# the long haul



## krissy3 (Apr 1, 2010)

Hi all,

I will be picking up my new horse on Thursady (very exciting) . here is the deal...

he is traveling from Texas to Luxemberg, I pick him up in Lexemberg on Friday morning and take him home. The drive is a 9 or 10 hour drive. He is taken to the airport in Texas on the 7th of April early in the morning , waits in quarantine for 5 hours then is on the airplane for an additional 12 or so hours. I will be there when he arrives and will sit with him and brush him and love on him. The following morning he will be able to be released and we will take him home. My Farrier said he will be happier in the trailer NOT tied and loose to find a good position. I have shavings in the trailer. What do you guys think? I hate to tie him and put in the deviders for such a long way , when he will already be so exausted. I know my horses are less stressed when they ride loose. Next question. If the weather is OK should I transport him without a blanket ? i will bring a few different weights but I think he might be happier without the blanket if weather permits. what do you think? i know, silly questions , but I want him to be happy and stress free.

thanks,

Kissy


----------



## Sabrina (Apr 1, 2010)

i know when i was trailering one of my biggies that my farrier said to use the divider as a support for them on a long haul.- something for them to lean on. i usually don't tie. i just put the leads on when i get where i am going. hope this helps some- WHAT A LONG TRIP!!!




and congrats


----------



## Mominis (Apr 1, 2010)

Wow, I've been worried about my little guy's long two-day trip. Yours is going to have a much longer ride! I would suggest that you Gastro-guard him before the trip. Studies have shown that many horses develop minor ulcerations due to travel stress. Any ride over 4 hours, I always Gastro-guard, just in case.

I am of two minds when it comes to riding loose in a horse box. One one hand, I think it does the horse a world of good to have the dividers to support them for turns and such. On the other hand, someone told me horror stories about minis getting hung up in their trailer ties and strangling themselves. I've opted to have mine ride loose because those stories scared me so much.

On the blanket, if the weather is nice and you are hauling in an enclosed horse box, I would haul him without a blanket. He is likely to be nervous and sweat and there is nothing worse than having the poor guy stand in a soaked rug for heaven knows how long until you reach your destination. I would put a scrim sheet on him if he is body clipped.

Best wishes for a safe trip. I'll bet you are just beside yourself with excitement to meet your new boy.


----------



## Ellen (Apr 4, 2010)

Yeah! He is almost there! I would probably take lots of water and some beatpulp, soaked in water, with minerals and oil. I agree with letting him go free.

I think the gastrogaurd is perfect. He will need it.

Oh my, I think everyone had great answers. I always take lots of soaked beatpulp with me, that is my only suggestion.

Good Luck, and let us all know how it goes!


----------



## AnnaC (Apr 4, 2010)

Krissy, from what you posted it sounds as though your new boy will be staying overnight (depending upon flight time) at the airport? Provided they give him at least a decent amount of bedding, he may well get some rest before his final journey to your place. As has been suggested - keep anything you give him to eat well wetted, as he will be dehydrated after such a long trip - same goes for your 'rest stops' during your trip home. plus some sort of protection against ulcers would be sensible.

As far as your trailer in concerned, it is really up to you whether you want to use a partition or not, but I always feel that it is the driver/speed/cornering that causes the horse trouble, and a carefully driven horse is often happier left to find its preferred place to stand. But I do agree with leaving them loose, particularly in a trailer with just one horse - it is not like a lorry (open to view the horses) - you cant see if he gets into a problem with his rope in a trailer.

When we colleted Dragon from Prestwick a couple of years ago, we did have him loose in a partition (horse box) but we had the whole box bedded up with a mountain of straw and every time we stopped to rest him en route, we let him loose in the rest of the lorry, giving him an 8 x 7 foot 'space' and after a small wet feed and a mouthfull or two of wet hay, he promptly laid down and went to sleep - we had to wait over an hour before he woke up so we could continue our journey LOL!! But he was just so very tired and I am sure that rest/sleep really helped him to keep going until we could get him home.

When we moved from the Sussex coast to Wales several years ago, we had some 36 minis to move, most of whom had never travelled before. our Lorry takes 5 at a time, all in partitions, but purpose built so they are just large enough for a mini to turn round in. Each partition is completely enclosed with solid walls topped by grids so they can all see each other for company. No one was tied up and almost without exception they all turned to travel facing backwards with their bottoms backed into a corner. We travelled at night to avoid traffic hold ups and progressed for the first half an hour at 20 - 30 mph to give everyone a chance to 'find their legs'! Once on the motorway we could get a shift along as the roads are without turns and twists. We took two breaks of and hour and a half each, to rest the horses, offering them water and wet hay. Without exception they all travelled beautifully. BUT we really had to slow right down on leaving the motorway and hitting the smaller roads in Wales, as most of them were getting pretty tired by then and were snoozing, and the bends in the roads startled them somewhat! A carefully reduced speed soon relaxed them again - just something to think about as I know I am personally often caught out by the sudden bends in a road as you come to the end of miles of motorway driving!!

Wishing you all the very best with your boys long trip - hoping that you will be posting pictures of him in his new home very soon








Anna


----------



## JWC sr. (Apr 8, 2010)

First of all congradulations on taking an American Shetland to Europe, there are not many over there and you should be really happy with him, they are really neat horses. I personally like to use stall dividers as a way to give the horse a way to brace themselves if they want during a long trip. But that is just personal preference and we have done it both ways with good results.

We also use the gastro guard, plus we dose them with electrolytes prior to the trip and provide lots and lots of water and soaked beet pulp during the trip.

Frequent stops wil also help when that is possible.

Good luck and let us all know how it goes for you and your new pony!!!!


----------

