Travelling can be a stressful activity for horses, both mentally and physically. Horses use up as much energy travelling as they do walking. We have compiled our top tips to make sure your horse travels happily and safely this summer.
- The night before travel, pre-load your horse with soaked Lucie Nuts and PuraBeet. This will give your horse extra energy for the journey as well as additional water intake to keep him hydrated.
- Start adding Summer Salt to your horse’s feed – either a few days before a long journey or, if your horse is travelling frequently, feed your horse a low dose of salt every day. This will replinish salts lost through sweat during travel.
- If you are travelling for an extended period of time, have regular rest breaks every 2 hours and untie your horse so his head can reach the floor. Offer a soaked feed such as Lucie Nuts fed from ground level. Feeding from ground level will allow the horse to keep airways open and allow mucus to drain naturally, which will help prevent respiratory issues or “shipping fever”.
- Dust extract your hay before travelling by giving it a good shake up outside.
- Ensure good ventilation but never travel with the front ramp door of a trailer open.
- Feed haylage or soaked hay whilst travelling to keep your horse hydrated (though avoid this in hot weather so that hay does not begin to ferment).
- Add a dash of apple juice to a bucket of water to encourage your horse to drink. Offer your horse a drink before travel, during any rest stops and when you arrive. Alongside plain water, offer your horse salted water at a rate of 5g of salt per litre or a tablespoon per gallon.
- If your horse is making a long journey, feed a course of Eclipse Recovery to support the immune system and digestive function.
- If your horse doesn’t eat much when travelling, you will need to make sure he is fed additional feeds to make up for it. If your journey is over 100 miles, organise to arrive the day before an event or competition so that your horse can rest overnight.
- If you horse has trouble loading, take some bedding from their stable to familiarise the horsebox or trailer. Even if there is rubber matting, horses often travel better on some form of bedding to soak up any moisture.
- When you reach your destination, avoid the rush to get your horse off the trailer immediately but give them 5 minutes to rest and regain their balance after travelling.
Our recommended feeds for travelling
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✓ Ideal for soaking ✓ Economical ✓ Improves stamina ✓ High in calcium ✓ Supports muscles and bones |
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✓ Ideal for soaking |
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✓ 100% natural |
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✓ Natural tonic feed |
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Please contact our Feed Line on 01728 604 008 or email info@simplesystem.co.uk for free individual feeding advice for your horse.
Our Feed Line is available Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm.
