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Steve Connell leads a draft horse out of the Double M Farms trailer while Doug and Sher McMain look on before the start of the 2016 Britt Draft Horse Show.
A wagon is wheeled out of the Maker Farms trailer for the 2016 Britt Draft Horse Show.
Kennedy Deuschle leads a horse down a trailer ramp and into one of the empty stalls at the 2016 Britt Draft Horse Show. Deuschle is with Biren Family Belgians of Iona, Minnesota.
Samuel Biren wheels a load of oats into one of the draft horse stalls in 2016. Biren is part of Biren Family Belgians from Iona, Minnesota.
BRITT — The semi truck stopped near one of the barns at the Hancock County District Fairgrounds before the start of the 2016 Britt Draft Horse Show.
A ramp was lowered and a horse was unhitched in the back of the trailer. Hooves could be heard clomping down the metal ramp as the horse was led from the trailer into an empty stall.
Six more horses soon followed. Buckets, shovels, tack boxes, braiding benches and rubber mats came out of the trailer next.
“It all fits in one truck,” Jerry Maker of Maker Farms in Strawberry Point said.
Everything that goes into the truck, he said, has its certain spot.
Around 30 bales of hay and 30 bags of shavings are stored in a hay mount above the horses. Harness boxes are in the back of the trailer. Tack boxes are stored under the show wagon.
The front of the trailers holds the oats, fans, wheelbarrows, forks, rubber mats and more.
“Have you ever moved houses? That’s what we do twice a day,” Maker said. “We show in the morning, pack it in and unload that night.”
Three or four days later and they do it all over again.
Still, Maker said his crew have the packing down to a science.
“After a couple times loading it, we know what can fit. And everything has its exact place to go,” he said.
“They go right up the ramp and know which stall to go to,” Maker said.
The horses’ legs are wrapped before the trip, he said, “to keep them free of injury as much as possible.” A camera is aimed at the horses so those riding in the cab can keep watch.
Rubber mats line the floors beneath the horse stalls. Generators run fans inside. The front also has three open windows to move fresh air through the trailer.
“They’re in pretty good comfort. They like the ride,” Maker said.
Still, the horses know when it’s time to unload.
“They get pretty antsy. They’re ready to come out” and compete, Maker said.
Across the fairgrounds, a pickup pulling a trailer pulled up to another barn. A separate trailer pulled up next to the horse trailer.
Crews led the horses down the ramp. Wheelbarrows of oats were then wheeled into the horse stalls.
“People think buying a horse takes a lot of money. That’s just a little bit of it,” Maker said.
The costs start adding up with the purchase of a truck, trailer, wagon, equipment and more.
“You can get a lot of money tied into it,” Maker said.
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Steve Connell leads a draft horse out of the Double M Farms trailer while Doug and Sher McMain look on before the start of the 2016 Britt Draft Horse Show.
A wagon is wheeled out of the Maker Farms trailer for the 2016 Britt Draft Horse Show.
Kennedy Deuschle leads a horse down a trailer ramp and into one of the empty stalls at the 2016 Britt Draft Horse Show. Deuschle is with Biren Family Belgians of Iona, Minnesota.
Samuel Biren wheels a load of oats into one of the draft horse stalls in 2016. Biren is part of Biren Family Belgians from Iona, Minnesota.
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