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Travelling Tips
In this article, we hand the ‘reins’ over to Catherine Owens, who is Carl Hester’s top groom, for her top tips for keeping your horse on the road and healthy. So if you are planning to compete this summer, then read Catherine’s essential guide:
Preparation and Planning is Everything
This really is the key to successful travelling! Having travelled horses all over the world, you really have to check and double check everything, there’s no popping back home for that brow band or spurs when you are in miles away from home so keep a check list handy to cross reference. Keeping the lorry tidy is also essential if you are to have hope of finding anything in a rush! So pack those essentials that you need, in an easy to reach place and any small bits that could get lost and dropped put a box with a secure lid.
There May Be Trouble Ahead…….
One of the biggest nightmares you can have is a horse that won’t load and again preparation done at home will hopefully overcome the problem. You need to establish whether the problem is with fear or just being plain naughty and deal with either in a calm manner! I like to practice loading young or in-experienced horses at home before I even attempt a journey by feeding them on the lorry/trailer and getting them used to a confined space. Next I will progress with short journeys and travel them if possible in both lorries and trailers. When travelling a horse in a trailer, I will load the horse and then move the partition over, so it is less claustrophobic. If travelling two horses, always load the heavier horse on the right – it balances the trailer out.
If your horse won’t load even when it’s time to come home (to a nice cosy stable, bed and dinner!!) then its best to try and sort the problem out yourself, there’s nothing worse than seeing the whole showground joining in and it will stress your horse out even more!
If you do however, have severe problems with your horse where travelling is concerned, always seek professional help and advice.
It’s also worth saying that if we are planning a long journey I start to cut down their feed the night before and the morning of the journey, to avoid any colicky tummies.
On the Road
Always allow plenty of time and it makes sense to avoid the rush hour. I try and map out routes that avoid towns and when map reading check out for any low bridge warnings or weight restrictions.
Horses can lose an average of 6 litres of water every hour just travelling – this is without even sweating, so it’s important on long journeys to offer your horse water every hour during a long journey. If the lorry has windows, I always undo them to allow plenty of ventilation, obviously you don’t want a gale blowing through – but you need to have good air circulation. I like to feed wet hay or haylage aboard as it cuts the risk of dust particles getting in the eyes and keeps them hydrated and helps stop compactions. I also feed the Carl Hester Electrolytes as these help replace lost salts.
Never leave a tail bandage on for longer than an hour at any one time and invest in a tail guard that stays up without the need for a surcingle –as they can sometimes slip back during travelling. I occasionally use bandages on the horses legs for protection and over reach boots but good travel boots are much easier to work with.
Comfort and Safety
It’s always advisable to carry an equine and human first aid kit on board, just in case - and if something does get used up, make a note to replace it before your next journey. I always keep a bridle easily accessible in the cabin, just in case we have to off load the horses on a busy road through a break down. We also make sure we have extra rugs, feed and water to cover any delays we might experience.
Overnight Stays
Make sure you have plenty of spare rugs for every eventuality – in mid summer you could be unlucky enough to have a snow storm, so make sure his wardrobe and yours cover this!! We always bring our own feed with us, even when we are abroad to make sure there is no change to his feed or alternatively if you are away for a longer period, contact your feed merchant to find out where the nearest stockist is to the location you will be staying at and arrange for the feed to be reserved for you.
‘You can take a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink’ and this particularly applies to stabling away from home. If your horse won’t drink strange water, then try adding some natural apple juice and even grapes and chopped apple to encourage him to take a good drink. A touch of molasses often does the trick as well.
Happy travelling!!!
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