Oh I say... Now here's an attractive philly... And the horse isn't bad either! Yes Biglorryblog is proud to present one of the most impressive horseboxes to be seen on Europe's roads today - a custom-built, 12-horse transporter based on a new generation Mercedes-Benz Actros. Naturally it wears the colours of Equine Travel Agency, www.eta.uk.com the Dover-based company that specialises in the long-distance transport of horses throughout the world.
Founded in 2005 by former professional showjumper Sue Eggleton (née Banyard) and her husband Graham, ETA has grown rapidly and now moves up to 4,000 horses a year. Now click through here to read all about it.
The new Actros 2541 sports the flat-floored MegaSpace cab and was supplied by Sittingbourne dealer Sparshatts of Kent. It shares the same reworked front grille and sculpted external sun visor as its tractor unit sibling, as well as a host of cab improvements, and is powered by a Euro-5 engine which qualifies for a Reduced Pollution Certificate - which naturally brings useful savings in road tax, annually for the life of the vehicle.
According to the PR blurb "The truck's high-strength, maximum length body, meanwhile, was fabricated in Hungary by British coachbuilder Lehel." Figure that one out... And features wide ramps to the side and rear and a clinically-clean interior, in which the lining and dividing partitions are all fashioned from stainless steel.
"The Actros is on full air suspension," Graham tells me , "...Which allows us to make the loading angle as shallow as possible. This is important because one of the most difficult aspects of transporting horses by road can be loading and unloading. Our new Mercedes represents a huge investment. We wanted the best horsebox we could get and I can't imagine there's a better example in the country right now."
The Actros has lined up alongside ETA's two other horseboxes, both of which also wear three-pointed stars. One is a second 26-tonner capable of carrying 11 horses, the other an Atego 15-tonner - another 26-tonner was sold to make room for the new one. All of them are equipped with CCTV systems for monitoring the horses, and air-conditioning for temperature control. They have no living accommodation for a crew but all have double sleeper cabs. "We usually send out two people and they share the driving," he continues. "We are all horse people first and foremost, but you must also be very good at the wheel if you're transporting horses." ETA sends vehicles to Spain and France twice a month, and to Scandinavia on a regular basis, but its most frequent destinations are Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands. The company also flies horses internationally from major European airports.
Like all road-going new Actros, ETA's latest vehicle came equipped as standard with a Mercedes PowerShift 2 automated transmission. "We were unsure at first because the horses need the smoothest ride possible and we were concerned that the gear changing might be a bit jerky," confides Graham, "But Sparshatts' truck sales executive John Nicolls provides a great service and he insisted we had nothing to worry about. I'm pleased to say that we took his advice, because the truck changes gear effortlessly and we're delighted with its performance."
And when BLB asked the horse if he had any problems with the PowerShift 2 box he shook his head and said: "Neigh..."
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