Horses For Life

Plan to have the following items on hand when you transport your horse.

1. Shipping boots or bandages and leg wraps. If your horse is being shipped a long distance (eight hours or more in a commercial van), leave the boots off. They could impair circulation in the legs by being on that long, and handlers will not remove them. Before putting shipping boots or bandages on, check the hooves for stones or debris that could cause discomfort during travel.  When wrapping the legs, make sure you cover the coronary band and fasten the ties on the outside of the leg.

2. Poll Guard to protect his head.

3. Blanket. If the weather is very cold or the horse is chilled, you will need a blanket. In most seasons though, horses are generally safer without one. A blanket could get caught on something and case the horse to panic. The horse could become overheated as a result of nervous sweating or a lack of fresh air inside the trailer.

4. Extra halter and lead rope. The primary traveling halter should be leather, not rope or nylon, to allow for the halter to break or be cut off in an emergency.

 Length Of Trip. Research reveals that the longer the horse is on the road, the greater his chance of becoming ill. A dramatic increase in physical disorders occurs after twelve hours of transport; another large increase in cases of illness occurs after twenty hours of continuous travel.                                  

 Ideally, you should stop the trailer at least every two hours to check on the horse, offer water, and let him rest for a few moments. The constant effort to balance himself while the trailer is moving is very tiring. Experts estimate for every hour the horse is hauled, the physical effort involved is the same as if he had walked that far; so three hours of transport equals three hours of walking. 

 After being on the road for four hours, you should take the horse off the trailer if a safe location is available. Allow him to drink, stretch his legs , and urinate. Horses usually urinate every two to four hours, and some will not feel comftorable about urinating in a trailer.

 Jiggle Of The Journey. The movement affects the horse's internal organs as well. A horse's hooves viberate at a higher level. This leads to to body stress and exhaustion. Take this into consideration and drive at slower speeds whenever possible. Accelerate gradually, use wide turns, and brake carefully.

Head Position. In the trailer, tying the horse's head up high with his ears above his withers can start a harmful chain of events. Tie his head so that the horse has some range of motion. However, the rope should not be so long that he could get a leg over it. Horses clear their throats by putting their noses down; this removes dust and bacteria. When the head is forced to remain up, bacteria can move down into the lungs and cause infections.

 Placement Of Trailer. If you are hauling one horse, put him on the left side. This provides better balance. If you are moving two horses, put the heftier one on the left.

 Food and Water During Transit. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Hay. Let the horse have plenty of the hayhe is used to eating. Chewing on hay helps keep him occupied; it also assists in keeping water in his intestines. This is important to avoid colic. Select hay with the least amount of loose particles. You don't want him to inhale flying hay bits during the trip because this could result in choking or coughing.
• Water. Dehydration is dangerous and can occur during longer trips. Offer a drink every two hours or every hour in very hot weather. Use the water from the horse's former home if possible. Frequently, horses won't trust the scent of strange water or strange buckets and will refuse to drink.
• Grain. Hold back on giving any grain for several hours before your horse goes on the trailer. Do not give any grain at all during the trip. Your horse will be fine with just hay. The upset of travel can slow or stop working of the horse's intestines. If this happens, any grain he could of eaten could start to ferment, causing colic or even laminitis. 
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 All of the above factors combine to challenge the body's defenses. The immune system continues to be weak for 24 hours or longer after the transport, depending on the distance traveled. As a rule, every 12 hours of transport, the horse needs one complete day of rest.

 When the immune system is compromised by travel stress, the horse is at risk for severla major problems. The following illnesses occur to horses not carefully transported. Look under 'Health' for more about the illnesses and the symptons.

• Colic
• Laminitis, also known as Founder
• Shipping Fever
• Tying Up