Transporting Horses Long Distance
What smaller equiptment do I need to transport horses across state lines?
Small Equiptment for transporting horses long distances
There are many differing options on what equipment to use when transporting. I will fill you in on some of the things I found most useful.
There are many differing options on what equipment to use when transporting. I will fill you in on some of the things I found most useful.
For The Horses
- Breakaway Halters - If the horse is going to be riding in the trailer for many hours its chances of getting into trouble increase. There are many ways to get its head or legs tangled in ropes which can be devastating to a horse, especially if this goes undiscovered for hours. A breakaway halter is an important piece of safety equipment in this regard. These halters have a small stretch of weaker material (often leather) at the top of the head which will break if the horse pulls back with all its strength. Thus, if a horse truly gets into trouble while traveling, they are able to break the halter and free themselves before more serious damage is done.
- Halter Pads - I like breakaway halters with extra padding, but even when using these, I buy additional padding strips which can be attached to the halter to keep the halter from rubbing after long hours in the trailer. The best padding is made of real sheepskin, but these are expensive. You can get cheeper padding made of synthetic imitations of sheepskin. If you can afford it though, the real stuff is worth it. It breaths better and is softer than anything synthetic. You can get padding to cover every part of the halter that touches the horse, but when compromising for the sake of cost, I often just go with padding over the noseband, the part of the halter which is most likely to apply pressure to the horse on a long trip.
- Trailer Ties - When trailering short distances, I sometimes let the horses stand free in their stalls in the trailer, but the consensus seems to be that it is a good idea to tie them when trailering longer hours. This is partly because the horse sometimes needs the support of a rope to help hold itself in place as the trailer jostles and moves. But using lead ropes for this can be problematic for many reasons. Some horses can untie normal safety knots, ending up with a loose rope they can get tangled in or step on; the end of even a tied a long rope may be stepped on or may end up outside the trailer, blowing in the wind; and it is easy to accidentally tie the horse too short (which can give them a sore neck by the end of the day) or too long (which can be a danger if they get their feet caught in it). Buying a trailer tie that is a specific length allows for easy regulation of the length of the rope, allowing the horse some support and easy access to food without the danger of a rope to get tangled in. I like the kind of ties which have some bungie in them, so that they give a little, but not too much, when pulled on. Additionally, I like to get a trailer tie with a safety release on one end. This end should be attached to the trailer (not the horse) so that, in an emergency, you can reach through a window and quickly let the horse loose.
- Lead Ropes - I like to take these off when the horses are in the trailer and transfer the horse to a trailer tie, but, of course, you will want to have them with you for times when you take your horse out of the trailer.
- Feeders - I have tried a number of feeders and found that my horses are very good at destroying many of them quite quickly. The ones that seem to work the best are hay nets made with good material. These slow the horses down in eating and keep the hay up off the floor, plus, they can easily be moved to a stall when the horse is tucked in for the night.
- Waterers -
- Supplements -
- Portable Corrals - We started looking into portable corrals when we thought we may camp with our horses to save the boarding fees each night. This can work well if you have the right corral, the horses respect the corral and are use to being in it, the horses get along with each other in small spaces, and you have the right kind of place to park at night which allows for setup of such a corral. The question then, is - which portable corral to buy?
We did a lot of research on this. You can bring metal panels from home by having special hangers attached to your trailer, but these are big and cumbersome and can be difficult to travel with. A number of companies make light-weight corals which either hang on the side of your trailer or break down easily to store in your truck and are easy for one person to set up alone. The problem with these is that many of them are easy to break out of, if the horse is so inclined. You have to teach your horse to respect them before the trip and only use them with horses who you know will not challenge them too hard.
As it happens, we were traveling with a stallion. A very well behaved stallion, but still - I would not rely on a coral made out of PVC pipe to hold him if there happened to be a mare near by. So we started looking at portable corrals with electric wire. We found two types we liked.- X is a PVC type light weight corral with an electric wire strung along the top pole. I like the look of this and would like to try it at some point. However, we decided to go with the other option we found for this trip.
- Gallager makes many portable electric fence options which I use when out horse packing. But these systems tend to be a bit of a hassle - the posts are usually shorter than I would like and one of my horses jumps right over them. The wire gets tangled easily and is a pain to set up. There are a bunch of pieces involved which are a hassle to keep track of and hold onto. And the posts almost always bend over when I try to tighten the fence wire. In doing our research we discovered that Gallager makes something called SafeFence System which is an electric fence system all in one piece, which one person can easily set up, which has 4 strands of wire, the top one higher than normal electric fences and which has guy wires to keep the posts from being pulled over when the wire is tightened. The only potential problem I see with it is that we have to be in a place where the ground allows us to stick the posts into the ground (pavement wont work), but it is unlikely we would ever ask our horses to spend the night on pavement anyways, so we don't think this will be an issue. We decided to buy this and are going to try it on this trip.
- First Aid Kit for Horses -
- Saddles, Bridles and riding Gear - If you are going to ride your horse during your trip, don't forget the riding gear!
For the Trailer and Truck
- Large bucket for collecting waste - You will need to clean up after your horses and probably wont be able to bring a wheelbarrow along. An extra large bucket with handles is a good alternative in this regard.
- Rake for mucking out trailer - You will want to clean out the trailer at least every night.
- Shovel for mucking out trailer - If you normally use a shovel when cleaning stalls, you will probably want one on this trip as well.
- Broom for trailer and back of truck - You will be storing hay in the back of the truck. We bring a broom to help keep this area clean.
- Shavings or straw for trailer floor - Shavings work well for the bedding in a trailer. The more bedding you put in, the more comfortable your horses will be. I like to put in a 2-4 inch layer of shavings, and some straw on to of that.
- Tire changing gear for both truck and trailer - Make sure you have a jack and the right sized lug wrenches for both he truck and the trailer wheels.