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VETERINARY VIEWS
SAFE TRANSPORT
by Nancy S. Loving, DVM
Horses in active training and competition tend to be transported between training and race meets of varying distances.
The process of travel can be stressful to even the most seasoned competitor, yet you can take proactive steps to minimize the impact of transport. Managing the transit environment and a horse’s general health are key elements to delivering your horse to his destination in as good a condition as possible so he can perform well through the event.
TRANSPORT-RELATED RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS
A primary health issue that arises due to transport is that of respiratory disease. There are several principal predisposing factors to transport-associated respiratory disease:
• Pre-existing respiratory disease
• The “head held high position” from
tethering in the trailer
• The number of horses within the trailer
• The air environment
If you load your horse in the trailer with
a pre-existing respiratory condition, it is a certainty that the disease severity will increase: ‘sick horse on – sicker horse off.’ The head held up in a high, tethered position compromises respiratory tract clearance of debris and microbes. Organisms normally present in the throat migrate downward into the respiratory system, potentially causing pleurisy and pneumonia, or so-called ‘shipping fever.’ The longer a horse’s head is tied up, the greater the accumulation of bacteria and particulate debris that adversely affect the airways and a horse’s immune response.
An important study revealed that restraint of a horse’s head with no ability
to lower it elicits an exponential increase
in microbes within 6-12 hours. Not only
do microbes increase in tracheal fluid, but abnormal lung sounds (heard through a stethoscope) also develop. Allowing horses to lower their heads for 30 minutes every six hours is not effective in entirely eliminating
debris and micro-organisms from the airways. Rather, it takes 8 to 12 hours of untied rest for a horse’s respiratory system
to clear – this requires a horse to assume a head-down position as he would when eating off the ground or just relaxing.
In addition to the dynamics of each individual horse’s immune ability, the concentration of horses within a horse trailer also influences horse health – more numbers of horses hauled in a rig means there is a potential for deteriorating air quality from increased heat and humidity in the trailer, ammonia fumes from voided urine, and increased circulation of microorganisms from accumulated feces. Additionally, increased dust particulates circulate due
to hay consumption and stirred bedding. Soaking the hay helps to lessen dust and aerosolized debris. Hang hay bags high enough so a horse can’t entangle a leg or his face; affix the hay bag so that it will break
if necessary.
More numbers of horses hauled in a rig means there is a potential for deteriorating air quality from increased heat and humidity in the trailer, ammonia fumes from urine, and increased circulation of microorganisms from feces.
62 SPEEDHORSE May 2020