We all know the basics to ensure safer trailering for our horses, such as brake early, take turns slow, etc., but what are some of the more minute aspects that are in need of our consideration? Peruse these five tips from professionals.
1. Be proactive to ensure joint health
“The pressure of shipping and traveling – and the pounding and grinding from shipping and training and performing – all these things add up,” says Steve Allday, competitive team roper and equine lameness specialist. Prevention and trusted supplements are “paramount to maintaining the health of the joint on a regular basis,” he said.
World Champion breakaway roper Jackie Crawford does everything she can, preventively, with supplements and other considerations when they’re at an event, especially during the summer with even more frequent haulings. She stresses the importance to consider “even the little things,” like where horses are stalled and getting them access to turnout.
“It's really hard to try to find good places for those horses to stay and be able to rest their joints and relax. It’s important to find good places to turn them out and let them roll,” Crawford says. “Paying for the preventative measures is so much better than trying to pay to fix something once it's gone bad. I'm going to do everything I can, short of bubble wrapping these horses, to try to keep them going up and down the road and keep us winning.”
Allday’s credo is to choose preventive medicine over restorative. “The bottom line is: If you can prevent something from happening, you’re going to have better results. Restorative medicine essentially means you're fixing, or attempting to fix, an existing problem at that point – and with the approach of restorative medicine, your horse is not going to regain full function, at least not right away,” explains Allday.
2. Factor in pit stops
“I like to get horses off the trailer at least every six hours,” says Crawford. “We don't just necessarily get them off and walk them around; I really want those horses to get to rest for the time that they're off the trailer. I think it's very important for a horse to get his head down when you get them off the trailer. It's really, really important for a couple reasons. It stretches their back muscles, and it helps to drain any fluid that they have caught up.”
Allday explained more. “As you go down the road, there are a lot of dust particles, hay and things that float around in the trailer that horses inspire. It then gets into their upper respiratory tract and down into their bronchial tree. When horses get out [of the trailer] and they put their head down in the water as they rehydrate, it basically stimulates the clearance mechanism, and the fluid helps things move up out of the bronchial tree and the lower tree. This helps the horse expectorate and move things out of their airways,” shared Dr. Allday.
When at all possible, plan ahead to identify safe and secure areas to unload. And if an overnight is required, research stables beforehand to reserve a space. If your horse is selective about their water source away from home, haul water with you if possible, along with their regular grain and hay to keep them consistent.
3. Clean out the trailer often
Crawford is careful to clean out the ammonia from the trailer with her frequent stops, saying, “I don't want them breathing it in.”
Allday said, “Ammonia is very irritating in the airway of both people and horses. Getting that cleared out is an excellent suggestion, especially during the wintertime, because we tend to seal the trailers up.”
4. Keep windows open
“Having good air circulating and removing anything that would build up a lot of the ammonia, in particular, is important,” says Allday.
Clean air is key, as is keeping airflow, preventing a hot trailer.
“If you have a four-horse trailer with four horses in there, they generate an unbelievable amount of heat,” warns Allday. “Even in regular temperatures, let's say 72 degrees, four horses require a tremendous amount of air circulation to keep heat from building up inside. During the period of an hour, you can raise the temperature in a trailer by as much as 20 to 30 degrees.”
5. Protect their eyes and legs
“We haul our horses with fly masks, so that if anything blows, it doesn't get in their eyes, and we use shipping boots. What I tend to do in the summertime is to use mud or liniment on the legs to help cool the horse,” shares Crawford. She specified that in the summer, she uses the mud or liniment by itself, and in the winter months, she’ll apply it underneath the shipping boots.
Be sure to keep these tips in mind next time you and your horses hit the road.
