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Your Horse’s Nutrition and Long Distance Trailering – Part III 

In the final installment of this series, Dr. Juliet Getty, Ph.D., shares with us suggestions on how to keep your horse healthy and comfortable while traveling in your horse trailer, and advice on what to do if he becomes ill or distressed. 

Before you leave on your trip, make sure you notify your veterinarian about it and also obtain names of veterinarians located along the route you’ll be traveling in case your horse needs emergency care. Always pack a first aid kit that includes pain relief such as Banamine or Bute.  

Dr. Getty recommends that as soon as you depart and while you’re in transit only feed your horse hay. Feeding a constant supply of hay helps to maintain gut motility and distracts your horse. Therefore, it’s important that you bring plenty of the same hay that you’ve been feeding at home so your horse continues to eat it while on the road. 

If your horse refuses to eat his hay or from past experience you know he’s prone to not eating because he stresses while shipping, it may help to give him a calming agent that contains tryptophane. A good product is SuPer Calm by Gateway Products. 

It’s extremely important that you monitor what your horse eats. Going without hay for approximately four hours is not a concern, but any longer may trigger a colic episode. 

You should also observe your horse’s water consumption. Since it is difficult to provide water in a moving horse trailer you’ll need to make frequent stops, approximately every hour to 1 ½ hours to offer him some. Remember to add a ¼ cup of apple juice (or artificially sweetened Kool-Aid) to the water to mask any taste differences. Stopping frequently not only lets you water your horse, but it also gives him a break from the physical stress of shipping. 

If your trip includes stopping overnight and removing your horse from the trailer, you can provide him with a meal. The number of meals you feed will depend on the length of time he’s off the trailer. Your goal is to follow your at-home feed schedule as closely as possible while your horse is unloaded. However, if you’ve stopped for an extended period of time and your horse has remained on the trailer, you should still continue only offering hay and water.

Each time you stop whether to water your horse or give yourself a break, be sure to check your horse’s overall condition. Watch for signs of distress such as elevated respiration, reluctance to eat hay or drink water, stocking up, diarrhea, or restlessness that may indicate colic.

If your horse is stocking up and the swelling isn’t getting steadily worse, sometimes adding an electrolyte to his water will help resolve the problem. An electrolyte will encourage your horse to drink more. Stocking up generally means the horse needs more water. 

Should your horse display colic symptoms, find a safe place to stop and observe him. At this point, you should administer pain relief and contact a veterinarian. 

If your horse develops diarrhea it’s most likely due to stress. Generally, once your horse is settled, it should correct itself. Supplementing with the prebiotic (Ration Plus) and the probiotic with oligosaccharides (Daily Start) mentioned in last week’s article can help prevent diarrhea. 

Once you arrive at your destination, continue to give your horse all the hay he wants and check that he is drinking at least 8 gallons of water each day. Make sure he has a plain white salt lick available. Also, don’t feed him immediately upon arrival; it’s best to wait 4 to 8 hours before doing so.  

Our thanks go to Dr. Getty for sharing her expertise with us these past three weeks. As the upcoming travel season beckons, we now know how to prepare our horses to endure the rigors of long-distance trailering.