Posted 2009-12-02 7:24 PM (#113864) Subject: Trailering long distance and horse accommodations
Member
Posts: 33
Hi guys - I'll be trailering my horse from Minnesota to the east coast early next spring - a trip of about 1100 miles. I have a couple of questions as I've never trailered long distance before.
1. What do I need to think about and do differently to haul that far (versus the short 1-3 hour trips I usually do)?
2. Without horses I make the trip in two days with one night layover in Ohio. Is that still reasonable with a horse or would I need to break it up even more? It's about 18 hours of driving time.
3. Is there a listing somewhere of horse accommodations, or do you have places to recommend? I'd like to be able to park somewhere with my LQ trailer and have a safe place for my horse to stay.
Posted 2009-12-02 8:55 PM (#113869 - in reply to #113864) Subject: RE: Trailering long distance and horse accommodations
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 447 Location: cedar rapids iowa
I think you could easily do that with an overnight break and the horses should do fine.
Typically you should cut there grain back the eve before and I give lots of hay the night before. They usually won't drink when traveling but should at the overnight. I do not give hay for that reason except when I do a dinner break and let them eat and rest for a bit.
Posted 2009-12-02 11:11 PM (#113876 - in reply to #113864) Subject: RE: Trailering long distance and horse accommodations
Expert
Posts: 2453 Location: Northern Utah
I agree. That distance is very doable with an overnight stop.
I try to take my horse out of the trailer every 4-5 hours and give him a stretch. Of course, I'm not going to stop at 5 hours on a 6 hour drive. But if I'm looking at a 8-9 hour day, I stop somewhere along the way. Offer him some water etc. In the summer if it's hot weather, I usually try and hose the horse down at the pit stop to help keep them cool.
I have often stayed at county fairgrounds along my drive. That may not work back east. But here in the Mountain West, most counties have some sort of fairground, which usually has stalls you can rent for the night, an arena where I can let the horse make a lap or two to stretch and maybe roll in. They have wash racks where I can get the horse wet if it's hot out.
Posted 2009-12-03 8:25 AM (#113882 - in reply to #113876) Subject: RE: Trailering long distance and horse accommodations
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Posts: 447 Location: cedar rapids iowa
Originally written by Painted Horse on 2009-12-02 11:11 PM
I agree. That distance is very doable with an overnight stop.
I try to take my horse out of the trailer every 4-5 hours and give him a stretch.
I would NEVER take a horse out of a trailer when traveling unless it was an emercency or at my overnight stop. Don't know what could happen if horse got loose or people coming up to see the horse. Asking for trouble in my opinion. 9 hours with a rest in the middle is not a big deal. That said stopping at an out of the way fairground with no activities may be safer but takes too much time out of making progress down the road. I have hauled several 16 hour trips straight through and every one did fine.
Posted 2009-12-03 9:25 AM (#113886 - in reply to #113882) Subject: RE: Trailering long distance and horse accommodations
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Posts: 197 Location: MT
Originally written by laurie on 2009-12-03 8:25 AM
Originally written by Painted Horse on 2009-12-02 11:11 PM
I agree. That distance is very doable with an overnight stop.
I try to take my horse out of the trailer every 4-5 hours and give him a stretch.
I would NEVER take a horse out of a trailer when traveling unless it was an emercency or at my overnight stop. Don't know what could happen if horse got loose or people coming up to see the horse. Asking for trouble in my opinion. 9 hours with a rest in the middle is not a big deal. That said stopping at an out of the way fairground with no activities may be safer but takes too much time out of making progress down the road. I have hauled several 16 hour trips straight through and every one did fine.
On these 16 hour trips you never get out of the pickup either do you. Cause after about 9 hours I like to get out an stretch and I like to get my horses out too and let them just walk around the trailer a couple times, I do this at truck stops all time. If you need a stretch your horse does too after a few hours. If I'm on a 9-10 hour day trip I always stop half way and let horses out.
Posted 2009-12-03 10:17 AM (#113889 - in reply to #113864) Subject: RE: Trailering long distance and horse accommodations
Expert
Posts: 1205 Location: Arkansas
You should be fine, when you stop to get gas offer them water, then have a nice overnight somewhere, we have also used fairgrounds hauling from Arkansas to Colorado, Wyoming, Montana.......letting them out to play in a pen or arena is nice, and there are many farms and overnights along your way. Equine Travelers of America guide, or U S Stabling Directory are great, as well as http://www.countyfairgrounds.net/ .
Posted 2009-12-03 10:21 AM (#113890 - in reply to #113864) Subject: RE: Trailering long distance and horse accommodations
Expert
Posts: 3802 Location: Rocky Mount N.C.
1100 miles, you'll average, maybe, 60 mph when you figure in fuel and bathroom stops. I would do it straight through with two drivers.... Or plan to overnight somewhere at or around 600 miles.
Guy up the road from me hauls to Calgary AB. Ca. every year. Two drivers, nonstop, 2599 miles, 41 hours......
Posted 2009-12-03 12:37 PM (#113897 - in reply to #113864) Subject: RE: Trailering long distance and horse accommodations
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 406 Location: Minneapolis, MN
Originally written by gaitedwasfated on 2009-12-02 7:24 PM
Hi guys - I'll be trailering my horse from Minnesota to the east coast early next spring - a trip of about 1100 miles. I have a couple of questions as I've never trailered long distance before.
1. What do I need to think about and do differently to haul that far (versus the short 1-3 hour trips I usually do)?
2. Without horses I make the trip in two days with one night layover in Ohio. Is that still reasonable with a horse or would I need to break it up even more? It's about 18 hours of driving time.
3. Is there a listing somewhere of horse accommodations, or do you have places to recommend? I'd like to be able to park somewhere with my LQ trailer and have a safe place for my horse to stay.
Thank you very much in advance.
If you're driving from Mpls to say Upper Sandusky (west of Cleveland)...I made this trip numerous times. It's about 800 miles and it is every bit of 14-15 hours.
You have to make a choice, you either go through Chicago and deal with the traffic, or you go south at Rockford on I-39 to LeSalle to I-80.
I don't mind the Chicago route, but it needs to be after 10pm...at least for me. Going south on I-39 adds about 60-70 miles, but you don't get into any traffic until Gary/Hammond.
Posted 2009-12-03 12:42 PM (#113898 - in reply to #113897) Subject: RE: Trailering long distance and horse accommodations
Member
Posts: 33
Originally written by wyndancer on 2009-12-03 12:37 PM
Originally written by gaitedwasfated on 2009-12-02 7:24 PM
Hi guys - I'll be trailering my horse from Minnesota to the east coast early next spring - a trip of about 1100 miles. I have a couple of questions as I've never trailered long distance before.
1. What do I need to think about and do differently to haul that far (versus the short 1-3 hour trips I usually do)?
2. Without horses I make the trip in two days with one night layover in Ohio. Is that still reasonable with a horse or would I need to break it up even more? It's about 18 hours of driving time.
3. Is there a listing somewhere of horse accommodations, or do you have places to recommend? I'd like to be able to park somewhere with my LQ trailer and have a safe place for my horse to stay.
Thank you very much in advance.
If you're driving from Mpls to say Upper Sandusky (west of Cleveland)...I made this trip numerous times. It's about 800 miles and it is every bit of 14-15 hours.
You have to make a choice, you either go through Chicago and deal with the traffic, or you go south at Rockford on I-39 to LeSalle to I-80.
I don't mind the Chicago route, but it needs to be after 10pm...at least for me. Going south on I-39 adds about 60-70 miles, but you don't get into any traffic until Gary/Hammond.
I've driven the trip many times - Minneapolis to upstate NY. Toledo is about the halfway point. I always try to avoid Chicago during peak times but you still have to deal with traffic around Gary. That's a good point though - with a horse trailer I will definitely have to plan the Chicago section more carefully.
Posted 2009-12-03 12:49 PM (#113899 - in reply to #113864) Subject: RE: Trailering long distance and horse accommodations
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Posts: 522 Location: Tucumcari NM
I try to be as considerate of my four legged companions as I do of my human companions. I would never ask my two legged friends to go 16 hours without a potty break and a chance to stretch their legs. The same is true of my horses and dogs. There is always an out of the way place at a truck stop, roadside park, or city park where it is safe to unload your critters.
Posted 2009-12-03 1:06 PM (#113902 - in reply to #113864) Subject: RE: Trailering long distance and horse accommodations
Expert
Posts: 3802 Location: Rocky Mount N.C.
I live near I-95. Tractor trailer loads of horses traveling from the N.Y. area to southern Florida (Wellington area) and back every day.... 1220 miles or about 20 hours. Do they stop and let the horses off to walk around at mid trip? They hardly stop for fuel and barely slow down at the scales, most drive straight through with an attendent in the trailer with the horses.
Posted 2009-12-03 2:56 PM (#113905 - in reply to #113864) Subject: RE: Trailering long distance and horse accommodations
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Posts: 229
Gaited, I would prefer to overnight at a mid point. Approximately 500 miles per day allows me to keep the horses and myself on our same regular schedule. I bed deep with shavings, both for cushioning and to encourage the horses to pee. Like others have mentioned, I prefer fair grounds and rodeo grounds, where the option of stalls and pens are usually both available, and, usually the bigger types of horse places also have hook ups for your LQ. I stop and take a long lunch, during which time the horses sleep in the trailer. After lunch, I offer the horses water. I don't change feed for the trip. At night, they get their hay and supplement. They get a small hay breakfast on the road. My horses don't have a water issue. However, as another poster mentioned, many don't drink water the whole first day. Knowing this, I used to give the hay a quick soak in water prior to hanging it in the trailer. One item of caution about the fair grounds in cold weather, the water might be turned off!. This happened to me once.
Posted 2009-12-03 3:52 PM (#113908 - in reply to #113864) Subject: RE: Trailering long distance and horse accommodations
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Posts: 147 Location: santa clara, ca
Everybody offered a lot of good advices: i would also get a list of places you can stop overnight along the way, as your plans might change. Also, a list of vets.
Posted 2009-12-03 8:39 PM (#113914 - in reply to #113864) Subject: RE: Trailering long distance and horse accommodations
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Posts: 22
Location: 03303
Right off of the Ohio Turnpike at mile 34 is the Fulton County Fairgrounds http://www.fultoncountyfair.com/. You actually see it from the highway. This is 34 miles after you enter Ohio from Indiana. Depending upon where you start in Minnesota, that's a good stopping point.
Posted 2009-12-04 4:28 AM (#113923 - in reply to #113864) Subject: RE: Trailering long distance and horse accommodations
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Posts: 213 Location: Virginia
Many years ago I shipped my chunky mare from NY to NV. The shippers drove 24/7. The horses were never taken off the trailer - they would stop and offer water and refill their hay bags. It took 5 days - I did not recognize my mare when she got there. She lost a tremendous amount of weight and was exhausted - and she is a GOOD traveler! I never again had her shipped that way. I will not go over 6 hours without taking a break for the horses. That incident showed me that trailering is way more stressful than we realize. I have been told that trailering is roughly equal to fast walking - so if you are trailering for 18 hours that is the same as them walking rapidly for 18 hours.
Posted 2009-12-04 11:27 AM (#113943 - in reply to #113864) Subject: RE: Trailering long distance and horse accommodations
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Posts: 229
I'm with you pinkmouse. I travel maximum 10-11 hours per day and always give the horses a good at least a one hour mid point lunch break to sleep undisturbed. We shut down at dinner time and everybody gets the evening and night to eat, roll and rest. I've hauled five day stints with the two of mine straight loaded in the back half of a POS GN stocktrailer and had them come out looking good.
Posted 2009-12-04 1:30 PM (#113944 - in reply to #113864) Subject: RE: Trailering long distance and horse accommodations
Elite Veteran
Posts: 736 Location: Western WA
You need to consider how much your horses are used to trailer travel. If you haul regionally on a regular basis, they are much more likely to handle a non-stop drive without much stress than if they are rarely in a trailer or mainly haul locally.
If given a choice between two relatively short days of 7-8 hours on the road or one long day of 16 hours, I'll do a 16 hour day and take it easy the following day. But my horse is acclimated to long hours in the trailer and it doesn't stop him from eating, drinking, and relieving himself on the road. He is very comfortable in the trailer, but he gets hauled alot. If a horse has not spent much time in a trailer there is a much higher probability for stress.
Posted 2009-12-04 2:34 PM (#113947 - in reply to #113864) Subject: RE: Trailering long distance and horse accommodations
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Posts: 2689
I prefer BBBBs, bed breakfast barn and bale. http://www.bbonline.com/horse.html
The advantages are that I get to stop and unload ONCE, I can hear any ruckus from where I sleep and I don't have to find trailer parking in a down town motel area.
Yes, 500 miles a day is "regular", up to 600 if the overnight stables are spaced out that way.
Stop every 3 hours for water, feed, bio break.
Offer water as soon as you stop, offer it again just before you start again, they get two drinks that way.
Don't expect them to drink at the first stop, drinking from a hand held bucket is a new trick, they usually get it by the second stop (-:
Open up the trailer as much as possible at rest stops, even if it is cold out.
Heat builds up quickly in a stopped trailer and it cools rapidly at 60 MPH.
Try to park in the shade of van trailers, added benefit being that you will be away from families with kids who want to offer the nice horsies bits of their burgers.
If you send me your start and finish town names I can do a trial routing and perhaps suggest an overnight stable to use (or NOT TO).
BTW, I cruise somewhere between 60 and 65 on the interstates, which many consider "SLOW", but they are just as slow when the traffic builds up or there is construction work. I have tried driving faster when empty, but it makes very little difference to total journey time. With rest and watering stops a 500 mile day takes 10 hours, you also have about an hour of horse work at the start and end of every day.
What else ?
Don't know, maybe this prompts some specific questions.
;EDIT
Do NOT let horses off the trailer at rest stops.
They may be old, they may be mellow, they may be totally obedient, you may have a shank over, but they're still horses.
ANYTHING can spook a horse, especially anything NEW and rest stops are likely to present something new.
END EDIT;
MORE EDITING:
For YOU !
{Well, this is what I do for ME, I can't prescribe what is right for you.}
I eat lightly to help avoid drowsiness, Subway is at a lot of interstate rest stops now and that suits me.
I try to avoid coffee, it is NOT the way to stay awake on long drives, sleep is NEEDED for that.
No booze = no muddy mornings.
Clean glass reduces fatigue - INSIDE of the windshield, headlights, mirrors (and eyeglasses if you wear them).
No late starts; to be on the road before 7:30 means getting up EARLY.
If the overnight stable doesn't do breakfast until late get all your horse work done before breakfast.
No sight seeing, an hour off route to get to something, another one at whatever it is, another one to get back on route - costs almost 1/2 a day.
:END EDIT
Posted 2009-12-04 9:48 PM (#113961 - in reply to #113864) Subject: RE: Trailering long distance and horse accommodations
Member
Posts: 33
Thanks to all for so many great bits of information. Couple more questions... do you tie your horse while traveling? I've heard both pros and cons about that. Does anybody use shipping boots? After you arrive at your destination, how much time off do you give your horse before riding them.
Mine is not used to traveling far. She usually goes within two hours from home.
Thanks again everybody - this has been a great thread (so far!).
Posted 2009-12-05 5:33 AM (#113966 - in reply to #113864) Subject: RE: Trailering long distance and horse accommodations
Expert
Posts: 3802 Location: Rocky Mount N.C.
We tie and keep hay bags hanging in the head to head trailer. We don't use shipping boots, they always seem to be wadded up underneath their hoofs at about the half way point. We do wrap with quilts and leg wrap bandages, tie securly and wrap a couple rounds of electrical tape over the "shoe strings". Quilts and bandages offer alot more support than the shipping boots.
Posted 2009-12-05 7:23 AM (#113967 - in reply to #113864) Subject: RE: Trailering long distance and horse accommodations
Expert
Posts: 2689
Yes to ties in stalls, I use "Velcro" type breakaway ones.
No to ties in a stock trailer or box stall.
Wraps and shipping boots is ALMOST a religious issue, so I will avoid it.
I can say that ace bandages on tails for more than 30 hours have been known to cause DISASTROUS results, but I only got involved with the vet runs after that.
Hay nets, but tie them so that the horse(s) can't get entangled as they get emptied.
Hard to describe, easy to demonstrate, but I bring the cord down and around the top of the hay "ball", through/over itself, secure it to the bottom of the net.
As the hay ball empties it drops and the cord automatically tightens.
(there has to be a better way to describe that).
Hay "trays" in the 2 horse trailer, they leave less mess but don't drop dust.
A mesh bottom would be a nice improvement.
Point is; keep food in front of them at all times, it is a "comfort" (-:
Posted 2009-12-05 12:08 PM (#113974 - in reply to #113961) Subject: RE: Trailering long distance and horse accommodations
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 406 Location: Minneapolis, MN
We travel quite a bit for horseback field trialing...following dogs from horseback.
A good rule of thumb is an hour rest for every hour on the trailer. So a 12 hour run = 12 hours loafing. We stake out our horses, allows them to roll and walk, rather than a box stall. Of course a fenced pasture would be best, but often not available.
Trailering long distance and horse accommodations
