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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1165
  
Location: California | How long will you drive before unloading your horse and let them stretch their legs? Do you give tjem hay? Just curiois how everyone does things :) |
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 Dr. Ruth
Posts: 9891
  
Location: Blissfully happy Giants fan!!! | We used to make 8 hour one way drives to run for the weekend. I also hauled two from California to Texas 3 years ago. I have done both-letting them out and also letting them stand in the trailer and just rest. I personally feel they do better by getting them out of the trailer. Walk around a bit, get them something to drink, let them eat some grass if you are in an area to do that. I believe they take the drive better that way. I also really believe my gelding would have drank a heck of a lot better than what he did when he sat in the trailer. But he survived.
Either way, I stopped every 4 hours. It typically coincided with needing diesel. So we would just take an extra long time-usually an hour or so, to just rest, eat, take a break, etc.
Also, I don't wrap legs anymore. It is too hot for one in Texas. But unless I have an idiot for a horse that might knick one of my horses (and I do), it hasn't proven to do anything else but make their legs hot. |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
| When we hauled 8 hours from MI to IA last summer we stopped every couple hours to top off fuel and offer water. We stopped about halfway through for lunch and he got a longer break then. Had a hay bag the whole time.
Personally, I will not unload unless I have a horse secure area to do so or absolutely have to for some reason. I do not feel it is safe to have a horse out of the trailer at a truck stop or rest area. One, even the most seasoned hauler can give trouble loading in an unfamiliar setting, 2 other people be crazy and cars/trucks alike tend to drive way to fast in some areas for my comfort.
If we have to haul longer than 20 hours total trailer time with breaks, I try my hardest to find a barn that will provide overnight lodging, preferably a dry lot or round pen they can stretch their legs in. Next best case is to haul a pen/tie out with us and find a horse friendly campground.
I haven't wrapped in years in the trailer, between heat buildup and having horses get wraps or boots loose and those presenting an issue, it's better to leave them naked. Wraps would be better done upon arrivial to help prevent stocking up etc, especially if the horse has to be stall bound and can't move around. |
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 Expert
Posts: 3782
Location: Gainesville, TX | When we hauled a mare from Georgia in February, we gave her plenty of shavings and a hay bag. We unloaded her every four hours to walk around. However, the last hour and a half she stuck her nose down in her hay bag and scratched both her corneas because there was freezing rain coming through into the trailer. Moral to the story. Make sure they wear a fly mask too. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1165
Location: California | Thanks guys! Sounds like how I do things :)
I have a 9 hour trip coming up and couldnt decide whether to unload them once or leave them on... My 8yr old has made many long trips and is fine unloading and loading in strange areas. Her 2yr old gelding i honestly dont know how he'll be.... They have slow feed hay bags that they will have and i'll offer water when I stop. I will be stopping for lunch and will be parked for a while. Thinking it might be smarter to leave them on the trailer since i'll be alone.... |
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 Expert
Posts: 2457
| It helps to know the horse. My mare is seasoned at hauling and every time you offer water, she guzzles the whole bucket. So, I don't worry about her as much.
When we hauled to Vegas, we ran 12 hours to Albuquerque first and overnighted there. We stopped every 4 hours for fuel and would hang out about 20 - 30 mins more and offered water. We did not unload until we arrived in NM. When we unloaded in NM, they all were fresh and ran around the arena for about 30 mins before we placed them in large turnouts with hay and fresh water. The next day was an easier drive (8 hours) into Vegas but we still stopped every 4 hours again to offer water while fueling. We also kept hay in front of them - not in hay bags but on the floor. We didn't have any issues with the 4 horse we hauled either going or coming back.
It helps to know your horses temperature, breathing, and resting heart rate before you haul. You can monitor these easily and can get in front of an issue if you need to. |
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 Money Eating Baggage Owner
Posts: 9586
Location: Phoenix | We will stop and let them out if we are at a good rest stop--typically every 7-10 hours. Like if our trip is 8-10 hours, we go straight though. I keep hay and water in front of them at all times. When we went from WA to TX we had 2 major stops where we rested for about an hour each time and found places to turn them out. I'll drop the window bars while we stop and eat at a restaurant and just leave them inside. The one thing we did on that trip that was really handy was leave the house with a sealed bucket already full of water. That way I could fill up on the road immediately and didn't have to run around to find water. I always filled up before we left a place. Better yet, if you have a water tank you're all set. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 678
Location: Canada | Honestly unless its a really long haul 16+ hours or more I don't get them off the trailer (exception is older 18 and up horses, and if I hauled young ones they would be left off more often but I don't). I apply Green Cool and wrap legs to help with the stocking up. I water with electrolytes and check hay at every fuel stop and do visual checks on them and I use Bye Bye odor in the trailer to keep the smell to a minimum.
On long hauls I do let them off the trailer at rest stops that are well off the highway. I honestly don't see a difference in the horses I let off the trailer and those I don't in terms of stiffness or stocking up.
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 Expert
Posts: 1857
| RunNitroRun - 2014-05-07 1:04 PM
Honestly unless its a really long haul 16+ hours or more I don't get them off the trailer (exception is older 18 and up horses, and if I hauled young ones they would be left off more often but I don't). I apply Green Cool and wrap legs to help with the stocking up. I water with electrolytes and check hay at every fuel stop and do visual checks on them and I use Bye Bye odor in the trailer to keep the smell to a minimum.
On long hauls I do let them off the trailer at rest stops that are well off the highway. I honestly don't see a difference in the horses I let off the trailer and those I don't in terms of stiffness or stocking up.
^^^this^^^, if it's a two day trip we do try and plan our stop about 12-15 hours. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 602
| I stop every 4 hrs for about 30 mins. I dont let my horses out because its to dangerous to do so at a truck stop. I keep feed in front of them and dont wrap legs. Shipping boots get too hot. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 832
Location: Kansas (but Great Lakes member since 1978) | I've been hauling long distances for over 30 years (if you haul the Great Lakes Circuit and even more you get use to that. I have extra wide stalls for my horses, no mangers and partitions clear to the floor for all my horses. I only use shavings in the winter. I have been known to haul 19 hours straight with no unloading but I do stop for fuel and also for "pit stops" for the dogs so my horses get down time to relax. Of course they are use to hauling so they nibble on hay most of the time and drink at least some every time I offer them water, which is every time I stop. I've never had a horse have any problems. I don't tie them in because my trailer is fixed so they can't reach over or under to get to each other (learned that one time in Michigan after a couple mares were really sick of each other after about three weeks of straight hauling. I also hauled a lot in ice and snow so I kept the front windows open just a bit for fresh air and I have made screens for my front windows so they don't have to worry about anything flying into their eyes. Yes, I drive very carefully starting and stopping so as to not give my "kids" any more rough rides than necessary. I think it really all depends on you horses getting use to travel. Mine usually about knock me down to get into the trailer. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 956
Location: Washington | If it is around 12hr drive or less we will drive straight through without unloading. But if longer we usually drive 8hrs then find a place to stay. I personally don't like unloading especially at gas stations or rest stops. When we stop to fuel they get a good break, we water them and let them stick their noses out the windows and look around while we go get something to munch on or use the restroom.
Ours have hay in front of them at all times, on long hauls we use the slow feed nets in the mangers. It keeps them busy longer and they don't eat all their hay in an hour.
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 684
Location: Oklahoma | When we haul over 10 hours we will usually stop every 4-5 hours and get them out a let them walk around a bit. The last time we hauled to California from Oklahoma (straight through), we stopped about every 6 hours when we stopped for diesel. If you do choose to stop, in a quiet corner of a truck stop, rest area, whatever, if its not a horse facility....Don't let your horses graze. You never know what the grass has been sprayed with, and usually the state and countys spray with arsenic and other potentialy toxic to horses weed killers |
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