Horse Transportation
Horse transportation may sound like a simple idea, but it requires much planning, and action implicated than one may think. You should consider on some important issues such as making your horse ready for actions that would be taken while in transportation. One of the intricate areas is how to prepare your horse properly for voyage. The matter of shipping boots and bandaging are covered under this area. Go through this article to get some useful tips regarding hassle free transportation both for you and your horses.
• Veterinarian checkup—Make sure that your horse has gone through the veterinarian check up within 4 weeks of the voyage, he is fit, and fine to bear the journey and that he is had all his vaccinations. This particularly is very important if the journey is long. Along with this, practice the trailer with your horse, so that he may get familiarize with the process.
• Shipping/bandaging boots – people generally ignore this factor, as they do not feel the need to bandage their horse’s legs or use the shipping boots. However, this is a very important aspect to be kept in mind while horse transportation. Bandaging is not necessary if your horse does not have shoes, but if your horse has shoes then a proper bandaging is necessary to prevent coronet. Wrap the bandages tightly and make sure that any straw and hay is not stuck in the bandage otherwise, it will irritate your horse during the entire voyage. If your horse has a tendency of kicking a lot then avoid using the shipping boots as he could injure himself by doing so. Though shipping boots may add much heat during the transportation but overall it a safe choice for voyage. Give your horse enough time to be accustomed wearing them before the journey.
• The Vehicle Preparation – the vehicle your horse will be transporting in must be in a good condition. All parts must be in working condition and confirm there is no missing parts or rust in the vehicle. Keeping some spare parts for the trailer is also a great idea. Adequate ventilation is must in horse transportation since horses are inclined to over heating.
• Food and water– dehydration is the most common problem witnessed during the shipping so make sure there is enough water for your horse in the trailer. Serve him water after every four hours to prevent the dehydration. Prefer hay instead of the horse grain or the rich feed as they may cause some problem in the large intestine of the horse. Hay also helps preventing dehydration as it retains water in the gut. Wash away the urine and manure at each stop to prevent the respiratory infections.
Horse transportation requires proper planning and must not be attempted a night before leaving. Plan at least a week ahead of the departure. Keep the above-mentioned tips in mind for your horse transportation to assure a safe and comfortable ride for your horse and for yourself.