5 Key Cleaning Tips for Your Horse Trailer

Keeping your horse trailer clean is an important part of ensuring a safe, comfortable ride for your horses. Additionally, frequent cleaning can help protect your horse trailer’s floors from damage that can be caused by debris and grime.

In this guide, learn the best cleaning tips for your horse trailer, including helpful steps for both routine and deep cleaning.

#1: Gather Your Supplies

Before you clean your horse trailer you’ll need to gather a few supplies. Use the following checklist to prepare for cleaning:

• A shovel
• A broom
• A scrub brush
• A bucket
• A mild soap
• A few towels
• A hose or pressure washer

Once you have your cleaning supplies, you are ready to begin cleaning.

#2: Clean After Every Trip

Ideally, you should clean out your horse trailer after every trip. If you’re short on time, prioritize the following tasks:

1. Remove manure. Manure and urine can damage the flooring of your horse trailer. Shovel out soiled bedding and rinse out urine.
2. Sweep out fallen food. Any hay or fallen food should be swept out of the horse trailer after use. This will prevent mold and mildew from growing on the floor.
3. Wash out food bins and water troughs. Using a hose or pressure washer, spray out the insides of all food and water containers. This will help prevent bacteria and mildew from growing inside the bins.

These routine cleaning steps will keep your trailer clean and ready to go on your next trip. Routine cleaning will also prevent floor rot in wood floors and protect aluminum flooring from the potential damage that acidic urine can cause.

#3: Deep Clean as Needed

Along with simple post-trip cleaning, you’ll also want to spend time deep cleaning your horse trailer periodically. How often your trailer needs a deep clean will depend on how frequently you use the trailer and how many horses you have in transit.

However, once you notice a build-up of grime, or you have used your trailer a few times without taking ample time to clean it out, consider spending part of an afternoon deep cleaning the trailer’s interior.

To deep clean your horse trailer, follow these steps:

1. Pull everything out of the horse trailer. Empty the trailer of any accessories and mats. If you have a built-in tackle room, make sure to pull out all the tackle. If you store items in the gooseneck of your trailer, pull all these items out as well. This is a good time to take inventory of items and reorganize.
2. Sweep and shovel. Once the horse trailer is empty, start removing any debris using a broom and a shovel. Make sure that you take time to sweep out corners and flooring edges.
3. Scrub the flooring and walls: Using a scrub brush, wash the interior of your horse trailer using water and mild soap. Scrub thoroughly, removing all stuck-on debris.
4. Rinse. Using a hose or pressure washer, spray out the interior of your horse trailer. Make sure that all soap residue is thoroughly rinsed away.
5. Dry the interior. Open up the windows and doors and allow the trailer to dry thoroughly. Use a towel to mop up any water that has accumulated in corners or in divots or dips. It can be helpful to park your horse trailer at an angle to let any excess water drain out. Don’t put anything back into the trailer until it has had ample time to dry completely. This will help prevent mold and mildew.
6. Wash all mats. While your horse trailer is drying, spend time washing each floor mat. Scrub thoroughly with a mild soap and water mixture. Rinse and hang to dry.

#4: Wash the Exterior

In addition to cleaning out the interior of your horse trailer, it is also important to keep the exterior clean. Cleaning it can help prevent damage to the paint.

To clean the exterior of your horse trailer, close up all windows and doors. Spray down the exterior with a hose and use a vehicle-safe soap to wash down the body of the trailer. Use the hose to clean the wheel wells and spray down the tires.

Rinse all soap off and dry the trailer using drying towels and the sun. Next, use vehicle wax to polish the paint. Look for a wax that offers added protection against the elements to help keep your paint pristine.

If you notice any areas where the paint has peeled or chipped or where rust is forming, invest in repairs right away. This can prevent rust from spreading and weakening the structure of the trailer body.

#5: Clean Your Living Quarters

If your horse trailer is equipped with living quarters, make sure you also take the time to clean and organize this space. Similar to cleaning your horse quarters, remove everything out of your living quarters and wipe down all surfaces. Clean the bathroom, kitchen, and bedding.

As you pull everything back into your living quarters, reorganize and make a list of items that need to be restocked.

Count on Transwest for Horse Trailer Care & Maintenance

Cleaning your horse trailer is an important part of the overall care of your trailer. At Transwest, we are here to help you with the rest. Whether you need assistance adding a new set of tires or you are shopping for an upgraded rig, we can assist. Stop by one of our locations or give our team a call to learn more about our current horse trailer inventory.