As summer shows are under way and temperatures rise, it is crucial to the health of your horse to remember that, while you’re cruising down the road in the air-conditioning, your horse is not. So, what effect does hauling in the heat have on your horse? In the first section of our two-part series on hauling, we sought veterinary advice, talked with seasoned horse haulers, horse show exhibitors and a trailer representative from the warmest climate about how to best get your horse from point a to point b this summer.

Keep Your Horse Hydrated: Veterinary Advice

Practicing equine medicine for over 45 years, Dr. William Riddle VMD, Ph.D owns and operates Cecil Veterinary Clinic in Port Deposit, Maryland. Riddle is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, Equine Surgery. He is also a certified practitioner of Hyperbaric Oxygen Medicine. Besides his work in equine medicine, Riddle is a long-time breeder and racer of Thoroughbreds and Standerbreds, but currently his passion is showing Cutting horses.

“Shipping should always be considered a risk but hauling in hot weather is the worst,” Riddle says. “First of all, prepare your horse for the trip ahead of time and don’t do any strenuous work for at least 24 hours. Give your horse the best shot at being normally hydrated before you start out. Electrolytes are OK to put in the feed but we never put them in the water. I recommend just clean fresh water in clean buckets or tubs.”

Riddle recommends taking water from home if you are able so that the horse is used to drinking in jugs or tubs. He likes to hay and offer water at every fuel stop about every three to four hours and suggests keeping in mind that whether or not your horse drinks and the amount he drinks should determine the next time you should stop.

“The first stop for water depends on how early you leave in the day,” Riddle says. “If it is really early, they may not have gotten a chance to drink before you loaded them. In that case, give them an hour or so to munch on some hay before watering.”

Knowing your horse and how he normally hauls is critical to a successful long haul in the heat, according to Riddle. If you know your horse has a difficult time trailering, administering fluids is not bad idea,  as long as you give enough to make a difference. He ordinarily would administer three full bags of fluids to these horses.

“If your horses are in tie stalls, I think nine to 10 hours is about as far as they should go.” Riddle says. ” Unload and put your horse in a nice clean stall with lots of hay and fresh water. If they are being shipped loose in separate box stalls where they can turn around and move freely then longer trailer times aren’t as critical.”

He strongly advises preparing your trailer with some sort of bedding to encourage your horse to urinate while trailering without splashing. He likes to pack hay nets with some good alfalfa on top of a hefty amount of timothy or orchard grass hay.

“When preparing your trailer, think of all the variables and don’t put horses next to each other that don’t get along,” Riddle says.

When you arrive at your destination if your horse looks lethargic, is acting sick or just uncomfortable there is a good chance, according to Riddle, that your horse is dehydrated and should be seen by a veterinarian immediately.

“The most important thing is to monitor each horse for their condition during the trip,” Riddle says. “Look for signs of distress like pawing, sweating or trying to lie down, etc.”

Take Extra Care: Hauling Right

Longtime horse hauler, Charlie Self of Melbourne, Florida has relied mostly on word of mouth to gain clientele and in his 21 years in the business Charlie has very loyal customers who appreciate the extra care he takes.

“I treat the horses like they are my own,” Self says. “I really look at them when I stop to fuel. If they are getting hot, I like to take a spray bottle and put some water on their necks and chests to keep their body temperature down.”

When hauling, Self likes to keep a water bucket hung in the trailer and stops approximately every four hours or so. He then checks the water to see if buckets need to be refilled and also will give them more hay at that point.

“I like to see if they are drinking,” Self says. “In the summertime, I will frequently ask my customers to put their horses on some electrolytes two to three days before hauling if they are going far and I will usually put some in their water buckets to help keep them drinking. I like to see them drink a bucket of water every 12 hours but some horses drink good and some just do not. Some horses will wait until they get into the barn to drink.”

When arriving at his destination, Self likes to see horses drink and be bright eyed. Sometimes he will take their temperature as well. If a horse is very sweaty or hot coming off the trailer, he will hose them down.

“I like to call after a day or two to make sure the horse is doing well as a courtesy to the customer,” Self says.

If he is traveling a long distance, Self likes to lay up every 12 to 13 hours. Unless the customer requests, Self explains he does not like to feed grain on the trailer when it is hot out. If he is laying over for a period of time, he will usually grain them then.

“I like to give the horses hay that they are used to eating,” Self says. “I always ask the people where I pick the horse what kind of hay the horse is eating and ask for hay for their horse on the trip. I always ask about the horse, how it hauls and if there is anything I need to know.”

Self does not recommend using leg wraps because when it is hot the sweat will run under the wraps and irritate the horse’s legs. He usually finds the leg wraps stomped down, on the floor or has horses trying to kick them off. He will haul horses in leg wraps if the customer requests it but he finds usually at some point he ends up taking them off.

“The heat definitely builds up when you are stopped on the road,” Self says. “I have an insulated trailer, which I think really helps keep the horses cooler, and I run with the windows dropped down on the back side of the trailer. I usually do not run with the windows down in the front because sometimes things off the road can fly up.”

Living in Florida for many years, Self once had a trailer with air-conditioning on the horses but he has found that he would rather the horses were in a trailer with insulation and enough ventilation. He cautions against using an air-conditioned trailer because, unless you have a gauge in your truck to tell you if the generator is on or not, it is hard to tell if it is really working.

“You have to really watch with the air-conditioning because all the windows are all closed up and you need to know that the air is on and working,” Self says. “I would rather haul horses in the temperature it is outside with the windows down.”

Self highly recommends having a camera in your trailer so you can see inside your truck what is going on in the back as you travel down the road. He also recommends disinfecting your trailer after a long haul. He often cleans and waters down the back of his trailer after a long haul as kind of a “self preventive measure.”

Sandy Turmell of Oxford, Connecticut has owned her own horse hauling business for the past 15 years. She  travels mostly in the eastern half of the United States and frequently makes trips to Texas as well. She is also a long-time exhibitor at AQHA shows and has shown many superior horses.

Usually she rests her horses every four to five hours when she stops for fuel. When the weather is really hot, she will try to schedule these stops at earlier and later times of the day. She also tries to stop when truck stops are not really busy so the horses aren’t waiting too long stopped.

“I like to haul with water in front of my horses all the time. I hang buckets for the seasoned hauling horses and let them drink as they like,” Turmell says. “For the horses that have not been hauled a bunch, I usually don’t hang a bucket but instead offer them a drink when I stop to fuel. I don’t expect the horses to drink a lot especially the young ones.”

Turmell explains that usually there is too much activity going on at fuel stops for the horses to look at so if a horse doesn’t drink much she is not surprised. Although she has never had to run fluids on any of the horses she has hauled a long distance, she does on occasion use electrolytes.

“When I pick a horse up I ask about the horse and how they usually haul if the owner has taken them lots of places,” Turmell says. “It really all depends on what the trainers or owners ask me to use. I also like to use the same hay that the horse is used to eating so there is no change and often get hay for the horse when I pick them up.”

Turmell has also used “hydration hay” as well as soaked alfalfa cubes for the horses who aren’t drinking. She explains that if she knows a horse is not drinking well or the horse is a known poor hauler, using the hydration hay will allow the horses to get their water by eating the hay.

She usually only feeds horses grain if she lays over, which is almost always when she is running long distances during the summer months.

“I think the straight through trips are a little harder on the horses so I usually stop and lay over if I am going far,” Turmell says. “I also try to run at night when it’s not extremely hot outside.”

Turmell advises having an insulated trailer and claims she would never have a trailer again that wasn’t insulated because she finds it much cooler for the horses. She typically does not drop the windows in front unless she has an empty slot and will drop that window down. She finds that the open windows on the horses’ faces can give them too much wind exposure on a long haul. She also recommends not using leg wraps when it’s hot and only keeps a horse wrapped if a client requests it.

“I like to untie the horses’ heads when I stop to fuel to let them put their heads down for a few minutes and let them blow out any snot that may have built up,” Turmell says. “I think the best advice I could give for hauling horses is to use common sense and take it as it comes,”

As a lifelong Florida resident and long-time professional horse trainer, Cheryl Hawkins of Ocala, Florida has trained many Congress and World Champions in AQHA, APHA and PHBA all-around events. Hawkins recommends watering every couple of hours when stopping for fuel.

“We leave really early or in the middle of the night when it’s cooler,” Hawkins says. “We watch how much they are drinking on the trip and like to see them drink when we get to our destination.”

While on the road in the summer, Hawkins will put all the windows down on her trailer front and back side. She also has an aluminum, insulated trailer which she feels is much cooler for the horses. She does not recommend graining during a haul but rather feeds alfalfa hay that she refills for the horses when their bags are empty.

If Hawkins has to haul a bad traveling horse, she will give them electrolytes to help keep them drinking. She also uses Gastrogard on many of her horses to keep their digestive system on track to help with the stress of hauling and showing. In addition, she feels wrapping legs do “more harm than good” because, in the heat, horses will usually stomp them down or off.

“I have never really had a sick horse when hauling,” Hawkins says. “We just stop and check them frequently and take care of them.”

Buying the right trailer: Cooling options

In the horse business for over 30 years, Bob Kennedy of Ocala, Florida has been the manager of Coast to Coast Truck and Trailer Sales Inc. for the past 12 years. Coast to Coast is owned by Nancy Ditty and her mother, Susan Scott who have been in the trailer business for over 35 years, representing the best trailer lines in Ocala.

Kennedy recommends buying an aluminum trailer that has insulation to keep horses the coolest in warm weather climates.

“With the number of aluminum trailers on the market these days, it is hard to not become confused,” Kennedy says. “Coast To Coast has been a 4-Star dealer for over 35 years and also represents Hart, Sundowner and Platinum between the two stores in Ocala. The aluminum trailers come with some important options that will protect your horses on a hot trip.”

The three important options available for these trailers Kennedy best describes from top, middle and bottom to keep your horse both cool and hydrated on long trips. The most popular option is on the top which is having an insulated roof in your trailer.

“Roof insulation is a great option and becoming more popular all the time,” Kennedy says. “It does make up to a five degree difference, studies show.”

Besides having an insulated roof, Kennedy also recommends doubling the amount of air vents on the roof of the trailer so that the heat can escape from the roof. This heat comes from both the weather and from the horses.

“We install fans on a daily basis these days. Not only do they keep the air moving in the horse compartment while pulling, but also if delayed on the road, as we all get,” Kennedy says. “It will keep the air moving around and we suggest that they are installed along the top rail on the hip side of the horse.”

The middle of the trailer as Kennedy describes will have the option of hydration by offering a watering system in the trailer.

“We offer a water system that will supply water to your horse on the way down the road,” Kennedy says. “Another advantage to this system is that your horses are drinking your own water. As we all know it can be a big change for them as you arrive at your next show. The water tastes different everywhere you go.”

As for the bottom features available on aluminum trailers, Kennedy advises inquiring about the thickness of the aluminum floor because there are many different ways to construct aluminum floors.

“With the construction on the better all aluminum trailers, the floor is a major, important factor with your trailer,” Kennedy says. “The heat will come through the floor from the road so the horse is going to feel it. We suggest a poured floor which also will eliminate the rubber mats. This not only acts as a floor insulation but will also give the horses a cushion. This option saves your floor from any urine or any other substance that will harm your aluminum floor. All of these features are available at Coast to Coast Trailers.”