Tips for Trailering Your Horse Long Distance
Posted on June 15 2015
Trailering Your Horse Long Distance: Tips & Tricks by Rachel Sledzik Of all people, I can easily say I have a lot of experience with trailering horses. Living in New Mexico means we are constantly traveling six plus hours somewhere, at a minimum. Then I drive across the country four times a year to work on the East Coast for Kate Chadderton. That drive is usually 30 hours, but typically more with all the necessary stops. After doing the drive on my own (which means my parents and I) I've found some really good tricks that can help the horses and passengers!
For the horses:
- Most horses don't like to drink when they're on the trailer for such a long period of time, so put Gatorade in their water bucket when you stop, it will entice them to at least get their mouth wet.
- Always make sure they have hay to eat, it reduces the risk of colic produced by the stress of traveling, keeping their gut moving is a good thing.
- They need a break every 4 hours or so of driving, so basically any time you need to go to the gas station to pee, go for it, the horses need a break.
- If you're traveling with more than one horse, they will get very attached, so be prepared there will be a lot of neighing and whinying . Avoid separating them, make sure they can see each other at your destination.
- If you have a horse who really won't drink water on the drive, soak his/hers hay for the drive, it'll provide at least a little bit of water.
- Using things like gastrogard, or any ulcer medications (I like omega alphas Regener EC) keep the horses calmer and prevent acid build up in their stomach. It's helpful to have.
For the Passengers:
- Learn to have fun just staring out the window, when you drive for +10 hours, you'll quickly run out of things to do.
- Sleep, a lot, it passes the time quickly, and who doesn't like a nap?
- People watch, it's surprising how many people you will see dancing or picking their nose in the cars passing you.
- Sing to music, go crazy with it, it's a nice break from being so bored.
Those are just a few of my tips, if you have any questions feel free to comment below.
Happy traveling!- Rachel Sledzik
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