Hi everyone! Today I have to trailer my horses and I’m getting concerned because of the weather. It’s been raining super hard and doesn’t look like it’s going to stop all day. I’m worried because we have an open stock trailer that the floor will get wet and the horses will slip. Is this something I need to be worried about? Should we put down shavings? Is there anything else we can do to prevent them from slipping?
Is it a wood floor? I’d just load up and go, take it easy braking. If you can get sawdust it seems to stick pretty good.
Thanks for your reply TMares! It’s a wood floor but we do have rubber mats.
I would put down shavings. I prefer the fine shavings not the fluffy curls. Pellets that have been lightly watered and fluffed will work. I don’t like to trailer on plain rubber mats.
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Theoretically, you should always haul with shavings - raining or not. If a horse potties in the trailer on bare mats, it presents the same issues slipping that hauling in the rain does.
Some people have tried to haul without shavings due to respiratory concerns; but personally, I never will. It allows more grip for them in the event you have to break suddenly or swerve to miss someone else on the road.
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Note that it looks like this post appears in three places. The OP might want to think about removing two so that the answers can be put in one spot for everyone’s convenience.
G.
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I gave up a long time on shavings. They blow, they get in eyes, manes tails. I have gone to straw for all trailering. I know it’s expensive and hard to find, but still worth the trouble.
Funny thing is we bed on straw but I still use shavings to trailer. In my area straw is fairly common. We are the mushroom capital. The mushroom farmers will collect your manure pile but only if you don’t have shavings in the pile- only straw.
Generally the shavings blowing around isn’t a problem in my trailer. However I could see where it might be a problem in a different type of trailer- especially a stock trailer.
I use shavings every time I haul not just when it is raining.
I have a stock trailer and use sawdust and/or fine shavings on the floors. Since the open part of the trailer is at the top, I have never had issues with anything blowing around, especially while loaded.
