I live in Houston where it’s HOT/muggy and the average haul to an event is probably around 3-4 hours. A couple of weeks ago it never dropped below 80 and was still 105 at 6 pm. The horses come off the trailer in the summer hot and tired already so I don’t put bandages or boots. I would venture to guess that in our area it’s more likely to have a colic from a dehydrated and hot horse rather than have a career ending injury. It IS still a worry though (the injuries). I wish someone would come up with a very light and airy shipping boot.
I flew mine across the world without wraps or boots - the shipper felt the heat and discomfort generated did not justify the measly protection some foam and fabric would provide in the event of a horse scrambling / going down. I have never put them on since. I just put bell boots on all 4 if I have one that steps on themselves. Now that we are in Australia (not a cool place to haul horses, either), I don’t bed the stalls in the trailer (no one does here, probably because shavings are $25/ bag) and interestingly my scramble - prone horse no longer scrambles, and none of the horses seem to have respiratory complaints, even after shipping for more then a day.
Over reach boots and nothing else. I am not a fan of shavings on the floor either. If you have a well ventilated trailer, the shavings do blow about. Open your car windows and watch what happen when you are driving with anything light on the seats or floor boards…blows everywhere. There is always the risk of injury when travelling short of wrapping them in bubble wrap. Keeping your horse as cool and comfortable as possible on the journey wins out over the other risks. Just my opinion.
For those who asked about ice, no, I don’t find it messy, but we generally haul 2 hours or less. I put the ice in while booting up. There is a small amount of water on the floor at the end but nothing major - my new horse is a pee machine so I bed (and then use a fly mask to protect eyes). Their legs are cool and damp, not grungy, and often there is still some ice in there.
[QUOTE=subk;7082508]
I think there are two separate “heat issues” here.
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Are you worried about the horse being uncomfortable in terms of “feeling hot?” In that case I don’t worry at all about it. The is not much blood flow in the lower extremities which means that bandaging legs has little to no effect on core temperature. We certainly don’t worry about the legs in the cold of winter when we bundle them up in blankets to keep the warm–it’s the same thing.
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Are you worried about the connective tissue retaining heat? It was my understanding that as the worry de jour the “holding heat in the connective tissue–so buy our really expensive galloping boots” is related to heat WHILE at the same time the tissue is under significant stress and possibly holding the heat makes that tissue more fragile and susceptible to damage. I’m not sure that the stress of standing in the trailer is a part of that. Now DW brings up the only point I might consider–are you returning from an activity where the horse’s extremities were stressed and might have micro damage that would not be helped by the application of heat.
The upshot is I don’t spend much energy worrying about hot bandages and would rather have their legs protected.[/QUOTE]
Oh, I am not worried about core temp or heat in the way you think.
I worry about irritating the skin under any kind of wrap or boot because they can and do produce sweat under anything on the lower leg standing in a trailer in the heat for hours. Actually even in cooler weather they can get damp under there, that’s why I prefer cotton and a breathable wrap or naked. If they start to itch, they will start trying to scratch it, scrape it off and/or stomp around and cause a problem. That’s why commercial haulers want them naked.
You want to share horror stories, I got a few caused by a horses trying to get rid of a boot or wrap because of discomfort rolling down the interstate miles from an off ramp.
YMMV depending on how far you haul and local conditions. Oh, BTW, cotton wrap or not, hot or cold, mine always had nice, tight as a drum legs coming off a trailer, imagine the vibration is like a massage and aids circulation despite standing so many hours. Go figure…
I don’t think shippers not wanting wraps has anything to do with how the horse does or doesn’t ride better. It is because too many people do lousy wraps that won’t stay on and then if it’s a problem it becomes a liability for the shipper. It also means that the shipper has to have the skill set to be able to wrap if something goes wrong and again it sets up a liability question. Then there is the question of keeping up with equipment that may or may not be attached to the horse upon arrival.
Maybe I’m just a grumpy pessimist, but wraps are nothing but an inconvience for the shipper and the less they are responsible for the happier they are. I don’t think it has anything to do with what’s best for the horse as much as it does what’s best for business–which isn’t always the same thing.
[QUOTE=eventer80;7082844]
I wish someone would come up with a very light and airy shipping boot.[/QUOTE]I’d think the Textilene fly boots would give SOME protection. I also wonder if the Climatex “quilts” would be cooler, they’re supposed to be. And if they are, it might be possible to put them under the fly boots and not use a standing wrap…hmm…
Ummm, if you have ever had to crawl to extricate any animal properly wrapped or not in the close confines of any kind of rig on an Interstate 30 miles form an oasis or rest stop whether you were a commercial hauler or not due to an improper wrap or irritation under the wrap causing the horse to endeavor to remove it in any way possible? Maybe with 12 horses with 12 different wrap set ups and theories and 12 different sets of instructions from owners who may never have hauled?
You might feel differently.
What some call “hauler convenience” is mainly trying to do the best they can with what they pick up the way it is picked up over a long distance where they are NOT unloaded at rest stops or Dennys parking lots every few hours.
I dunno, been at this since 1967 and never had any trailer problems despite BPs, slant load GNs, wrapping or not or whatever theory prevailed regarding water, food, shavings in route. They will live, so will we if we don’t run the old blood pressure though thru the hay loft worrying.
Commercial hauler or personal horse, nobody needs or should crawl around tight trailer spaces around the belly of a horse, known or unknown, trying to fix a bad wrap or one that makes the horse itchy to the point they are trying to kick it off and unloading a rig at an interstate rest stop or that Dennys parking lot is not what you want for your horse or anybody else sharing the ride.
In the case of commercial haulers, any harm they cause is on them liability wise…so if they don’t want wraps? There is a clue there based on a bazillion miles of experience. Get the message?
[QUOTE=findeight;7085024]
In the case of commercial haulers, any harm they cause is on them liability wise…so if they don’t want wraps? There is a clue there based on a bazillion miles of experience. Get the message?[/QUOTE]
Ummm…yeah. Your message is pretty much what I said. Liabilty and people doing poor jobs of putting wraps on in the first place and shippers not wanting to be responsible for the results. And I’VE been doing this since 1977 and I’ve NEVER even seen a case of “itcy wraps” even while working for a trainer where we were hauling over a dozen horses all over the country…in the summer.
Do YOU “get the message?” :rolleyes:
I’m getting ready to do a 7 hour haul next week. Trailer is all steel, not insulated, and not terribly well ventilated. It’s just one large box stall, and I’ve never tried to tie when trailering. It has three windows which will open half way and two roof vents.
What sort of things do I need to do to make the ride as comfortable as possible for the horse? I’ve travelled as a passenger with a trailer with much better ventilation and we stopped after three hours or so and just left the horses for about half an hour in the trailer in the shade.
I’m planning on leaving at first light, which will be about 4:30 or 5 am our time. I figure that we’ll arrive at about 1 or 2 pm their time.
Should I bother with a hay bag? Should I take a water jug and water at stops?
Any suggestions to make the trip as easy on the horse as possible would be appreciated.
First off, subk? I apologize. That did not come out the way I intended at all. Sorry.
Vineyridge. At 7 hours, keep it simple. Up the Electrolytes a few days before, carry water and offer but if he doesn’t want it, don’t panic. At 7 hours, one 15 minute fuel/potty/grab a snack and cold drink stop preferably under shade should be enough. The trailer will ventilate well when it is rolling so…roll on.
Open roof vents, open side windows enough to establish a cross draft but not enough that any junk can get sucked in, an inch is enough. Again, at 7 hours, probably only going to pee once if at all. I HATE the shavings as if you have good airflow they blow all over and there is no way you can use enough for any kind of cushion. Definitely have hay for him.
If this is sort of a loose box? I dunno about tying or not, depends on how big, suggest you PM LordHelpus-she hauled a single in a loose box. Maybe she can enlighten you. I never tied but it was a standard 2 horse with the divider swung over in back, not much room to get into trouble.
One thing I would suggest, know you probably don’t want to load and drive in the dark but…if you can avoid the mid day sun from 11 on? You will do yourself and yourself a huge favor. Can you back up your departure time an hour? I hauled all over down there in the heat forever and timing your haul to be off the road when the sun beats down on that metal at it’s highest point solves many issues. 3am sucks, I realize that, but you are 3 hours down the road with no traffic at 7 am and can be where you are going before or at noon…not 2pm.
I need to make this decision soon as well-probably a 3.5-4 hour trip. He has fancy shipping boots that are well padded that he hates, has never worn, and generally I believe things would not go well if he wore them. The last two rides (3 hours and 30 mins) I used his regular SMBs.
The temp will probably be 100 + in scottsdale with a ride to flagstaff where it will be in the low 70s. So, he will probably have 90 minutes in a hotter trailer then it will cool. He doesn’t unload softly, and I won’t be there to unload him most likely. I’m most worried about him scraping or otherwise hurting himself when he unloads. He doesn’t seem fired up once underway, and he loads nicely.
So naked, SMBs, or something else?
Now, you know I am going to vote naked or a cotton wrap over any rubber or latex next to the skin on a hot day but if you have used them on this horse for similar hauls in similar weather? Why rock the boat? Alot of them hate those bulky shipping boots too.
The earlier you leave, the higher you will be when the sun gets highest anyway, that’s not a bad drive…nothing like LA to Phoenix or thru West Texas.
Thanks, I think that is probably what I will do…you’re right, why mess with success. I know they aren’t the most protective, but they are something. He’s pretty smart about his own body…knock on wood…
I think the trailer is leaving in the mid-afternoon…and I’m lucky to be catching a ride for him, so I don’t have any control over when we go. Usually we would leave bright and early but I don’t have a trailer :). Or a truck :).
Thanks!
Why in God’s name they cannot make a cooler, ventilated shipping boot for hot weather is beyond me. I’d be in for some. I’m with you, if there’s a way for a horse to get hurt, it’ll happen.
Hey, check this out. I just ordered some leg wraps. Note the site even says good for keeping legs cool while trailering. I’m going to have my horse wear them home after his event this wknd, UNDER his shipping boots.
http://www.hamiltonbiovet.com/stayons-poultice-products/
