Oops! What have I let myself in for?

[#1]

Last week I agreed to help my daughter get a rescued horse from Maidstone to her stables near Herne Bay and got roped into agreeing to drive the horse box similar to the one here.

Apparently it's a 5.5 Tonne vehicle and I have never driven such before

Any hints or tips regarding driving this would be greatly appreciated.

[#2]

Depending on when you passed your driving test, it is likely you have the necessary C1 class - which allows you to drive a "van" up to 7.5 tonnes.

On a practical level, take it easy, try a practice down a quiet road, and use the mirrors to help judge the width, make sure you allow a bit more room on corners for the extra legnth.

When the horsey is on-board, take it easy going round corners, no sudden acceleration or braking.

Oh, and did I mention, use the mirrors to help judge the width - its not a natural thing for car drivers, but all truck drivers learn this one very early!

[#3]

Thanks, @Mustrum, seems like sound advice.

[#4]

As @Mustrum says.... take your time........ one other piece of advice....

If she is travelling with you... make sure you DO NOT appear to be enjoying it.. put on a miserable face...  pull into as many lay-by`s as often as you can.. this is two fold... it gives the traffic behind you a chance to overtake you safely... and also it gives you time to recover your nerves since the previous stop..... : moan contiuously, keep saying how scared you are,... and how unsure you feel about it... 

This should negate any future trips ! ! !..

[#5]

Best advice I can offer; Don't crash...

[#6]

If the horse offers directions, ignore it.

They have a different agenda.

Be aware of the extra height of the vehicle if low bridges are likely to be encountered.

Horses haven't generally been trained to duck.

[#7]

@Mav

Alternatively, Plan B;

Hire one of these

Get yourself a bag of carrots and a stick

Maybe a tent if overnight roadside stops will be necessary

Bobs your uncle. 

[#8]

@shutter

Yep, that does sound like a plan. But my daughter says I'm miserable anyway so how will she know

@twocvbloke

Kinda high up my list anyway

@Strat

My worry is if the horse veers to the left or right the van will, too!

@RobPN

One of these may be better and make some money on the way

I used to call him Uncle bob till I got older and realised he was just a family friend

This is the horse. Filthy dirty at the moment as he had been dumped in a field a few weeks ago. It's estimated he is about a year old.

[#9]

@Mav all the better ! ! ! ! ! ..

Your veggie patch will do well next year, though !

[#10]

She's now got four horses. One of which I am hoping to ride when she is old enough next year.

[#11]

The most useful phrase in these circumstances is: "What part of 'No' do you not understand?"

[#12]

Yesterday was the day and I found the horse box (it was the one in the OP link) very easy to drive. In fact, it drove just like a car in most respects just needing to remember it's longer and slightly wider than my Zafira.

It took over 4 hours for 5 people (not including me) to catch the damn horse in what seemed the hottest day so far. After 2 hours I gave them a suggestion about using the horse box to 'box' the horse in between a fence with the only place to go being inside. An hour later they finally listened to me and 20 minutes later all done

During the journey back I could feel the weight of the horse but driving was smooth and kept breaking to a minimum and early and speed to a max of 50. There was one point where it reared up against my daughter and her friend sitting in a separate compartment but it didn't affect the driving at all.

So after various round trips and an 8am start I finally got home around 10pm - exhausted! But was a fun day all in all.

Thanks for all the advice - most helpful.