn’t invented in the 1980s, and to be honest, 56mph is a dream rather than a limit, unless you’re going downhill with a following wind, but still. There are some benefits.
Built to last
And of course, there are other benefits. Those of us still proudly trucking in our veteran vehicles will expound on the joys of something that’s been built to last, even if that is through a combination of mounting credit card bills, grey (or pulled-out) hair and possibly black magic. They don’t make ‘em like they used to. Jury’s still out on whether that’s a good thing or not…
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Eleanor is an experienced journalist who spent over eight years working for local and national newspapers before joining H&H as news editor in March 2016. Passionate about equine welfare and exposing the truth, Eleanor has reported on all aspects of the industry, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage rules to mules. Her sport of choice is showjumping, in which she competes her own horses, and she also enjoys reporting at local jumping shows through to international championships.
