Re: Hauling long-distance in a stock trailer


I *could* wrap them. I normally don't for stall type trailer hauling,
but I am worried about them stepping on each other. Esp. the baby.
Hauler prefers not, due to possibility of dangling, horse eating, wrap
or boot. What about those velcro fastened tall shipping boots? I don't
know if I wrap well enough to send them for ten or more hours without
any attention to the wraps. Uneven pressure, and all. I'd need the
remaining time to get Desi used to boots. Or bandages.

I would talk to the haulers about it. When I did the first 800 mile
trip, we did it with stable bandages done by hand. We had no problem
with them falling off, but they were a pain in the rear to deal with,
as we had to wrap and rewrap them every day when we went somewhere, and
we were riding different places everyday. The next time I did it, I
used velcro wrapped shipping boots, and that is what I always use for
hauling now. An inexpensive pair of velcro wraps has always worked fine
for me. I don't have those big ones that go up over the hocks, but I
suppose if you were worried about the hocks, that might a good idea. My
trailer is padded on the sides, and their hocks have never been
damaged. 500 miles done at night, is not that long of a trip-- 10 or
12 hours at most. Since it is at night, the horses should be quieter
than they'd be during the day, too-- less moving around, and they may
sleep part of the trip. My daughter has had to wrap her horse's leg the
last couple of weeks due to an injury and he's been running around in
his paddock with the wrap on, and it didn't come unwrapped at all. I
think you'd be fine to do it. If worried, the velcro wraps come off
fairly easily.

Pizazz, my gelding, just had a hoof surgery recently, and it will take
a year for him to have a front hoof wall again. So he'll certainly go
in his new, very, very expensive, but remarkable, Soft-Ride boot. I
have a horse with orthotics! Hey, should I be putting his other boot on
(hind) so he's balanced. Geez- I never thought of that. Clinic had only
the one on him, but it seems to me...

I would suggest you send him with both legs treated equally. That is
normally recommended. It's a bit like us wearing one shoe and going
barefoot-- not too easy on one's balance and he probably needs the
support.

I would suggest you try and put either the shavings or the sand in the
bottom of the floor to cushion the footing, especially for this horse.
Shavings also encourage them to pee. You probably know to cut back on
all grain (delete from diet) 72 hours out. You probably do not need to
oil. More trouble, and can cause problems because it is a foreign
substance added to the gut. Just put them on pasture with green grass,
if you possibly can- 3 days out and until they leave. This will help
with an impaction problem and insure they go in well hydrated, although
I do not think you'll have any issues with a 10-12 hour trip. However,
in the event of some type of travel delay, it would be best to have
all grain out of their system before they go. We also put them on Fast
Track a few days out, too, and leave them on it for a few days after
the trip.

You may remember my watermelon idea that I've posted before on trips.
If the shippers will let you, send along some several watermelons (and
a knife and small bucket to serve and prepare this) in case anybody
quits drinking. Horses will almost always eat watermelon, even if they
won't drink water. It can be very difficult to get one to drink on a
trip. We did it on one of our long trips with one that didn't want to
drink, and I'm almost certain it staved off a colic on the way back
home. FWIW, the one that quit drinking was an Arab. Arabs do not drink
as much as many other horses, anyway, but you still need to watch them.

cg

Maybe I should post that separately?

Laurel w/Arabians

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