I had a friend buy a trailer years ago, when slant loads were just becoming popular. When she got it home, she tried to put her 16 hand QH on it and found out the only way for him to fit was if he had his head and neck out the drop window at the head. She had the choice to buy him a helmet and goggles or return the trailer within 72 hours under a PA law that allows you to do so. She ended up buying a straight load.

Some people don't want to drive a vehicle that is any bigger or uses more fuel than they absolutely have to. My biggest concern is the safety of both my horses and myself. I have a car for commuting and an F350 for towing. If I had to have only 1 vehicle, it would be the truck. The crew cab is a pain to park in town or at the grocery store but for me it's part of being able to go places to ride and get my horses there safely.  

People like you mentioned also start having a horse with "a loading problem" and can't undrstand why. They never cease to amaze me!

Many first time buyers don't know what they have, nor what they need. They are sometimes at the mercy of unscrupulous sales people, willing to sell what ever they have to make a buck. It is often only by trail and error, do they learn of the proper equipment, and appropriate handling. Without learned advice, many mistakes happen and large amounts of money are squandered.

That's the advantage of forums such as this. Many of the members have graduated from being a first time owner, and can advise proper methods before mistakes are made.

I think there are several reasons why people buy a trailer that's too small. 1) The most common reason is - a lack of knowledge. I have a friend with a Bockman, a cute trailer and plenty tall, but not horribly long. I know that the saleswoman for the Bockmans and Brenderups claim that their straight load trailers are longer than the average slant, there therefore will fit a bigger horse better than most slants. I'm not convinced - when I look at the length of their stall it certainly doesn't appear longer than my Featherlite's slant. And with my Featherlite i can leave my mare untied, so she is free to move her head in the position that suits her best - often she puts her head down and eats hay off the ground, which shortens her and makes her more comfortable. With the Bockmans you only have a bar in front, so you couldn't leave a horse loose and they're stuck. So with the lack of information out there most people make wrong choices even when they try hard to make things work. 2)Some people are on a strict budget, and use what they have. So you'll see people shoving horses into a tiny two horse trailer because that's what they have, and it will just have to do. But this lady paid a fair amount for her Bockman, so you know it wasn't to save money.

I would suspect that about all you can do is mention you heard the horse scrambling. Simply say what you observed, and then leave it alone. Sometimes people will change, but normally it isn't because they feel pressured, normally its because they got educated to the problem.

It is a shame,  but a lot of time for financial reasons people will try to make due with what they have.  I think anyone would be better off to pay someone to haul them in a safe trailer then to try to cut corners and buy something under powered.  Most of the truck salesmen are woefully uneducated about hauling horses and should NOT be consulted.  Check the truck capacity for your self on line,  and then double check by asking on this forum.