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New User
Posts: 2
Location: port arthur, tx | hi everyone...my name is tina. my mother has a 25 year old walking horse and lives in michigan. she is thinking about moving to texas but was told her horse would probablt not survive the trip. is there any truth to this? she is thinking she has to get rid of her horse and is grieving about thiat. thanks for your time |
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Veteran
Posts: 285
 
| Tina, is the horse ill or been having any health problems? Who told her that she would not survive the trip? My opinion is that she is a healthy horse, I don't see why she would not make it. Just stop every so often, offer water, give her a break from moving. I am sure if she is going that far your mother will stop overnight somewhere so she would rest then. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 792
Location: East Tennessee, USA, Planet Earth | Hi Tina,
Banjo, my old TWH gelding lived to be 39 yrs old. He was euthainze in June 2002. In January 1999, my hubby company transfered us from the Twin Cites, Mn to Louisville , KY. Six months later....we moved back to the Twin Cities area.
Granted, it's at as long a trip as MI to TX, but Banjo did fine. I had three horses in my trailer, and we stopped every nite at an overnite boarding barn. It was winter...the roads were solid ice, so we stopped overnite.
Anywho..if your mare is healthy and in good condition, I see no reason why she would not handle the trip.
I would suggest that you have your vet do a complete physical on her mare to rule out any health concerns.
Would your mom be hauling the trailer or will she ship her mare with a professional hauler?
When is she moving? And where?
I was born and raised in Texas....currently living in WI. |
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Expert
Posts: 1723
Location: michigan | I agree- if the mare is in good overall health, the trip won't be that bad. Now would be a good time since the weather would be much cooler than if you wait until summer......... |
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Expert
Posts: 1205
Location: Danielsville Georgia | Horse hauler friend of mine hauls old horses(with usual warnings to the owner) and some not in good shape all the time.Hasn't lost one yet hauling long distance. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 303
Location: Grapeland, Texas | I sold a 24 yr. old stallion to some people in Wyoming and he did fine on the trip up there, and last year I brought a mare back from Wyoming that was in her mid 20's and she did fine also. It was a two day trip for both of them. I bedded down the trailer pretty good with shavings and checked on her on every fuel stop. And this was coming back down here in August. I was more concerned about the heat than the haul. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 391
Location: Columbia, KY | Tina- as long as the mare is healthy there is no reason she shouldn't do fine. Have your mom's vet do a good PE on her, to make sure there are no health issues. who will be hauling her? make sure there is plenty of ventilation in the trailer and as long as she's quiet and an easy hauler its good to get her out at least every 4-6 hrs on a long trip. |
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Veteran
Posts: 270
Location: Roanoke IL | If you haul in the summer, start your horse on electrolytes before the trip. If the horse will drink the electrolytes that flavor her water, that's great. That way she will not be put off by funny tasting water away from home since you can make it all taste like water from home. You don't want the horse to be dehydrated, eat a bunch of hay and possibly colic. That's what a lot of people do....put a huge hay net in front of the horse so they can travel. They drive on a hot day, the horse is packed full of hay, and won't drink the water when they stop. This puts the horse at a risk for colic. So read up on long distance hauling, but the age of the horse (if in good condition) shouldn't matter that much. As far as hauling an old horse, if the horse handles being trailered with no problems she should do better than a horse who is terrified of being trailered. If the horse is calm and comfortable in the trailer, the trip is usually not that bad if there isn't as much emotional stress on the animal, which can transfer over to physical stress very easily in horses. Amanda |
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Regular
Posts: 85
Location: Ocala, FL | We are professional haulers. The mare should be fine as long as (like others have said) she is healthy. If a horse is not healthy - no matter what the age - they are at risk on a long trip. There are certain ways of making it better for her. Hire a hauler that will move the horse by herself. It is safer for her to not have to breath in the same air as 3 to 20 other horses in a confined space and also there is less chance of injury. Stop every 3 or 4 hours for rest. Do not feed grain etc while on the road. Hay and water only. |
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Veteran
Posts: 247
Location: NW | In 1999, I moved from MI to AZ & my then 24 yr old gelding was one of 3 in the trailer. I don't unload during the day, but do stop & let them relax & let down. Then I stop at an overnite place & they were all able to run & play in an arena. He did great, other than going from cold Nov MI, to 90+ degree heat in AZ - that was hard on him w/his winter woolies. That trip was spread out over 4 nites so I didn't push it w/him not being in usual hauling shape. Then in '02, the same 3 horses moved w/me up to NW MT (he was 27 yrs old then). He drank & hauled the best of the 3! We again spread that trip out too & had 4 overnites. I again let them rest in the trailer on stops during the day & layed over at nite where they could all exercise. We are some of those horrible people that supply our horses w/hay while hauling - but we also use the full mesh hay bags & soak it in water - that way they are getting moisture along w/the hay & we haul our own water w/us so they are always getting familiar water. |
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Expert
Posts: 1723
Location: michigan | I am sure you can get a hauler to trailer a horse by itself the question is- can you afford it??? Not being a profession but having hauled many miles, if the trailer is well ventilated then I don't think it will be a problem with other horses in the rig. Some horse travel better with some company anyway.Temps are rather mild right now too. I am in the thought that getting her to the destination and off the trailer makes more sense than stopping too much for "rest" your just dragging the move out.yes, you should stop- fuel,food and potty stops. everyone, including the people, need a break but getting her off and at her new home is the ideal situation. |
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 Regular
Posts: 91
Location: Hill Country, Texas | After a 12 hr haul to okc to the world show one year, we had an aged mare colic. This was the vets recommendations that I have followed since for every trip that is over 10 hrs. Never had a problem since. Start with a tube of Probios and a tube of electrolytes the day before the haul and give a tube of each again every day hauled. I stop every 2 hours, (for my bladder lol) and drop the windows so they can stick their head out and stretch. Every 4 hours I stop and unload and let them walk around and stand for about 30 minutes. I also like to use leg wraps for support on long hauls. Starting with quilted wrap followed by the standing leg wrap. It must be applied properly tho. Something else I did that I really believe in...when we reached our destination, usually Okc, I put then in an arena and let them run, buck, roll, whatever they want to do. If they didn't want to run, I made them. I do not take them right to a stall! I know a lot of long haulers will dispute that all of this is necessary but it is worth it to me to feel I am doing the best for my animals.
Edited by ntcowgirl 2008-02-16 6:39 PM
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Regular
Posts: 93
Location: Southern Indiana | You might want to ask the opinion of your veterinarian. |
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Regular
Posts: 91
Location: Hill Country, Texas | All of my above suggestions came from one of the top vets at the Simpsonville, Ky equine clinic, which is world reknown. He happened to be in okc showing in cutting when I had a problem. I hesitate to put his name on here but he is tops in his field, specializing only in equine. My local vet didn't think it was all necessary...everyone has their opinions. |
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Member
Posts: 9
| have your vet look at her and do a p.e. on her plus you will need health papers anyways going out of state. another suggestion is if you do find overnite places to stay don't let her have grass out in their pastures a friend of mine put her horse out in another pasture and their were poisanous plants out their just a suggestion best of luck |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 792
Location: East Tennessee, USA, Planet Earth | if you haul in the summer, start your horse on electrolytes before the trip. If the horse will drink the electrolytes that flavor her water, that's great.
You really don't need to use lytes. And if you do...ALWAYS...always also offer your horse a bucket of fresh clean water, along with the lytes bucket.
Using lytes is a bit of overkill.
What would be better is giving this mare FastTrack to keep her gut happy.
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Expert
Posts: 1205
Location: Arkansas | We hauled a lot of TB mares from the sales across country, old, valuable, and bred. They would get a vet exam confirming pregnancy, they would get oiled, and then loaded and hauled to their destination, getting a bit of a pee break when offered water in the trailer while fueling up, and on to their destination. We hauled 6 from AR to NY this way without a bit of trouble, just a bit of encouragement...! |
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New User
Posts: 2
Location: port arthur, tx | thank you to everyone for confirming whst i thought. and although i let my mother read all your responses, she has sold the horse. mom will be 70 in march and was just in the hospital for a week with the flu. she says she just doesn't feel right and the horse would be happier with a family. and a family is where she is going.they are having their barn updated and heat installed as the horse has always been in a heated barn. the main rider is a 13 year old girl who plans to show the horse. i think royal(the mare) will be very happy as she love attention...again, thank you to everyone!! |
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Expert
Posts: 1205
Location: Arkansas | It would be very nice for your mom to have some pictures along of her old mare, in her nice surroundings and doing things with that girl... it would really give your mom a lot of peace of mind and enjoyment... |
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Veteran
Posts: 294
Location: Fort Worth, Tx | exchanged email and snail mail addresses with the girl I bought my horse from. Periodically, I pass along some news, pics, etc about her "baby". have your mom do the same! |
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Regular
Posts: 85
Location: Ocala, FL | Originally written by farmbabe on 2008-02-16 7:06 PM I am sure you can get a hauler to trailer a horse by itself the question is- can you afford it??? Not being a profession but having hauled many miles, if the trailer is well ventilated then I don't think it will be a problem with other horses in the rig. Some horse travel better with some company anyway.Temps are rather mild right now too. I am in the thought that getting her to the destination and off the trailer makes more sense than stopping too much for "rest" your just dragging the move out.yes, you should stop- fuel,food and potty stops. everyone, including the people, need a break but getting her off and at her new home is the ideal situation. Yes, you are right ..... you are not a professional hauler! Sometimes it is way cheaper to spend the extra on a custom haul than pay the Vet when your horse arrives sick or injured! The rests are VERY important. No, not overnight but every 3 or 4 hours is a must. |
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trailering a 25 year old mare
