Are you going to take your horse to a winter show or clinic? Follow these tips to make sure you get there healthy and happy!
Assuming the roads are ok, cold weather trailering is safer than hot weather trailering because the risk of overheating in the trailer is less, but just keep in mind the trailer still can get quite warm with the horses in it so some precautions should be taken.
Make sure you keep ventilation in the trailer. It might be tempting to shut your horse in the trailer completely but horses still need some airflow. With that in mind, making sure you keep at the least the side and roof vents open to help keep a horse at a comfortable temperature and out of a stuffy environment.
Having a wireless thermometer in the trailer somewhere close to horse height and away from any drafts will allow you to see what the temperature is inside the trailer to know how hot it’s getting in there.
If you need to trailer your horse in a blanket, consider wool or fleece cooler that doesn’t have belly or leg straps, that way if you need to pull the blanket off of them inside the trailer you can undo it from the chest and easily slide it off.
Make sure you are stopping to offer water every couple of hours and bring water from home in camping jugs to make it more palatable for them (you can always flavor water with Gatorade, salt, or even a couple alfalfa cubes to make water more palatable).
Having a trailer camera installed in the trailer makes it easy to check on the horses as you are driving down the road, just make sure you aren’t driving distracted. Having a buddy come with you on trips to monitor the camera and help with anything that should arise is the safest option. For a link to a great camera click here.
Keeping these things in mind will have you enjoying winter hauling more than ever!
Cheers,
B