THIS year promises to be safer than ever for people towing their horses from shows and events across the country.

Britain’s leading equine charity has teamed up with car manufacturer Nissan to offer people the chance to learn more about safer horse towing and how best to look after horses during transportation.

The British Horse Society (BHS) is organising a range of activities throughout this year with Nissan to promote safe and intelligent horse towing.

The new relationship will also provide the equestrian charity’s supporters with offers of up to 15 per cent off across Nissan’s X Trail, Pathfinder and Navara range of vehicles.

Together with British Riding clubs, the BHS has more than 100,000 supporters with many having a genuine need for a reliable 4x4 vehicle that can provide a safe horsebox towing experience.

Emma Day, the BHS director of marketing, membership and communications, said: “The society’s members are passionate about enjoying horses in the great outdoors, so we want confidence in our vehicle that keeps our horses safe.

“That’s why we are delighted to be working with Nissan to promote safe towing and offering our supporters a great range of highly capable 4x4 vehicles.”

Rachael Gregory, 4x4 product manager at Nissan, said the company was constantly striving to improve road safety.

“We are delighted to be using our towing expertise to help the BHS improve education for drivers around towing safety,”

said Rachael.

Of course, before setting off on any journey, you must remember your horse’s passport.It’s a legal requirement and there are heavy fines for not taking it.

Also, if you break down or are in an accident and need rescuing, professional transporters will not move your horse if you cannot produce its passport.

Travelling your horse can be a stressful experience for both owner and horse and there is plenty of potential for things to go wrong.

But if your vehicle is well maintained and you do not exceed your payload, your chances of having an accident will be greatly reduced.

Incidentally, it is not legal for a recovery vehicle to tow a broken down horsebox with horses on board. You should always ensure you have adequate breakdown recovery insurance and that you have read the small print and understand what can be expected of your recovery service.

Together with the Road Haulage Association (RHA) and Horse and Hound magazine, the BHS is working to provide a series of training sessions aimed directly at helping equestrians understand the complexity of legal requirements affecting horse transport, particularly in larger vehicles. The courses take about four hours and cost £75 (plus VAT) with details from the RHA on 01733 261456.

BHS supporters who want more information about the Nissan scheme or hope to take advantage of discount offers can call Nissan customer services on 01923 899334 or visit bhs.org.uk/nissan.