Transporting Horses

History has shown that horses were transported as long ago as 3,500 years. Transport was primarily by sea where the horses were put into boxes and placed below the deck of a ship. In some cases slings were also used on the deck if space was available.

Historians noted that the stress associated with transport lead to health risks, and with the excessive mortality rates in those horses placed below the decks. Ships back then were known to have extremely poor ventilation below deck. Horses shipped on the deck in the open air survived the trip better than those below deck. Studies performed by the U.S. Army experimented with various methods of tethering which proved the use of slings to be impractical.

Horses were first transported by land in the 1700’s, and in the 1800’s horses were transported in horse drawn vans. This means was replaced by rail systems in the mid 1800’s. this then became the main mode of transport for the horse through the 1950’s. It was documented by veterinarians and transporters that a large number of horses disliked being loaded on the rail cars and transported, and therefore didn’t travel well. Problems associated with rail transport of horses and required for research to improve the situation. It was noted that merchants, as they do today, were doing a strong business in the selling of leg wraps, shipping boots, and head bumpers.

With the advent of the automobile, the transport of horses returned to the road. From the 1920s to the 1950s, most was "short-distance" transport. In the 1950s, there was development of motor vehicles mechanically capable of hauling horses over long distances. Over the almost 50 years that followed, every possible combination of truck/trailer/van has been experimented with and made available to the consumer. There is everything from the standard half-ton pickup truck/simple two horse trailer combination to $100,000-plus tandem-axel tractors pulling 15-horse streamlined trailers with super air-ride suspension, and all varieties in between.

In addition transport has taken to the air. A six-hour flight from New York to California can be a lot less stressful than a 72-hour van ride. Planes can carry everything from two to four horses in the cargo hold of passenger 747, to 80-plus horses on a modified 747 cargo plane.

Stress Factors and Transport

Stress has been a factor since horses began to move from one place to another. There are many factors that can generate stress related to the transport process, for example:

Handling, Loading, Unloading, Removal from Familiar Surroundings, Confinement, Vibration, Road Noise, Banging and Clanging in Trailer, Temperature and Humidity Variations, Poor Ventilation, Inhaling Exhaust Fumes, Inhaling Urine Fumes, Decreased Function of the Immune System, Lack of Food and Fresh Water.

Horses will react differently to some of these stress factors, but there are some things of which we can control, and reduce the chance of illness or injury. All trips start with getting the horse on the trailer or van, a sometimes adventuresome task.

Loading is considered to be one of the most stressful aspects of transport. Numerous studies that utilized heart rate as an indicator of stress in horses have shown that heart rate is substantially elevated during the loading process. Some also indicated that the steeper the ramp, the greater the stress. Horses are fearful of entering enclosed, dark spaces. It has been noted when using trailers that horses can back into, there appears to be less reluctance and stress-the horses would back into an enclosed dark space more freely than they would walk into it head-first.

More experienced and early-trained horses experience less stress during the loading process. Even seasoned travelers demonstrate elevated heart rates during the loading process and find the event stressful.

Factors over which we have control include the loading environment. A quiet location should be selected, making sure that the footing on the ramp is good and will not slip, and that the surrounding footing also is good (grass is better than pavement). Horse go to the ground due to a slipping carpet (and the like) used for footing, or go down on pavement after backing off the ramp rapidly. In addition, make an effort to make the ramp as level with the ground as possible and ensure that side-walls, if any, are secure and will not get blown into the horse half-way up the ramp. Do anything possible to make the inside of the trailer open, bright, and inviting. If partitions can be opened, open them and make sure that excessive clutter in the trailer is kept to a minimum. Make sure that the interior of the trailer is well-lighted.

 It also has been shown that heart rates are substantially lower when the trailer/van is stationary as opposed to being in motion, motion itself is yet another added stress factor. Improper driving can greatly enhance the motion stress factors, as well as the height of the vehicle. A low center of gravity provides for a smoother ride, such as a gooseneck versus an 18 wheeler.

Probably one of the biggest mistakes people make is driving the van or trailer like a car. Remember that with all the extra weight, everything is increased (i.e., stopping distance, the number of car lengths you should be behind the vehicle in front of you, etc.), and your reaction time must be sharp! No map reading, no eating the fast food meal sprawled out on your lap, and no use of the cellular phone while driving. Professional drivers provide a level of experience far exceeding that of the horse owner. Even professionals tend to forget their load and change lanes too quickly causing the horse to be tossed around.

Forward Or Backward?

The answer for this age-old question of which way is best to face your horse while traveling is backward (away from the direction of travel), if possible. There are always horses who spend half the trip trying to kill themselves when facing forward, but when flipped around, were significantly calmer. Untethered/cross-tied horses being transported in trailers or vans (in box stalls) chose to turn to the rear, facing away from the direction of travel. The horses hauled in this untethered, rear-facing position "had normal fecal consistency, relatively little nervous sweating, heartbeats only slightly above normal" and "no difficulty maintaining their balance." In contrast, "horses facing travel direction in the usual way demonstrated the customary signs of travel stress, such as liquid feces, considerable sweating, and heartbeats well above normal."

Preparation, Stopping, And Layovers

First and foremost is to determine if your horse is ready for the trip. If relocating to an area where he will be exposed to other horses, it is generally a good idea to make sure your horse is up to date on all vaccinations. The day before the trip is not a good time to get this done as the vaccination process itself can be a stress on some horses and put them off for several days. Make sure that your horse's water intake is maximized prior to long trips by allowing constant access to fresh water and by offering warm water in the winter months. Remember that the offering of warm water in the cooler weather has been shown to increase significantly water intake in some horses.

Make sure your horse is healthy before transport--especially before long trips. Keep an extra close eye on his attitude, appetite, and body temperature prior to hauling. Taking the body temperature twice a day for two to three days (normal equals 99.5-100.5° Fahrenheit) and watching for any nasal discharge or coughing prior to a trip are good ideas. Prior to shipping long distances, it might not be a bad idea to have your veterinarian perform a physical examination (you will need a health certificate anyway) just to be sure. If your horse has any signs of illness, you really want to evaluate very carefully the need to transport him; the best thing for an ill horse would be to delay the hauling.

A common question is: should the horses be fed hay in transit? A filled hay net is a good way to give the horse something familiar to do .If on a long journey, extra hay should be brought along to refill the bags. The down-side of hay nets is that they add to the inhaled particulate matter in the air and act as a source of irritants that can blow into the eyes. Do not to feed concentrates (grain) while in transit just hay.

How often should you stop for a rest break (for the horses)? It is recommended to stop every three to four hours for 15-20 minutes or so, to allow the horse to unlock his legs and rest. During this time, the horses' conditions can be evaluated and fresh water should be offered. Some horses are very finicky drinkers, and others don't miss a drop in transit. Truck-stop water might not be that appealing. In fact, any new water source can be a turn-off for many horses. Sometimes, water from home can entice one of these "poor-drinkers" to at least take in some water on the road. In addition, many male horses will not drop their penises to urinate while the vehicle is in motion, so the rest breaks will give them a chance to urinate and hopefully become more comfortable.

Another great debate is whether to layover after 12-18 hours of driving, or continue the journey after a rest period. The real down-side to a layover is that you can expose your stressed, potentially more susceptible, horse to a new environment. You should treat your layover like a mini-quarantine and prevent (or at least minimize) any contact with local horses. In addition, make sure that the layover stalls are clean, and perform your own disinfection on them prior to putting your horse in the stall. Also, try to find out if there are any sick horses on the property and stay as far away from them as possible. Don't forget to monitor your horse while there. Keep track of body temperature. Be aware that transport alone (depending on the ambient temperature) can elevate a horse's body temperature, so you might need to re-check it several hours after settling in.

Final Destination

The layover procedures are really a good idea for the final destination, as well. It has been speculated that after a "long" journey (probably eight hours or more), the horse's immune system might not be up to par for several days. It is therefore a good idea to plan this "recovery" period into your schedule and let the horse do just that after he arrives. Keep a close eye on him and provide lots of fresh water (also keeping accurate track of how much of it he drinks) as post-transport dehydration is common. It is wise to limit exercise to hand-walking for several days. Rectal temperature monitoring might give you the earliest warning sign of a problem.

Shipping And The Respiratory System

The respiratory system must not be compromised and the horse should be given free movement of the head. Horses cannot clear their lungs unless they can lower their heads. In most vans the horse is cross-tied so head movement is severely limited. Also the use of fine bedding produces dust which causes congestion, and if the horse cannot lower his head he will most likely develop shipping pneumonia.

Ventilation And Drainage

The importance of adequate ventilation cannot be stressed enough. There are a number of factors about air quality that impact the respiratory system. The first fact is that ventilation is often compromised due to the desire to provide our horse with a warm environment while transporting them during the cooler months. The need to close the windows and air vents in the trailer or van often is greatly over-estimated. Soon after loading, you can see the condensation forming on the closed windows, and occasionally even see steam emanating from small cracks, indicating an overheated trailer.

In this situation, there are two stressors going on. Not only is the air quality decreasing, but the overheating places additional stress on the horses. A substantial portion of the horse's digestive mechanism is dependent on the fermentation of fiber (hay)--a process well-documented to produce a significant amount of heat. It has been shown that feeding a higher fiber diet during the cold months will generate more heat than a diet based more on concentrates (the exact opposite of what many horse owners think). So, if you pack two or three of these mini-furnaces under heavy blankets into a small confined space with all the ventilation cut off, the risk of overheating is a real one--especially if it is not bitterly cold outside.

The comfort zone will depend on several things: the size of the trailer, the number of horses in the trailer, the number of blankets on the horses, and the degree to which the trailer is ventilated. The goal should be to reach somewhat of a comfort zone while still providing adequate ventilation of the trailer. Airflow throughout the trailer/van is important.

Another aspect of this is to ensure that potential factors that might have a negative impact on the air quality within the trailer/van are minimized. The exhaust system of the vehicle should be inspected and determined to be sound. If the truck has a vertical exhaust similar to that on a tractor-trailer, it should be higher than the trailer or at least not be in the immediate vicinity of an intake vent. In addition, it should be noted that diesel exhaust can be more harmful than gasoline exhaust, and keeping either engine in proper maintenance can decrease its emissions. Breathing of excessive exhaust fumes could have a negative impact on the respiratory system in addition to being a general stress factor.

Another factor can be urine-soaked bedding or poor drainage of urine from the trailer. As most of us know, when urine starts to break down in bedding, a substantial amount of ammonia fumes can be generated. Excessive breathing of ammonia fumes can be a significant respiratory irritant that can predispose the horse to pulmonary problems.

Shipping A Colic Horse

Shipping a horse with a severe case of colic can be a dangerous and harrowing experience. If at all possible, the horse should be seen by a veterinarian and stabilized prior to transport. The horse might require intravenous fluid therapy, pain medication, and appropriate sedation prior to transport. As mentioned above, great care should be taken if a sedative/tranquilizer is to be administered. If the horse is in shock, many of those drugs can have a negative impact on the horse's status. But at times those risks must be taken if the horse is violently painful and transport in that state would be dangerous.

Every horse has an extremely variable response to pain, and some horses in great pain can be extremely dangerous to be around. They can lash out with their front feet, kick viciously, and spontaneously throw themselves to the ground (despite your being in the way or not). As a result of this unpredictable nature when a horse is in extreme pain, the back of the trailer or van can be a very dangerous place to be. In addition, driving the vehicle also can be hazardous if the horse suddenly (and violently) shifts weight in the trailer or goes down and thrashes.

 Many times people will want an attendant to ride in the back with the horse. Riding in the back of a van or trailer with an extremely painful horse can be very dangerous. Even with the best of handlers, the horse could go down, and if the space is limited, a person could be injured. In addition, in many states it is illegal for a human to ride in the back of a horse trailer. The use of Camera’s is invaluable in these and many other situations.

A great stress factor is if the horse doesn’t load, then when needing transport you now have a disaster looking for a place to happen. This is one reason why you must get your horse to accept loading before you do anything else.

Shipping An Injured Horse

This situation commonly involves shipping a horse which has severe lacerations or a potential fracture. The important thing is to remain calm and think the situation through. Many injuries are made worse by not taking the appropriate course of action prior to shipping the animal to a veterinary clinic. If the animal is severely injured and a veterinarian can evaluate the horse at that location, it is preferred. If the horse has severe blood loss, a fracture, and/or is in shock, supportive therapy is probably necessary prior to transport. You will want to keep a record of the horse's vital signs while waiting for veterinary assistance. In addition to keeping the horse (and yourself) calm, applying pressure bandages to control any bleeding, or the placing of a limb splint, might be necessary while waiting for veterinary assistance or prior to transport.

Discourage administering any type of sedative drugs (unless absolutely necessary) as most of them (especially the ones common to most barns' medicine cabinets) have a negative impact on the health of an animal in shock. If a veterinarian is unavailable to come to the farm, you should attempt to reach one by phone and at least consult with him or her regarding your horse's condition.

For many horses with lacerations (usually on the limbs), once the wound has been bandaged, they generally can walk into a trailer or van under normal loading conditions. For the horse with a splint on the leg, it can be a completely different story.

There are types of lower leg lacerations (typically those involving the tendons and/or ligaments) where the application of a splint can be of great benefit. For a horse suspected of having a fracture, it is very important that the leg have a splint properly placed prior to transport.

Shipping a horse with a splint on his leg can pose some problems. Generally, once the horse is in the van or trailer, things are OK--it is the getting in and out that can be difficult. If at all possible, a trailer or van with a ramp that has a very shallow angle to the ground should be used. In addition, you will want to look for a spot to park the van or trailer so that its ramp has a rise, thus making the ramp as parallel to the ground as possible. The horse should be able to have a relatively straight shot into the vehicle.

Do you ship the horse facing forward, backward, or in a box stall? Obviously, you make do with what you have, and for many of us it is a simple facing forward two-horse trailer, and that certainly will work. As previously mentioned, if you have the ability to let the horse ride facing backward, there is evidence that this is less stressful and might give him better stability with respect to balance. It has always been my impression/opinion that these horses are better off in a standing stall versus the box stall as the partitions/wall in combination with the breast/butt bar will give them something to support themselves on in transit.

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