Equine Travel Stress: Things YOU need to know!
Equine Travel Stress: Things YOU need to know!
A horse's natural way of moving from one locating to another is to walk there, the action of loading onto a float or truck and being transported is initially foreign to every horse and will cause an initial stressed reaction. Although transportation can be stressful to horses, every horse should learn how to travel as transportation is not only required to attend events or if the horse has a change in agistment location but most importantly in the event of an emergency a horse may need to be transported to a safer area or for veterinary care. In the performance horse industry transport is required often to attend competitions and sales, and in Australia often transport can consist of long distances and overnight transportation (Huntington, Myers & Owens, 2004).
Transportation can cause travel stress to even a frequent traveller as while it is necessary it is simply not natural for a horse to be transported. The factors that cause travel stress include:
- Air circulation of a float or truck research has shown that despite advancements in air flow all transportation boxes albeit float or truck continue to have air that circulates upwards at the front, taking with it ammonia from urine, dust, spores and microorganisms (Pavord & Pavord, 2007).
- The confinement in a small space for a large amount of time, with little room for head movement.
- The constant shuffle of their weight and the energy required to stabilise themselves while being transported for example when the driver is breaking or turning corners.
- The lack of walking and stretching out muscles (Pavord & Pavord, 2007).
The symptoms that can identify travel stress include:
- Weightloss mainly due to fluid loss, including electrolytes (Pavord & Pavord, 2007).
- Diarrhoea induced by travel stress and can be life threatening if severe (Huntington, Myers & Owens, 2004).
- Sweating although this may not be visible as it may dry on the horses coat (Huntington, Myers & Owens, 2004).
- Lethargy, refusing food and water this can be a sign of dehydration or due to the physical energy expelled by the horse in the float or truck.
- Laminitic Stance laminitis can be caused by stress, the horse may be in the stance of appear reluctant to move and take short shuffling steps (Huntington, Myers & Owens, 2004).
- Colic symptoms due to the restriction of feed for a lengthy period (Huntington, Myers & Owens, 2004).
- Rapid shallow breaths with fever usual onset is several days following travel which can indicate pleuropneumonia a build up of fluid around the lungs (Huntington, Myers & Owens, 2004).
Travel stress and sickness can be reduced or alleviated through various measures as listed below:
- Ensure the horse has a good intake of water, this can consist of providing water at least every four horse, perhaps sweetening the taste of the water to encourage consumption and electrolytes may be added to the horses intake prior during and following travel to increase absorption of the water through the digestive system, especially relevant if the horse is to perform work the at the destination (Pavord & Pavord, 2007).
- It is essential to maintain a clean transport box, this includes strict removal of urine and droppings and strict cleaning and disinfecting between use (Pavord & Pavord, 2007).
- Ensure that the horse is fit and healthy enough to travel, horses that show signs of poor recovery after exercise or existing mild respiratory conditions are at significantly higher risk of developing travel stress leading to sickness (Huntington, Myers & Owens, 2004).
- Regarding pre-travel health, horses that have nasal discharge and swollen glands or an acute cough should not be transported (Huntington, Myers & Owens, 2004).
- Allow the horse soaked hay or haylage (to reduce spores and dust) while travelling, some horses may be too stressed to eat, in which case more breaks should be considered allowing the horse to maintain good digestive processes (Huntington, Myers & Owens, 2004).
- Ensure the float or truck has adequate ventilation if there are ventilators make sure that they are open for travel (Huntington, Myers & Owens, 2004).
- Provide an absorbent and non slip floor covering this is to absorb urine and faecal matter and reduce ammonia circulation and large soaked pices should be removed at regular intervals and the flooring completly changed upon and overnight stop (Huntington, Myers & Owens, 2004).
- Correctly tether the horse's head ensure that the horse can lower its head during travel as a mucous and dust will build up in a horse that cannot lower its head to clear it out, increasing risk of severe respiratory conditions (Huntington, Myers & Owens, 2004).
- Plan for changes in the temperature providing adequate clothing is crucial as a horse will sweat during travel due to the stress and the temperature in a box which increases significantly once horses are loaded, therefore you do not want the horse over heated, but upon cooling of the outside temperature and air you want to avoid chill therefore horses should be rugged and unrugged appropriately (Huntington, Myers & Owens, 2004).
- Adequate travelling gear Not only is temperature control importantly but also other travelling gear including float boots or bandages which reduce risk of injury to the horses lower legs through knocking and kicking, also a tail bag or bandage can allow for reduced rubbing of the tail on the tail bar. Also extremely important for a horse who may rear, is large or may shake his head up and down when nervous (like mine) a poll protector should be considered as trauma to the head can be fatal (Huntington, Myers & Owens, 2004).
- Provide overnight rests if the travel is over 12 hours Due to significant metabolic changes with a horse travelling overnight rest breaks are suggested from travel periods of over 12 hours allowing the horse a turnout period. Many Australian interstate transport companies will provide overnight rests for travel over ten hours, however if you are transporting an older or more fragile horse with a transport company you may wish to choose a company that allows an overnight stop earlier within travel (such as I chose for my interstate move, the horses will be stopping for an overnight stop after 7 hours of transport). It's important to ask the transport company many questions about stops, as one company in question reported they refuse to stop even for a walk or drink for an 11 hour trip.
- Avoid unnecessary medication some horse owners used to practice utilisation of a profolaxysis does of antibiotics or tranquillers however more research today suggests these practices should be ceased and antibiotics should only be administered if illness is present upon the end of the transportation during recovery (Huntington, Myers & Owens, 2004, Pavord & Pavord, 2007).
Care to reduce and alleviate travel stress and sickness does not simply stop when the horses reaches its destination, in fact the post travel period is a time for close monitoring of the horse to check for recovery. Horses should be bright and alert several hours post travel, have a normal body temperature and be accepting food and water. All horse care should consist of monitoring hydration and feed intake and a simple check of vital signs for several days following, this includes all horses, not just those that appear to have travel stress. A raised rectal temperature and symptoms of respiratory conditions may not present until two days following arrival. A horse presenting with severe symptoms should be offered veterinary attention.
If you are doing your own transportation of horses then you are well aware of what the driver's experience is. If you are transporting for the first time it is beneficial to drive the float around the block several times without a horse to gain an understanding of its position on the road and turning, it can also be beneficial to stand in the float while someone drives you around the property just the gain an understanding of the pressure on the horses to remain standing (highly illegal, but also fun). An inexperienced or rushed driver may cause significant damage to the horses as each time the driver accelerates, breaks or goes around any corner the horse needs to readjust his balance which is very tiresome, also if a driver is rushed and doesn't allow time for a horse to readjust balance for example going around a corner and the driver rushed to accelerate while the horse is imbalanced this creates an increased risk of the horse falling in the truck or float. An experienced horse transport driver will also be aware what to do in the event of things starting to go wrong such as the float swaying, or the horse has fallen which in both of these instances an experienced driver would know not to slam on the brakes, in fact is a horse has fallen often the safest thing to do it to continue driving cautiously to the next town and safe unloading area where you will have assistance and support to unload the horse and attend to shock and injuries (Huntington, Myers & Owens).
Not only is the driver and the horse's health significant for horse transport but also the truck or float. Any truck or float must be structurally sound, the drive should constantly assess the flooring underneath any matting to look for weaknesses and holes as a horse putting its foot through a hole in the floor is likely to be a fatal injury. Layout of the truck or float is significant, research suggests that horse trucks and floats which are available overseas that allows the horse to travel backwards actually reduce the risk of travel stress and sickness however this design isn't readily available in Australia (Pavord & Pavord, 2007). The transportation box should have adequate ventilation and flooring, be well maintained with all checks prior to travel such as indicators, brakes and brake lights. The size of the space for the horse should be adjusted to each individual horse, a horse must not be allowed enough room to turn himself around in the float. Appropriate dividers between horses and stallion dividers used if a stallion is being transported. Similarly like stable layout horses should be able to hear and see each other to reduce the stress of isolation from the herd.
While transport does indeed carry many risks it is often a necessary requirement and following some of the preventative measures as listed above can ensure a more comfortable and safe ride for the horses and reduce travel stress and sickness.
References
Huntington, P., Myers, J. & Owens, E. (2004). Horse Sense, 2nd Edition. Landlinks Press: Victoria.
Pavord, T. & Pavord, M. (2007) Complete Equine Veterinary Manual. David and Charles Limited: UK.
Rush, A. (2008). You Horse's Health First Aid. David and Charles Limited: UK.
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