Page 109 - September2021

It is recommended to stop and get your horse out of the trailer for a break during longer trips. The horse’s muscles won’t get as stiff if he has a break and a chance to get out and move around.
“It’s best to stick with a good grass hay in the summer. Alfalfa is a better winter feed to help a horse keep warm.”
Horses should be fed on trips longer than five hours. The best thing to feed is clean grass hay. Soaking the hay beforehand will minimize the amount of dust the horse ingests as well as add a bit of moisture into their digestive tract.
EQUINE HEALTH
should be made to minimize this as much as possible. This means keeping him as cool as possible, and feeding hay, which is less prone to cause ulcers than grain.
“Many people like to use bran mashes be- fore transporting horses, but there is no benefit in doing this,” says Williams. “Bran mashes are what nutritionists call a comfort food. They make owners feel like they did the right thing for their horse, yet they are not proven to have any real nutritional benefit aside from the added water intake if you make the bran mash especially soupy. This would also help if your
horse is used to eating bran mashes and doesn’t care for strange water while traveling,” she says.
If you know you have to haul when it’s
hot and can’t avoid the peak heat during the day or wait to haul on another day when
the weather is cooler, you might add some antioxidants to the diet ahead of the haul. “Before long hauls, especially if horses will be in athletic competition afterward, it’s a good idea to put them on a vitamin E supplement (1000 to 2500 IU/day) to help them cope with the stress. Also, giving them vitamin C (about 7 to 10 grams) the day of and for 2 to 3 days
after transport can help reduce the risk of shipping fever,” she explains.
“However, the best option would be if you are flexible when you haul. You could make the trip overnight when it is cooler and also have less chance of sitting in traffic--or change to a day when it might be a bit cooler,” says Williams.
Most importantly, allow plenty of
time for your trip in case of emergencies and to allow the horse some recovery time after arriving at your destination. This will also decrease stress in the life of the person doing the transporting!l.
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