Horse Health During Transport

Q: Is transportation stressful for horses? 

• Traveling down the road in a trailer is not natural for a horse. Horses have shown to have increase cortisol levels from the point of loading into the trailer and levels peaking at unloading. Studies show that the horse doesn’t lower levels until they’re unloaded from the trailer. High levels of cortisol decreases the horses immune system and can cause onset of illness.

• Studies have shown that a horses heart rate increases during travel, regardless of water and feed provided. Horses with more water show a decrease in heart rate. Overall water during transportation benefits your horse.

• Some may think that the direction your horse faces will play a role in the stress level. Studies have shown the direction a horse faces, does not change the heart rate of the horse.

• Tying horses in a trailer has shown to increase stress levels. It’s natural for a horse to be able to lower its head and clear debris that they may have ingested.

• Pneumonia, Colic, diarrhea, ulcers, and laminitis are all common diseases that can occur when a horse is stressed during transport. Proper hydration, ventilation, and temperature monitoring helps to avoid disease during transport.

Q: How will you know if a horse is not handling the trip well? 

• All horses will have some nervousness when hauling in a new environment. We watch all vital signs during travel or consistently check for any drastic changes in behavior (physical & mental). 

• Temperature check is one of the quickest ways for us to truly evaluate a horse that may be ill. While not all horses will allow us to check the temperature, we monitor all vital signs. Heart rate, respiration, body temperature, hydration tests, and intestinal gut sounds are all ways we can check a horse during transport.

• We have a live feed video camera in the trailer during transportation. This allows us to monitor the horses behavior.

Q: What can you do to help a horse stress less during travel?

• Starting the trip with a healthy horse is important. Any horse that already has signs of illness or lameness will only continue to decline in health during transport.

• Longer trips can be more stressful on a horse (research shows anything over 6 hours total). Stopping and giving the horse water every 2-3 hours helps relieve stress. Unloading the horse for a break after 6 hours is preferred.

• Water during rest breaks is always recommended and helps to bring the horses heart rate down. Bringing water from your horses stables at pick-up is recommended. If the horse is familiar with the smell of the water, they’re more likely to drink more water.

• Lung health is a priority during transport. Any debris that causes congestion in the horse would cause the horse to stress more physically. We prefer to use to straw or hemp bedding (less dust) and all hay is in an enclosed hay bag. Monitoring outside wind conditions and proper ventilation is a priority.

• Regular access to hay helps the horse stress less. Dusty hay can cause problems during transport. We will water down any hay that seems too dusty for transportation.

• Slow and steady wins the race. Rough road conditions, weather, speed of the trailer, and comfort inside the trailer have all shown to increase stress levels.

• Tie vs. no tie off. Allowing your horse to lower its head has shown to lower stress levels. We give you the option to tie your horses during transport and offer breakaway tie offs when needed. If your horse is an easy hauler, we recommend not tying off your horse. We will have them tied during loading/unloading, however as soon as we’re ready to depart the horse will be untied. Knowing the horses hauling experience and level of training is important in making a decision to tie off a horse.

Sources:

US Davis : https://ceh.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk4536/files/local_resources/pdfs/pubs-HR21-4-bkm-sec.pdf

Pub Med: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27564584/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11048922/

Horse Journal: https://www.horsejournals.com/horse-care/illness-injury/prevention/reduce-your-horses-transport-stress