L. at Viva Carlos asks us "What is your best tip for traveling with horses?"
Well I have never hauled my horses (never learned to pull a trailer and don't know how to drive a standard which is all we have right now) myself. My husband drives when we haul Chrome and the only places we've ever hauled him is to our old home when we picked him up as a weanling (three hours), to the vet (ten or fifteen minutes) and to our new home here (one hour). Yeah I need to remedy that! He is so sheltered!
My method for successful hauling of my horse is to let my husband take care of everything while I pile into the passenger seat in a puddle of terror and stare at the trailer praying that we don't get in an accident or that he doesn't fall and hurt himself....... yeah I have no idea why but I have horrible trailer anxiety (probably from all of the stories I've read of wrecks and accidents).
However someday I will have to grow a pair and learn to haul my horse (I've hauled my friend's horses just fine lol) and start going places with him if I want him to ever be more than a backyard ornament and occasional trail horse. When that happens I'll probably be begging you guys for advice, tips and checklists hehe. I do have one tip though that I learned on a Facebook group I'm a member of...
Haul your own water!!!!!! With the viruses going around it just really isn't safe to let them share with a bunch of unfamiliar horses. I have a friend who is in college in a different state for equine reproductive science or something like that and most of their barn just came down with strangles...... not cool! There was one lady on the Facebook group who took her stallion to get collected at a vet or breeding center and he came down with a virus from there. Also since Chrome is so dang picky about water anyway I'll probably haul my own. :)
P.S. Sorry I've been quiet on the blog and not riding Chrome, but we are FINALLY INSTALLING OUR KITCHEN!!!! YAY!!!! I'm so excited! And busy hehe. TTYL!
When I was still in WY, I hauled my horses to and from the vet, to and from a couple of small shows, to and from the trainers, and to and from an arena. None of these were more than 20 miles away, and my trailer was just a small 3 horse bumper pull. It was easy and I did not fret over it much. Also, my horses all haul pretty darn well.
ReplyDeleteHowever, when it came time to make the move to AZ, we sold the small trailer, purchased a 4 horse goose neck, and prepared for our journey. I was terrified. I had never hauled a horse across four states, and while I knew that TC would be driving and I would be following behind with a different pick up and trailer full of "un-live" cargo. To top it off, it was in the middle of summer.
I wanted to do it right so I reached out to the blogging community...to one blogger in particular, Brown Eyed Cowgirl. She hauls regularly from Colorado to AZ, as well as many other places, and luckily for me when I asked her for tips, not only did she give me a few pointers, but told me everything I needed to know including the best places to stop for layovers.
A few of the tips she offered were:
Good bedding is a must.
something to snack on keeps them busy
(like you said) haul plenty of water.
Take more than you should need of everything in case you break down
Let them rest in the trailer for 30 min or so every time you stop for gas and offer water at those times.
Let them out every 4 hours if you can.
I'm sure there was more, but those are the ones I can remember right now.
oh yeah
Always drive at night in summer time- it is easier on the horses, and on your tires.
A couple she didn't tell me but that I figured out on my own.
Carry a vet box in your trailer at all times. (banamine- ulcerguard- wound care- stethascope- syringes- betadine-etc)
Carry not one but 2 spares, a good solid jack and four-way and know how to use it. (in fact always have a basic tool set in your truck- and a couple of spare parts like belts, fuel filter) Take the time how to learn to do those simple fixes.
Last but not least...KNOW what the temp is going to be on your route before you hit the road.
Wow, I know that was way more than you asked for since it was just a random question....I guess I'm bored! LOL
That's awesome!!! Thank you for sharing!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat answer :)
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