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What Name?
Posts: 1994
   
| So I'm moving in July from middle Tennessee to Colorado. Very excited for this huge change in my life. But there are a lot of changes to come with it. However, the first obstacle will be simply getting there. I have 3 friends going with me. (2 will be driving my car. My other friend who is a horse trainer will be riding with me in the truck)
It's going to be a 3-4 day trip. I'm at a little bit of a loss on how to go about planning it. What I figured we do is stop at stables along the way and board him for the night and take my car to a hotel for ourselves. Short of googling specific locations the doesn't seem to be an easy ways to "plan" that. Any suggestions are helpful.
And things I need to consider when hauling this type of distance? I'll be getting shipping boots, means of keeping water and hay/grain for the trip. But I've never hauled this far and would love some knowledgeable input. I am currently conditioning him every month with longer hauls. Going to visit a friend in KY next month than lives 7 hours away. So trying to do that.
Anywho. Sorry for the book :) | |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 808
| I moved from Western Colorado to Kentucky last year with a stud, a broodmare and her 3 month old colt all by myself. Took me 3 days and was only 1700 miles. Was a piece of cake, but I've been hauling long distance since I was 16. Look for fairgrounds, most of those are free to overnight at but there are always places to you just Google and find. I'm lucky enough I have friends all over the country so I almost always have a place to keep the horses.
I made sure I had a weeks worth of hay on the trailer in case something happened o. The road and was stuck. I have a 15 gallon tank that I keep water in case we got stuck on the side of the road and we needed to water horses.
I kept hay in front of my horses 24/7
All three of my horses (even the baby) had standing wraps on (not shipping boots). I personally will wrap my horses if they are going to be on the road longer than 4 hours.
He will do fine on the trip as long as you're not driving like a jerk and throwing him around back there and it's not 117° in a black fully enclosed trailer lol.
Make sure to have a current coggins and health certificate with you. The second you get to Colorado call a brand inspector and get yourself a brand inspection on your horse for proof of ownership. It's a major money scam but lord help you if you get caught without one lol.
Have fun, be safe. If you have any other questions feel free to PM me. I'd driven from Alaska to Colorado hauling horses several times and all over the US and knock on wood, have never had any major issues.
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 Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| The very best thing you can do for him is put him on the trailer with hay, and drive. Keep him on the trailer, too many things can happen getting them out walking them around.
When you stop for fuel, pull around to the side and turn the pickup off for a bit and give him a break.
Drive for as long as you can, 15-16 hours is something they can handle easily. Offer water.
I hauled my mothers geriatric (20, 21, and 32) horses last year for 17 hours when she relocated. I watched them carefully, offered water at every stop, and they had about a foot of shavings. They had hay the whole way. The 32 year old gelding jumped out of the trailer and had to get his halter popped when he flagged his tail and wanted to prance down the driveway to the barn.
Make sure you have all your tire changing stuff handy, get your pickup serviced and rotate pickup and trailer tires.
Electrolyte paste is good to give to help keep them drinking on the road.
I really don't like stopping over unless I have to, and I know the place I'm stopping. There's too many freaky things that can go haywire. | |
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | classicpotatochip - 2017-03-05 7:16 AM
The very best thing you can do for him is put him on the trailer with hay, and drive. Keep him on the trailer, too many things can happen getting them out walking them around.
When you stop for fuel, pull around to the side and turn the pickup off for a bit and give him a break.
Drive for as long as you can, 15-16 hours is something they can handle easily. Offer water.
I hauled my mothers geriatric (20, 21, and 32) horses last year for 17 hours when she relocated. I watched them carefully, offered water at every stop, and they had about a foot of shavings. They had hay the whole way. The 32 year old gelding jumped out of the trailer and had to get his halter popped when he flagged his tail and wanted to prance down the driveway to the barn.
Make sure you have all your tire changing stuff handy, get your pickup serviced and rotate pickup and trailer tires.
Electrolyte paste is good to give to help keep them drinking on the road.
I really don't like stopping over unless I have to, and I know the place I'm stopping. There's too many freaky things that can go haywire.
This. If you want to stop, I'd find a fairgrounds at your halfway point and spend an hour or two decompressing. Then get back on the road. We've done WA to OK and that's 1700 vs. your 1000 and we wouldn't overnight anywhere. We'd offer water at every stop and kept hay in front of them and they were fine. We unloaded 2-4 times (usually for evening grain) with one of those being the longer stop and we drove through the night and switched drivers. Your friends could take their time but I'd go straight through. Easier on the horses I think! I didn't wrap their legs either. | |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| hammer_time - 2017-03-05 6:56 PM classicpotatochip - 2017-03-05 7:16 AM The very best thing you can do for him is put him on the trailer with hay, and drive. Keep him on the trailer, too many things can happen getting them out walking them around. When you stop for fuel, pull around to the side and turn the pickup off for a bit and give him a break. Drive for as long as you can, 15-16 hours is something they can handle easily. Offer water. I hauled my mothers geriatric (20, 21, and 32) horses last year for 17 hours when she relocated. I watched them carefully, offered water at every stop, and they had about a foot of shavings. They had hay the whole way. The 32 year old gelding jumped out of the trailer and had to get his halter popped when he flagged his tail and wanted to prance down the driveway to the barn. Make sure you have all your tire changing stuff handy, get your pickup serviced and rotate pickup and trailer tires. Electrolyte paste is good to give to help keep them drinking on the road. I really don't like stopping over unless I have to, and I know the place I'm stopping. There's too many freaky things that can go haywire. This. If you want to stop, I'd find a fairgrounds at your halfway point and spend an hour or two decompressing. Then get back on the road. We've done WA to OK and that's 1700 vs. your 1000 and we wouldn't overnight anywhere. We'd offer water at every stop and kept hay in front of them and they were fine. We unloaded 2-4 times (usually for evening grain ) with one of those being the longer stop and we drove through the night and switched drivers. Your friends could take their time but I'd go straight through. Easier on the horses I think! I didn't wrap their legs either.
I agree with this of the horses can drop their heads in the trailer, if not I would unload. You can google horse motels and rodeo/fairgrounds and find safe places to unload and walk them around. Good luck and safe travels. | |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 898
Location: Idaho | We made the trek from Las Vegas to Oklahoma about a year and a half ago, hauled my then 4 year old colt. Pretty sure I was more nervous than the horse was as it had been a long time since I hauled that far, and it was also the middle of winter.
I would check ahead on the weather, July is middle of tornado season and you'll be hauling through those tornado ridden states to get to Colorado. I would try and map out where you would like to stop and find good places to keep the horses. If you stop in Albequerque, I know of a really nice place to overnight your horse. Always check on them and offer water whenever you stop, if the weather changes make sure that they are comfortable and adjust accordingly. Keep hay in front of them at all times. Make sure your truck is solid, I spent a pretty penny making sure my car was ready to go but it was so worth it! Make sure your tires are good on your truck and trailer, bring a jack or a lug nut wrench. Bring all the little essentials for your vehicle like oil and coolant. Bring water and snacks in case you guys break down, so both you AND your horses will be taken care of. Also make sure you have road side assistance through your insurance (We have Triple A). Then like others have said, have your coggins, health cert and up to date on deworming, vaccines etc. On and lastly, I didn't wrap my horse..but I did put him in Soft Rides.
Edited by DashNDustem 2017-03-05 7:46 PM
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 Expert
Posts: 5290
| Only thing I would not do is electrolytes. Reason being is IF they DONT drink electrolytes will dehydrate them further. Now I would get a water tank and fill it with water from home. | |
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 I Drink Whiskey in Boys Shorts
Posts: 1882
| I am preparing to drive from AZ to North ID in about 9 days here. According to Google Maps it is a 19 hour and 42 minute drive. We are planning on stopping two of the nights due to traveling with a toddler. My mare will not be taken off the trailer except for going in a stall at night when we stop. We will be stopping every few hours during the day because of the toddler, and one of the stops will be extended fuel and food stop to allow my mare to relax for a bit. I have been researching making travel more comfortable and I believe that I am going to put those interlocking rubber mats under the trailer mats coupled with rice hull bedding on top because they don't ball up under their feet as bad as shavings. I always keep hay in front of them and offer water every time I stop. My mare isn't picky about water and drinks good on the road, so I should be good there. I have heard of people starting to add a flavor type additive to their picky drinker's water leading up to the departure date so they can add it to any strange water and fool their horse. I have been to the vet already for paperwork and will keep that with her registration papers in the door of my truck. I have called all state vets to see what if any additional paperwork is required by their state. I suggest you keep bute and banamine paste on hand in case you need it. Make sure you stock up on basic first aid supplies and haul enough hay if you can. You can check sites such as horsemotel.com to search for layover stops with stalls.
Good luck on your new adventure! | |
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 Bulls Eye
Posts: 6443
Location: Oklahoma | www.horsemotels.com will be a great guide. I've hauled many times from San Diego to Kentucky and have found I split my days up into about 600 miles a day. I don't ever unload during the day, just let the horses rest for about 30 minutes with the truck off everytime I fill up with fuel. I offer them water at this point too. I lay over at night and pay the money at the horse motels. Mine love it and I've traveled with weanlings to aged horses this way | |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 582
Location: Wherever They Send Me | TwistedK - 2017-03-06 7:10 AM
www.horsemotels.com will be a great guide. I've hauled many times from San Diego to Kentucky and have found I split my days up into about 600 miles a day. I don't ever unload during the day, just let the horses rest for about 30 minutes with the truck off everytime I fill up with fuel. I offer them water at this point too. I lay over at night and pay the money at the horse motels. Mine love it and I've traveled with weanlings to aged horses this way
I use horsemotel.com too!! I plan my trips around where the barns are. I have never had a bad experience with anyone listed on this site.
When I stop for fuel, I offer water, check legs (I don't wrap)...grab a snack for myself and off we go again. My horses are well traveled (military family), the have moved from Texas to North Carolina, North Carolina to Kansas, Kansas to Alaska (hauled professionally), and Alaska to Louisiana (had them hauled professionally most of the way).
My now 24 (he was 22 when we moved from Alaska) doesn't drink in the trailer; he never has in the 12 years Ive owned him. I did find that if I mixed some ground beet pulp in the water, he drank it no problem. | |
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