Transporting a Lame Horse

[Bopper]

Please do not flame me for the situation, I am only an observer. Older couple with older lame horse. Horse is under vet care but is significantly lame despite being on pain meds. Arthritis, etc. diagnosis.
Older couple needs to move even though they are fighting it so family is looking at options. No children live nearby.

Is there a way to transport a horse that is only partially weight bearing on one leg? Horse still runs and plays in pasture despite being significantly lame. I advised family to talk to vet but she already indicated to me that she was not sure how to transport it safely.

My concern is that he would shift his weight to compensate for trailer movement, the leg would give way and he would fall on the trip. There is no where nearby that will take him as a retirement boarder.

I am taking care of their horses for now as a volunteer because the husband is in the hospital. Children are not horse people and have asked me for advice but I referred them to their vet.

[ThreeWishes]

What’s the nature of the injury / lameness ? Is it something that can weather some bute and a slow careful trailer ride? What’s the alternative ? Does the horse have to move ?

[ThreeWishes]

Also how far? I would think a horse incapable of receiving a good loading dose of bute carefully driven would be okay. If it’s that bad that transport isn’t possible then a kind end would be best.

[NancyM]

A really big strong chest bar in the trailer, and a standing stall (not a box stall), with a strong partition… strong enough to hold the horse up should the full weight of the horse slam into it. Tie with a baling twine breakaway, in case the horse does go down. And drive like a civilized person on the trip… slow and steady, slow acceleration and braking. That is, if putting the horse down now and avoiding all this risk and potential hazard isn’t an option they will consider yet. Good luck.

[No1]

How long is the trip? I’d ship the horse in a box on a commercial air ride van, if possible. If the horse is very sensible about things, he may just lay down. If he’s not and ends up falling down, it’s easier to get him up again in a box/he’s less likely to hurt himself.

Does the horse have a diagnosis? That may help determine how to ship him.

[vxf111]

How far are they taking the horse and how flat are the roads? I would think you could bute the horse up, wrap it really well, and trailer it in the middle of the night with your blinkers on going slow slow slow (with someone following behind you in a car) if we’re not talking a long journey up and down hills. If the horse can run around in the pasture it can hopefully stand on a trailer that’s moving slowly.

[Weezer]

I would ship in a box stall and untied so the horse can shift as he needs to and lie down if necessary. I’d also set up a camera in the trailer to monitor the horse.

[Bopper]

The horse has severe arthritis of the knee on one front leg. Probably some arthritis in other leg too but one leg is extremely malformed.

Forgot to include that the horse is at their house so if it sells the horse has to move.

I am not sure where they may move but possibly 8-10 hours to be near one of their children. I do not know anywhere nearby that would take the horse as a retirement boarder. The horse is on some NSAIDS to keep it more comfortable but it still very lame. He never stands full weight on the bad front leg. It is always slightly bent with some weight on other leg.

I don’t even know if a nationwide shipper would haul a horse like that and I don’t know anyone local that would do that far of a haul with a box stall trailer.

[Highflyer1]

I have certainly hauled lame horses (usually to the vet, but also locally to transport.) But I personally wouldn’t haul a horse like this 8-10 hours, or put it through the stress of a move and a new barn.

[IPEsq]

I would try to find an air ride trailer and I would bandage all legs well, give Bute, and haul in a standard straight stall. I think minimizing movement would be best and a tighter fit stall would give more support.

Had a similar conversation with my shipper about straight stall vs box making the cross country trip home with my horse who had recently torn a pec muscle. Thankfully by the time the trip happened, he was comfortable in the box, but they were keeping an eye on the cameras and had a plan to move the dividers if needed while moving then allow him a box for longer rest stops.

[vxf111]

For a trip like that I’d get a commercial shopper. They do haul lame horses long distances to get them to vet hospitals. This horse doesn’t sound acutely lame so he’s probably even more acclimated to his lameness. I think with the right setup this could be doable.

[Weezer]

I wonder about putting the horse in crossties and having one person on each side to gently push him in a swaying motion a couple times. Then you’ll have a good idea of his ability to balance himself. I would also consult a commercial shipper since they would likely have more experience with this. If he truly can’t bear weight on all four, I might consider breaking the trip into 2 hour chunks with a recovery day between each leg.

[GraceLikeRain]

A horse that cannot fully bear weight on one leg forced to use that leg as a balance point for 8-10 hours in a trailer sounds truly inhumane. I cannot think of a trailer solution where the horse would not be at risk for the duration of the transportation and risk going down.

[Bopper]

Thank you for the responses. My opinion was that shipping was not an option but I wanted input to make sure that I was not missing another alternative.

There are many more details to work out before the house is sold so no decision has to be made immediately.

[starrunner]

I had to face this situation whether I liked it or not last year, when my horse was injured at an event 9 hours away.

She was not bearing much weight on a RF. She is, however, significantly younger than the horse being described here.

I had a ramp load, softride boots, wrapped in standing wraps, and a camera in my straight load trailer. She actually sat on the butt bar for most of the trip and did amazingly well. Traveled and ate/drank well on the trip with zero distress and this is normally a horse that you know pretty darn quick if she’s in trouble. Drove slowly/carefully and all was well.

So…not while I would advocate it, sometimes you have to. My vet had cleared the trip and said from their POV, it made not difference if it was a 1 hour or 9 hour trip. The stress was still going to be on the horse and it would be better to just have one trip and make it home rather than breaking it up & loading/unloading multiple times.

But the overall health of the horse may be a factor and perhaps the vet’s input on the situation. My experience was with a soft tissue injury since we had ruled out obvious fractures at the event. Perhaps more bony involvement may be harder on a horse.

[vxf111]

I mean, it’s definitely not ideal. But I think there are ways to do it if it has to be done.

[joiedevie99]

If it had to happen, and the horse is truly comfortable enough the rest of the time that euthanasia isn’t imminent, I’d get the vet and a commercial shipper on board. There are pros and cons to the box stall v. straight stall (where horse can lean on the walls for support), but either way I’d want the vet to block the knee with something relatively long acting to get as many of those 8-10 hours blocked as possible, and then load the horse up on pain meds for the ride. This means coordinating such that the vet is there very shortly before the truck arrives, but its doable.

[candyappy]

@GraceLikeRain

A horse that cannot fully bear weight on one leg forced to use that leg as a balance point for 8-10 hours in a trailer sounds truly inhumane. I cannot think of a trailer solution where the horse would not be at risk for the duration of the transportation and risk going down.

I have to agree. Across town is one thing but 8-10 hours is a hard haul on a horse that is physically un- compromised. I can’t fathom putting a senior horse struggling with significant knee issues through that.

Have they even tentatively discussed euthanasia if the house does sell?

[Bopper]

So far the family (non horse people) are just collecting information. They have not notified the older couple (husband is in hospital and the horses are the wife’s pets) that they will be moving. It will probably not go over well then adding in the horse situation it will be worse. The older couple cannot live there by themselves any more due to circumstances.

I explained to the family that shipping might be a problem and directed them to talk to the vet. This is a small rural community so the vet knows the whole situation.

The horse is not easy to work with which complicates things. I don’t trust him at all and he has injured people including the owners because he is pushy.