Why do people say that?

At Rowville Horse Trailers, we opened our doors and began manufacturing in Melbourne in 1982, and it wasn’t our focus to take over the world or some other aspirational goal – it was simply to provide customers with reliable safe transport for their horses. Well let us say, in all these years this simple fact has not changed, however the world has grown and our ideology has evolved.. not because we have some ‘all seeing eye’ but more due to the plain fact that having horses makes the most basic of tasks super complex in a really quick way.

To look after our horses and all the silly things they do, takes some doing. So, unlike other brands we do not claim to be something we are not, we just humbly state what we do.

Of course we have high quality, but why is it that brands say ‘best quality’, ‘safest’ or ‘unbeatable value’, how do they claim that, how is that measured or proven? At Rowville Horse Trailers, we believe all of these things are not a point of difference but a requirement of doing business.

We have philosophies for each aspect of our horse float, for before / during / after travel. Our 2 key objectives being; reduce the horse’s anxiety & provide a relaxing enjoyable experience. They seem pretty straight forward, but to achieve these at the high Rowville standard is not so simple, we have guiding principles in place for a range of float facets;

Safety, Comfort, Ease of Use, Flexibility, Travelling, Longevity, Maintenance, Value, Resale, etc

Each of these facets are designed to assist anyone from 5 years old to 65 years old and can be seen and felt when you are around a Rowville Horse Trailer, whether its lifting the super light tailgate, or sliding the dividers to the right position for your horses – rest assured the Fit Function & Finish of a Rowville will solve the required needs.

We still manufacture horse floats in Melbourne, and that is not by accident. Sure it is cheaper to pay second and third world countries to make something, however, we want to have complete control to ensure you get what you order ! Along with the extra cost of the high quality of materials we use, our operation teams are motivated on reducing these as much as possible with our very efficient facility and experienced team following world class manufacturing principles. Although we are very competitive, we are not the cheapest horse floats on the market, and nor should we be, we focus on providing the best floating experiences for you and your horses – we find that ‘the price is quickly forgotten when the experiences are forever remembered’.

We endeavor to do our best to help educate the market to assist you to avoid any obstacles and to get the float that you paid for. We will not trick you, we will not promise something we cannot deliver, we will do our best to educate and empower you to make the right decision for you and your horses, whether it benefits us or not.

Our aim is to provide the ultimate experiences with your horses before, during & after travel.

INNOVATION. INNOVATION. INNOVATION.

We are focused on continuously improving our Horse Floats and Service, we are open to new ideas and we understand that with our constant developments and innovative products that you and your horses will always enjoy your time together.

Join us, help make our Australian Horse Community a safer more enjoyable space for everyone.

Rowville Horse Trailers manufacture 100% of our Horse Floats all right here in Melbourne, thats not by mistake. We want to maintain complete control over the design, build and after care of every horse float we build. We have been doing this for over 34 years.

We are one of the largest Australian Made horse float manufacturers so we have a lot of guys and girls working relentlessly to provide you and your horses with some great experiences for years to come.

There are a lot of horse floats that are built with poor designs or bad quality, whether it is built in someones backyard or imported from an overseas manufacturer without the proper manufacturing controls. We all know someone and have heard countless other stories of the issues that come with buying a cheap horse float, lured in with a low price so it seems like a great deal at the time – only to find all the design and construction issues when using it. The weird thing is that there just isn’t much of a price difference from the cheap horse floats to horse floats built with integrity, match that with a great resale for a quality float and it just doesn’t add up to buy a horse float on price alone.

So why wouldn’t we want to build the best horse floats in the best country in the world.

There are a lot of factors and experiences to focus on, so what did we find to be the most important for you and your horses…?

We found that majority of floating issues with horses and that feeling of dread that can overcome you when you hear something during travel that just didn’t sound right all comes down to that one thing.

Horse Anxiety.

Amongst all the studies and tests a study that shows the most insight, measuring the chemical changes in the horses blood we have found that 100% of horses stress levels rise when travelling, whether it be by float, gooseneck or truck, whether it be a 10 minute trip or 4 hours, whether a young horse or well seasoned.

The stress levels can vary between horses and conditions, but the one fact is that all horses stress levels increase.

We focus on reducing the horses anxiety when they are around the float, the more relaxed the horses are the more relaxed we are.

As we all know there is a lot to consider when constructing a float, its not quite so simple as to throw it together and the horses are happy.

Some of the key points we focus on in designing and building our horse floats to manage the horses anxiety are around;

– Noise; We use thick panels and seam seal the floats to reduce wind noise (also means you can wash the float out without concern), along with using nylon bushes in components which ensure a tight tolerance and rattle free future. We use a thick hardwood floor boards and rubber on floors and walls to ensure that the road noises are dulled off.

– Bumpy Ride; There are 2 key points we focus on here, the first being the use of rocker roller suspension which is great to smooth out those big bumps and potholes in Aussie roads, the other is to ensure the float running gear (wheel location) is all located in the right placement – so not to have too much downball when the float is loaded with horses and tack.

– Confined Spaces; The main things in regards to the horses not feeling confined, whether that is when they are loading or travelling is to create the feeling of space. From tall insides with high opening lift up doors, to bright internals such as grey coloured padding and parts, lots of BIG windows to allow light and also the right airflow during travel – we use large windows, with multiple roof vents, along with our TempFlow lift up rear door which allows you to travel with the lift up door in an open position for added airflow when needed on those super hot days.

We believe all horses should arrive at the desired location refreshed and ready to ride, wouldn’t that be nice.

A recent write-up by Kentucky Equine Research, can be found here: http://ker.equinews.com/article/transport-stress-and-insulin-levels-horses?utm_source=KER+Newsletter&utm_campaign=35a8b4f7da-ker-equine-heal-No+Partner-05_01_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0d95781dfc-35a8b4f7da-391981

Rowville Horse Floats are so well built that our customers normally upgrade their floats because either their horses or riding needs have changed.

Well, we have been focusing on building in the most Flexibility possible, so that a Rowville Horse Float will provide a great experience even as those experiences change, and also provide even better resale value!

Straight Loads:

Tall as standard, they are all extended height to accommodate large horses, with extended height tailgates to allow low ramp angles when loading and also to provide safer travelling conditions.

Adjustable Height Chest Bars, multi-height adjustments as standard, to look after horses from 11h to 17.3hh

Auto Latch Breaching Gates, as standard to ensure safety when loading and unloading all types of horses.

Extended Length, all our floats are extended in the length to provide your horses with ample head room.

Angle Load:

FlexiTravel Dividers, these are Rowville Developed adjustable dividers, which allow you to slide the dividers to any location you like to accommodate that 1 huge horse you have or divider the bays between your larger and smaller horses….

Sleeping, not to mention the bonus benefits of the FlexiTravel Dividers means it takes moments to set the float up for sleeping without the need to remove the dividers.

Large stall spaces to allow for different types of horses.

All Rowville Horse Trailers come with so much value that sometimes we forget to notice the little things, these are the things that make our experiences enjoyable without us even knowing they are there.

Simple actions;

– You can high pressure wash Rowville Horse Floats inside and out, doesn’t that make the hassle of cleaning out the float after a big day just that much easier.

– Easy Lift Tailgate, to allow your 5yo daughter or 65yo friend ease when using the tailgate.

– Gas Struts on all the doors, so that no matter the conditions you don’t have doors hitting you when around the float. not to mention keeps those frightful noises down.

– Auto Latch Door Locks, no need to line up anything, just push them and they will do the rest.

– Thick panels, so that when you or your horses are working around the horse float there are not a bunch of dings and dents popping up. – Grippy floor rubber to provide you and your horses sure footing before, during and after travel.

– Outside storage with prolonged life now with Silicone sealed tailgate, Automotive grade of paint with great UV resistance.

– Auto Latch breaching gates in straight load, no need to line up anything, just push them and they will do the rest.

– Jockey Wheels with a huge range, doesn’t matter the surface you park on or type of vehicle you tow with.

We strive to do the little things, the unnoticed things, so that your experiences are improved and you may not even know why.

At Rowville Horse Trailers we have been focusing on how horses travel and how people interact with their horse float since 1982.

We have completed our own very in depth trials, been part of joint experiments with other horse experts and customers, and also done a lot of heavy reading up on the research done by others… all to find out what matters to our horses and people before, during & after travel.

There are many different aspects to consider when buying a Horse Float for your family, from New vs Used, Angle vs Straight, Straight vs Wide, How big the float and storage areas would need to be, etc.

Please read up on our Blog for articles that we have created out of our research.