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Elite Veteran
Posts: 838
  
Location: Georgia | I will be hauling a mare home this weekend, which is roughly a 10 hour trip. Do any of you recommend using any kind of leg wraps, poultices, or any other methods to make her comfortable during a haul. Thank you!  |
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 Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
 
Location: Oklahoma | I keep bermuda hay in front of mine when hauling. I offer water everytime I stop and fill up with fuel and leave the truck off for about 30 minutes to prevent any vibrations. I do not wrap. I also do not take mine out of the trailer unless it is for a layover at night. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 838
Location: Georgia | TwistedK - 2015-12-08 8:19 AM
I keep bermuda hay in front of mine when hauling. I offer water everytime I stop and fill up with fuel and leave the truck off for about 30 minutes to prevent any vibrations. I do not wrap. I also do not take mine out of the trailer unless it is for a layover at night.
I've hauled broodmares and babies on long trips before without issues but never a horse that's in top competitive shape, so I wasn't for sure if I needed to take extra precautions. I definitely keep hay handy and offer water. Thank you for your advice. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2457
| Keep hay in front of them - offer water when you stop. Plan at least one decently long stop where you get out to eat (or something) which allows that horse to rest for a bit.
I use soft rides, but they are not a requirement by any means. I routinely haul 14+ hours one way for events. |
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Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | Klittle3 - 2015-12-08 7:26 AM
TwistedK - 2015-12-08 8:19 AM
I keep bermuda hay in front of mine when hauling. I offer water everytime I stop and fill up with fuel and leave the truck off for about 30 minutes to prevent any vibrations. I do not wrap. I also do not take mine out of the trailer unless it is for a layover at night.
I've hauled broodmares and babies on long trips before without issues but never a horse that's in top competitive shape, so I wasn't for sure if I needed to take extra precautions. I definitely keep hay handy and offer water. Thank you for your advice.
I also usually bed my trailer deep in shavings for some cushion. If you use magnets/therapy things they wouldn't hurt. I quit wrapping because I had a horse get sweaty under the wraps and ended up with a capped hock from kicking in the trailer. I may use bell boots only if they have shoes and have another horse next to them. I will also offer a soupy bran mash with mineral oil the night before a long haul to keep them lubricated. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 838
Location: Georgia | Normally I don't haul far for rodeos or barrel races so I just want to make sure to keep her comfy. Thanks for all of the advice! |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 629
| I recently discovered that my mare really responds well to rubbing her legs down with alcohol or liniment and then wrapping with pillow wraps and standing bandages. She's had some abscessing issues lately, and recently right before a big super show we went to, and I wanted to make sure she was comfy in the back end for the haul and for standing in a stall for 4 days. We only hauled about 2 hours away, but she was wrapped with alcohol and bandages almost constantly for 4 days and she gave me 2 of the best runs she's had all year. |
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I AM being nice
Posts: 4396
Location: MD | I typically haul bare legged. On the occasion that I do wrap, I refuse to haul a mare long distances wrapped behind. As they urinate onto a wall, much of the urine will splatter back onto those wraps. I've seen more than a few mares come off of a long trailer ride with hand wraps that have soaked through and scalded one up pretty good. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 629
| That's good to note to look for. I've never noticed urine on my horses legs, and on that trip that I wrapped her legs, she did not urinate on her legs, or splash onto the wraps, so in 4 days I didn't run into that issue. I'm sure there are some mares that could happen to though. |
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | I just make sure I've got hay and water In Front of them and lots of shavings. I don't wrap. I will slap on a poultice halfway through but don't wrap it. My horse has done multiple 14+ hour trips and less is more theory has worked well. |
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 I Chore in Chucks
Posts: 2882
Location: MD | I put hay in front of them with fly masks on and poultice on their legs. I also like to take that absorbine liniment and drizzle some on their backs if the trip is taking extra time. I will take them off if I find a good spot to let them rest because they don't put up fights about loading really ever. More times then not they will roll if given the opportunity and IMO they deserve it especially on hauls over 5 hours. |
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 Expert
Posts: 3782
Location: Gainesville, TX | I like shipping boots in case they move much and scratch themselves by stepping on each other or butting up against the trailer wall. Shipping boots aren't overly expensive either. Otherwise, just frequent rest stops every 3-4 hours. We haul ours in fly masks since we had one stick her head down in her hay and scratch her eyes. That was one $900 vet bill I don't care to see again. And of course hay bags for each. If its cold they get sheets. |
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Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | I prefer Stopping as little as possible. On a 10 hour Tri I would stop once to let them out and walk around--that's it. |
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Red Bull Agressive
Posts: 5981
Location: North Dakota | The shortest distance I've ever hauled a horse is 1 1/2 hours and the longest was 2 days of driving almost 12 hours. I never wrap and haven't poulticed but it wouldn't hurt. If you like the magnets or whatever therapy stuff (as long as it won't make them too hot) then go for it. My guy went totally nekkid with just a hay net in front of him at all times and offered water at every stop. We stopped every few hours and the only time I let him out was when we stopped overnight. |
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  Independent Cuss
Posts: 3978
Location: Dearing, GA | I hauled mine loose in a two horse. I kept the divider open. He rode backwards most of the time. I kept hay in there, and offered water every 4 hours (whenever we stopped for gas). I did not wrap or let him out of the trailer. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 516
| Made a sixteen hour trip split into two days about a month ago. Bedded the trailer generously and kept a hay bag in front of him. Offered water every four hours and let him rest for 30 minutes to an hour and then off we went again. Kept him naked and no issues! |
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 Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| I make that kind of haul more than I care to think about. It's the 24 hours or more that really get grueling, even broken into two days. Just make sure you've got a hay bag, and spend a little more time than normal parked at the gas station when you stop for fuel. Unless the weather's hot, your horse probably won't accept a drink. I do have a mare that I put Soft Rides on, because she has sore feet. Otherwise, I prefer to haul on shavings. I also pull an open stock trailer, so I prefer to haul with horses blanketed if the temperature is under 50.
I'm often by myself, so once they're on the trailer, they stay on the trailer until we get to our stopping place. Too much can happen that's out of our control. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 838
Location: Georgia | Thank you everyone for the helpful advice. The trip shouldn't take me more than 10 hours and for the most part, I believe the weather will be decent this weekend. I'll be hauling in a 4H Sundowner with shavings and I'll be sure to keep hay in front of her and offer her water midway. I shouldn't have to stop more than once for fuel, hopefully. I'll be pulling by myself so the less I stop the better! Thanks again and safe travels to everyone else on the roads this week and weekend!!!  |
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Long distance hauling