Bandages

To protect your horse’s legs during a trip, bandages may be a good idea. Bandages will protect their legs from injury, especially if your horse has been known to kick in the trailer or stall. Also, if there is a sudden stop or turn while trailering, it will protect his legs from potentially getting banged up and bruised.

There are many kinds of bandages and wraps available for this purpose. They range from regular standing bandages (pillow wraps with polos) to more full coverage quilted leg wraps that go from the carpus to the foot and from the hock to the foot. It is very important that your horse be familiar with wraps before just putting him on a trailer with them on. Try applying standing bandages or the trailering bandages for a couple nights or days to get him used to them.

You want to make sure that you know how to properly secure the bandages in place. A loose bandage or one that comes partially undone during the ride may cause more problems than it is preventing. Have your trainer or Veterinarian show you how to put on leg protection properly and have them watch you do it to make sure you are getting it snug enough without being too tight.

Sedations

There are many pros and cons to sedating your horse for a trailer ride. In my opinion, sedation should only be used if there is no other option. It may be dangerous for your horse in the back of a moving trailer while sedated if he cannot respond quickly and appropriately to turns and stops.
If you know ahead of time that you will need to trailer your horse somewhere, then you should start with some trailer training to get him used to getting into and out of the trailer without the use of sedatives.

In some circumstances, when there is no other option and you have to use sedation, you should have a Veterinarian administer the medication. They will be able to judge what an appropriate level is and what the horse will tolerate for the ride, depending on the duration.

For longer trailer rides (multiple days), it may not be feasible to keep the horse sedated. Some trailer companies may offer to keep the horse sedated as needed. It is important to know if the company is reputable and whether the person sedating the horse is qualified to do so. Having your horse trained to trailer without the need for sedation will avoid these circumstances.

Medications

There are many medications that may be of benefit for your horse for longer trailer rides.
These include Non Steroidal Anti-inflammatories (NSAIDS), particularly Flunixin Meglimine (Banamine), electrolytes or vitamins. NSAIDS can be beneficial to prevent colic or muscle fatigue. Always check with your veterinarian first before randomly administrating these medications during a long ride.

Electrolytes or vitamins can be administered orally before a long ride and may help prevent dehydration or fatigue.

Calling and scheduling an appointment with your Veterinarian for the day that you are leaving so they can administer mineral oil, water and electrolytes orally via a naso-gastric tube can be beneficial; especially if your horse may be prone to colic or it will be a long trip in hot weather.

If you are transporting your horse to a horse show, it is important to follow all regulations pertaining to medication administration prior to showing. This includes any medications given for the trailer ride, especially sedatives, which, for the most part, are against most association rules. Again, good planning and practice trailering will prevent the need for the use of sedatives.

Planning Ahead

With the hot summer months ahead, a little planning may be beneficial to ensure that your horse is cool and comfortable for the upcoming journey, whether to a local horse show, or across the state or country.

Try calling the hauler to find out if they can trailer overnight or in the early morning hours when it is cooler.

If you will be crossing state lines, you will need to have the appropriate paperwork ready. Call your Veterinarian to schedule an appointment at least one to two weeks ahead of time. Different states require different tests and paperwork. Either call the hauler or your Veterinarian to find this information. A negative Coggins Test for Equine Infectious Anemia is required to cross state lines in the United States; however, some states require a negative test within 6 months and others within 12 months. It will take a few days to get the blood test back, so plan accordingly. Your Vet cannot write a health certificate without this test. Please keep in mind that Hawaii has stringent import requirements, so it may take longer than two weeks.

If you will be traveling out of the country, then more notice may be necessary. Not only will you have to have a negative Coggins test, but different countries have different entrance requirements. Your transport company should have all the necessary information regarding which tests and vaccines are needed. Many require that vaccines be administered at least 2 weeks prior to transport. Also, a health certificate must be issued and approved by the USDA. This will take time and cost additional.

To feed or not to feed?

There are many differing opinions on feeding a horse while trailering. A lot depends on the temperament of your horse, length of travel and reason for trailering.
Reasons not to have food available for trailering:

  • Your horse is sick and needing to go to the hospital. Follow the recommendations of the Veterinarian attending to your horse.
  • It will be a short trip
  • Your horse is prone to choking or colic when eating while trailering

Reasons to feed your horse while trailering:

  • It is a long trip
  • Your horse is calmer when being fed while trailering

Please do not feed cubes or pellets when trailering as this has been shown to lead to choke. If possible, it is my opinion that food be withheld when trailering to prevent problems.
Always stop often on long trips to allow the horses access to fresh water.

Trailer Training

To get your horse used to trailering, you will need to practice. Nothing is worse than being in an emergency situation (such as the numerous times we have had to evacuate in Southern California during the wild fires), and not being able to load your horse in a timely fashion. Some people I know have had to leave their horse behind in such a situation because it would not get in the trailer. Do not get stuck in this position. A little forethought and planning when you first get a horse is all you need. There are lots of techniques, so reading some of the many books and articles on the subject or talking to a trainer or experienced hauler may help to figure out what the problem is and how to help your horse overcome their fears.

There are many things to consider when evaluating why a horse will not get into a trailer. First, is the trailer too small for your horse? If the horse can touch the top of the trailer with his head while standing normally, they may feel claustrophobic, and worse, may injure themselves if they try to lift their head. Is it too dark? Some trailers look like dark holes. Try putting a light in the front compartment to the horse can see where it is going. Sometimes this is all it takes. Does the horse have a hard time traveling alone? A buddy can make all the difference when transporting a horse. Think about taking his/her stable mate along for the ride, if possible. Have you checked the trailer for bees or wasps nests, especially if it has been sitting for a while? You would be surprised how often this happens. I don’t blame the horse for not wanting to get on the trailer with angry bees!! Lastly, does your horse have arthritis or is it in pain? This may play into the design of the trailer. If the trailer has a “step up” as opposed to a ramp, will your horse be able to negotiate this step? Can you back up the step up trailer to a curb or higher area, so the horse can walk on instead of stepping up?

Training techniques are varied and should be evaluated based on your horses needs. Overall, if the horse learns he/she can back up forcibly, then they have won, and you will have a difficult time getting them into the trailer. Some techniques involve utilizing the horses desire to back, and making them back up far further than they wanted to go. Once they get tired of backing up, then move forward again. If they try to back up again, then, again, make them back up more. Every time the horse gets away with stepping away from the trailer door or backing up, he has won. Persistence and patience is key.

Some include putting the trailer with food in it in the horse’s enclosure and allowing the horse to get used to the trailer on its own accord and going into the trailer to eat when it gets hungry. This may be helpful; however, using food may be problematic when you need to transport your horse, for example, to go to the hospital.

Other techniques use the concept of annoyance to encourage the horse into the trailer. Using a stick, you gently “rap” on the horse’s legs or rump repeatedly while it is outside of the trailer door. When the horse takes a step forward, the annoying behavior stops, however, when they refuse to continue forward, or try to take a step backwards, the annoying behavior resumes. Pretty soon the horse learns that when he/she moves forward, it is a good thing and the annoyance stops. This is a pretty useful technique and eliminates the necessity of a food incentive.

Manhandling a horse into the trailer is usually not a good idea, and enforces the negative experience. However, if necessary, this may be needed in an emergency situation.

Emergency Trailering

It is a good idea to always have a list of haulers in your area, especially if you do not have a trailer of your own. Some areas even have horse ambulances that operate 24/7. This will save you a lot of headache and anxiety in the case of an emergency at 2:00am, when your horse needs to be transported to the hospital and you do not have one available. I advise having owners keep a stall card on the door of their horse’s stall with the following information:

  • Owner’s name and emergency contact number
  • Veterinarian’s emergency phone number
  • Insurance information (if insured)
  • Hauler name and phone number

This way the information is handy and you won’t have to look for it when you are stressed in an emergency.

Remember: A little preparation goes a long way!