I been having probs with my trailer brakes not working, I have a 01 silverado and a 95 hart horse trailer. So I took the brakes apart and the shoes were bad, out of adjustment and one wire was chaffed. Fixed all that adusted shoes until the tires stopped spinning then backed off abit. Ok now what is going on is when I pull trailer empty I set my prodigy contoller so they lock up then back off abit, thats about 5.0. When loaded with 4 horses I set it to like 9.3 and it barely feels like it stops the truck at all. When I do manual lever it pulsates but you can feel it slowing truck down. It just seems like 9.3 and above is way too much and I think something else might be goin down, heck my gvrw onthe trailer is only 9700. any thoughts?

There are just too many variables remaining open to offer a quick fix.
But some questions.
What is the ohm reading on each magnet at each wheel? How much wear has each magnet suffered?
What is the ohm reading at the trailer plug brake wire to the plug ground wire, verses the brake wire at the plug to the frame ground?
Is the pulsing wheel doing all the braking? The others need fixing. And a new brake drum on the pulsing wheel.
On the truck side what is the voltage at the brake wire on the plug at full manual application? With the trailer connected, what is the voltage at the trailer plug, and what is the amp draw, at full manual application? Thinking you may have a few dead magnets, or a short to ground in the wiring of that system. Can you lock up all the trailer wheels when empty? Or just one or two wheels?
Does the trailer brake controller work well on a different trailer?
What is the axle rating of that trailer? 9700 is heavy on a light trailer. Should have 5,000 lbs axles (2) for that weight.
Did it have good brakes at one time?

When loaded with 4 horses I set it to like 9.3 and it barely feels like it stops the truck at all. When I do manual lever it pulsates but you can feel it slowing truck down. It just seems like 9.3 and above is way too much and I think something else might be goin down, heck my gvrw onthe trailer is only 9700. any thoughts?
When trailer brakes are working correct and adjusted correct you should not feel the trailer slowing the truck. The truck and trailer should feel much the same as if there was no trailer. If you feel the trailer slowing the truck then the gain is too high.
If the trailer brakes are pulsing that needs to be corrected before a controller will function correct. One cause of pulsating is out of round brake drums. Very common on trailers.

I just bought the trailer a few months ago it's a 1995. As far as I can see at least 2 wheels lock up when trailer is empty, don't know about the other two yet. I kind of was leaning towards magnets but havn't checked ohms on anything yet. The voltage from the controller is good on the truck side plug but haven't really checked anything else yet. Not sure what kind of axles they are, the gvrw is 9700lbs and it has 2 8lug axles with 12x2 inche brakes.

DO yourself a favor...Do what I did....Ive got a 2+1 and a 6 horse head to head....Convert to Hydraulic over electric disc brakes. Not only can you stop, but the maintenance issue is no longer a factor. It takes me 15 min per wheel to change the pads once per year. KODIAK makes the conversion kits. I too got tired of replacing and fixing shoes, springs, magnets, rubbed wired and so on. I run my 6 horse fully loaded (6 horses, 6 packed trunks and enough horse crap for a 5 day show) with the brake setting on 3.5.

That would be nice but not an option since from what i've seen so far the hydraulic brake actuators are like $500 plus alone. I'll probably just end up replacing the magnets and springs.

Well I checked my brakes today cause I adjusted the shoes just in case. I can hear the left front, and left rear brakes buzzing and they do grap but hear nothing from the other 2. So i'm guessing that means those 2 magnets are bad right?