How would I go about getting my CLASS-A in my truck and trailer?

When I first obtained my class A. It was with an F450 and goose neck trailer. Full class A combinations with said air brake restriction.

 

If its personal use they will probably never be messed with.

 

As long as they are not hauling horses commercially then they do not have to follow the commercial regulations. However, if they are taking their horses to the race track, for breeding, or other commercial purposes then, yes, they are commercial. They may not need operating authority (but may need a DOT number) as they would be a private carrier hauling an exempt commodity (as long as they only haul horses they actually own), but if there is any compensation involved they would have to meet the cdl and medical requirements with the truck and trailer you describe. Do they have a chance of getting away with it, sure they do, most DOT officers will not even question them if they drive past the scales in a small horse trailer.

You are absolutely correct that the licensing requirements are based on the vehicle design factor, meaning the manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of the truck and trailer, not the actual gross (loaded) or tare (empty) weight. Further, some states such as Pennsylvania require a non-commercial class a or b license to operate vehicles like you are describing or even RV's for private use. I checked the Virginia DMV website and can not determine if they require a non-commercial class a for the vehicle you describe for personal use, the only thing I can find is in their non-commercial driver manual it states that a non-cdl is good to operate any vehicle/small truck under 26,001 pounds unless it meets the definition of a commercial vehicle. This would lead me to believe that Virginia, like Pennsylvania, has a requirement to hold a class a license for the truck you describe even when used for non-commercial purposes.

 

You will have to do a pre-trip, it may be an overview of what is what on the truck but it will happen so learn about the tractor stuff, the air brake stuff and so because they may ask you about it.