Livestock Transportation Blog

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By: Chris Robertson

Whether you own one horse or several, a horse trailer will provide a convenient way to travel with your horses to shows, rodeos, camping sites, horse trails, or wherever you need to take your horses. Horse trailers are also useful in case of an emergency if you have to evacuate your horses or get them to a veterinarian in a hurry. But buying a horse trailer can be a little confusing because there are so many different types and styles available. Here are some things to look for when shopping for a horse trailer.

Stall Details

Probably the most important features that will determine how well your horse travels are the features of the stalls. How many stalls are included? What size are the stalls (length, height, and width)? If your horse’s ears are touching the ceiling of the trailer, it is probably too short. Also, be sure the horse will have room to turn around for exiting. Some horses can be very difficult when it comes to backing them out of a trailer stall.

Be sure there’s plenty of ventilation for each stall. Horse trailers usually have from two to nine stalls. It’s a good idea to get a horse trailer with one extra stall than what you actually need. This will provide more room for your horses and also allows you to add another horse in the future.

Trailer Entrance: Step Up or Ramp

Horses are like people in some ways… they seem to have their own preferences when it comes to horse trailers. They especially have their own preferences when it comes to stepping up into a trailer and/or walking up a ramp into the trailer. This makes choosing a horse trailer difficult because you might not be sure which method of loading your horse would feel more comfortable with. Before you start shopping, find a couple of friends with horse trailers of different styles and ask if you can do a test load with your horse. You might be able to find out ahead of time what type of trailer will work best for your horse.

Slant Load or Straight Load

Another thing to consider is if you will buy a slant load or straight load horse trailer. The slant load trailer has stalls that are slanted diagonally from right to left. The horses stand in a slanted position while riding. These are usually economical for carrying more than two horses. A straight load trailer enables you to load the horses straight into the trailer from the rear and the horses face forward while riding. With both styles, choose a horse trailer that is the correct size, has proper ventilation, and provides the features you need.

Bumper Pull or Gooseneck

Consider whether you want a bumper pull or gooseneck trailer. The bumper pull trailer attaches to a hitch near the rear bumper of your towing vehicle. The gooseneck extends over the bed of the hauling truck and attaches in the truck bed. The main difference is the gooseneck can provide extra room for dressing room or living quarters.

There are other features to consider as well. The trailer might be made of steel or aluminum, or a blend of the two. It might have a tack room in the front of the stall area where you can store saddles, bridles, buckets, feed, and trunks. Some horse trailers come with dressing rooms fancied with a mirror, table, and an area to hang clothes. Some have roomy living quarters featuring a bedroom or two, dining room table, kitchenette, and bathroom. Living quarters are great for frequent campers!

Towing Vehicle

Before buying a horse trailer, consider what type of trailer you will be able to haul with your current truck or vehicle. Some vehicles haul better than others, and some can handle heavier trailers than others.

Consider all these features when shopping for a trailer, and go online to compare horse trailers and brand names such as Sundowner horse trailers. You can search for trailers by brand name or by location and state. For example, if you live in Tennessee, you might search for “horse trailers in Tennessee” or “Sundowner of Tennessee.” You can also find used horse trailers for sale if you’re on a tight budget.

Use these tips to find a horse trailer that you and your horses will enjoy for years to come.

Author Resource:

Chris Robertson is a published author of
Majon International. Majon International is one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing and internet advertising companies on the web. Visit their main business resource web site at: http://www.majon.com

To learn more about subjects like horse trailer please visit the web site at: http://www.sundowneroftn.com

For more information and informative related articles and links about this subject matter and content, please visit Majon’s Pets and Supplies directory: http://www.majon.com/directory/Pets_and_Supplies

Article From ArticleshmArticle.com

By: Art Gib

If livestock is an integral part of your livelihood, then you know that their safety and well-being should be uppermost in your mind at all times. Losing even a small percentage of your animals or fowl can mean the difference between your long-term success and financial disaster. If you live in high-risk areas, preparation is a key to helping your livestock survive during a weather-related emergency situation. Here are a few basic steps that livestock owners should take before disaster strikes.

Shelter

If your area is prone to floods, keep an emergency shelter on high ground to give the animals a safe, dry place to wait out the emergency separate from people. Cohabitation of people and animals is never a good idea even for short periods of time since it invites both vermin as well as disease.

If storms or earthquakes are your most likely hazards, you must have a backup power generation system in place to help your herds and flocks survive under harsh conditions. You will need to have plenty of electricity to not only keep the animals warm and calm but also to operate milking machinery, egg incubators, etc. There are plenty of great industrial power generators on the market that are suitable for a whole range of farming applications: look for the best deals online.

Food

In the case of a natural disaster, it is very possible that your hay, grain, and other backup feed supplies will be destroyed. Even if your large animals are usually pastured, there is no guarantee that that option will be available to them, especially if there is a flood. You may want to consider keeping a quantity of multi-nutrient blocks such as urea-molasses in watertight, portable containers that are easily transportable if necessary. These blocks provide much-needed energy, vitamins and minerals, as well as essential nitrogen to keep them as healthy as possible until they can return to their regular feeding routine.

Water

In the first 72 hours following a weather emergency it may be difficult or even impossible to get your livestock the clean water it needs to survive. Keeping a reserve of clean water on your property is imperative to help them get through the worst. You should have a standing agreement with a water supply company to truck in water when it becomes possible to do so. Trying to arrange for trucked-in water after a disaster occurs will be difficult indeed, and you may find that your herd will not be able to get the help it needs when it needs it.

Taking care of your animals’ 3 basic needs: shelter, food, and water should be part of any owner’s basic emergency plan. The time to plan is now, before disaster strikes.

Author Resource:-> Specialty Vehicle Service and Refurbishment (http://www.svsrinc.com/) is a power generation systems. Art Gib is a freelance writer.

Article From ArticleshmArticle.com

By: Paul McDuffy

The types of cargo that a Miami courier service can or cannot carry depend a great deal on the specifics of the courier company in question. There are permits and licenses which can be obtained which will allow a courier company to transport goods which they might otherwise not be allowed to move. This is important to inquire about if you are trying to ship anything which is governed by its own types of laws, such as medical material or pharmaceutical products. These both require special permits and designations on the part of the courier company because there are specialized requirements involved in shipping them, for example, in the way that extra security is required whenever moving drugs, because there is a high risk in moving cargo of this nature. The only blanket rule you can apply to all courier companies is that they will not move anything which it is illegal to possess, as this would obviously also leave them liable in regards to the illegality of the item or product in question.

Another type of product that most courier companies can’t transport is anything which is labeled or designated as toxic or hazardous. However, there are shipping companies which do have the permits and the vehicles necessary to move these types of products; you just have to look for one which specializes in moving hazardous goods.

Trade agreements further complicate the laws regarding what a courier can or cannot transport. This means that there are certain laws which dictate the movement of certain types of things across international borders. Anything being shipped to Canada, for example, must have the proper documents accompanying it, and must be cleared under any relevant trade agreements before a courier company could move it across those borders.

Some couriers can, and others cannot, also transport live goods, such as cattle. Usually there are shipping companies which specialize in livestock transportation, but some local larger couriers might have a specialized division which does this while also conduction regular courier duties.

If you’re trying to ship anything out of the ordinary it is simply best to call the courier company and discuss with them upfront what you’re going to try and ship with them. You don’t want to place an order for a shipment and realize that you have a problem when the driver comes to pick up your load, as that can cost you both time and money.

Author Resource:-> Paul McDuffy is an International Consultant for courier service in Miami and courier service companies. Additionally, Paul is a seasoned human resources consultant for Nurse Jobs.

Article From Article ShmArticle

Recently country entertainer Carrie Underwood announced she was recording Motley Crue’s song “Home Sweet Home” for American Idol and that a portion of the sales would go towards the Humane Society of the United States to find dogs home. This is a popular misconception to those donating.

The fact is the HSUS is once again being investigated for misuse of funds following large amounts of money raised in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. There was also the matter of raising money for Michael Vick‘s pitbulls then along with PeTA working towards legislation that encourages killing anything that looks like a “pitbull”.

A bigger concern for livestock owners is that not only does HSUS not own a single shelter but they have you in their target scope. They demand perfection. Not almost, not the standards they themselves have but perfection. With 4 million head of cattle marketed last year five videotaped and presented as normal business appeared on many news shows and resulted in the largest beef recall in US history. There was no timestamp to give any documentation but four out of thousands of sale barns failed and it is presented against all cattlemen.

The Humane Society of the US gets major publicity with a tape of cruelty to cows (apparently they didn’t see to it that existing laws about cruelty were enforced) and on the website pushes…vegan and vegetarian diets. Indeed they present snips of quotes showing that HSUS, USDA and the American Dietetic Association are all in agreement that vegetarian is better.

Indeed “Each industry has its own abusive practices and some are much crueler than others” before citing poultry, egg and pork industries are even worse than cattle.” Americans removed from their agricultural roots know nothing about farming and this is used by equating cattle and pigs with the family dog.

By representing all animal industries as ‘factory farming’ from poultry to aquatic and dairy to veal it with one broad stroke paints all farms the same. It talks of “cage free” in passing but better is to be vegetarian.

It represents that there are no statutes for cruelty on farms, despite cruelty statutes that have been used to prosecute serious cases of abuse. Shipping is a prime target as no matter species it is stressed they have no food, water or protection from heat/cold during the trip nor does it mention some might be an hour or two while other trips are longer.

From abuse of transporting day old poultry in extreme temperatures to the recommendation of “sticks and electric prods should never be used to handle of move cattle” their recommendations are clear. It places responsibility for safe arrival on driver skill without regard to other possible factors. Beef cattle issues are referred to the same information.

In a graph showing housing of dairy cattle it shows USDA statistics that 49.4 % of operations use pasture for any length of time for lactating cows and 60.1% for dry cows, yet focuses on 9.9% primarily using it, showing that 90% therefore don’t allow pasture at any time in the cow’s life. It further shows that 49.2% of operations house lactating cows by tie stall or stanchion, leaving the reader to think millions of cattle are tethered their entire lives without being to move or turn around.

There are bad places in every industry but representing it as normal and a means to shut it down while, on other fronts NAIS and a new food safety regulation program seeks to shut down the smaller producers as well as anyone raising their own food it leaves a question. Who will feed America when small producers can’t and large ones are shut down?

According to the Modern Tire Dealer, technology is in development for a microchip to be implanted in tires. Tire dealers can use the chips for inventory reasons while the technology could also mean tracking rigs. The chips could be used not only in large truck tires but passenger tires and light and medium truck tires.

The chip can monitor a variety of conditions such as tread depth, tire pressure and temperature. However it can also give business information that some would not want accessible.

To a further degree, if it communicates such information it can also communicate where the truck is, how long it has been moving and other information. For agriculture use combined with microchips from the NAIS ,that the government wants to implement, this can mean they can also tell how many animals, what species, where you are and how long they have been on board. Many small farmers and private owners are not embracing the microchip technology.

Technology, like anything can be used for good reasons and be a source of abuse of power. Will this technology take off? The chips themselves aren’t expensive but the readers aren’t cheap. In addition to the chip and the scanner the business could need a PDA and Bluetooth technology.

The information itself can be an issue for some shippers who would rather not have the government riding shotgun. The more regulation involved the easier it can be but the less flexible also. If you aren’t in an area to pull over to unload animals and it’s an extra hour road time before you can then will someone press cruelty charges? If technology “tells” the tread depth from 15 feet away and your tires are slightly over, is that a reason to be pulled over by law enforcement? On the other hand it can mean finding a stolen trailer or vehicle.

How much technology you want on your farm or business is still an individual choice but it is changing all the time.

Technorati Profile

Whether you have hauled animals for years or are new to hauling it pays to keep the basics in mind. It doesn’t matter if you’re hauling cattle to the next state, horses to a show, pigs to market or sheep and goats to sales these basics can help save money, time and animals.

This can boil down to 7 check points and 5 considerations which, if done every time you slide into the rig, can reduce the problems and increase the safety.

Check lights: Make sure headlights, tail lights, turn signals, running lights and brake lights are working. This might be as simple as a loose connection or a blown light but checking these things, and repairing if needed as soon as possible, makes for a safer time on the road.

Check brakes: Make sure brakes and emergency brakes are in working order every time. With a load behind you pushing the brakes are critical. Don’t risk your safety or that of the load by neglecting the brakes.

Check hitch, chains: This can take just a moment but it’s not unheard of for a hitch to come loose, with disastrous results. If you have stopped for fuel or a meal or even just for a short break always check before you take off.

Check door: This seems obvious but having seen a livestock trailer with horses inside and the sliding door open perhaps it’s not! Again – any time you stop gives activists or pranksters a chance to release the latch on the door. Make sure it’s secured every time.

Check tires: Check tires regularly for wear and for damage. Sometimes a bad tire with pieces missing or damage to it can be replaced before it leaves you stranded along the highway with a loaded trailer.

Check animals: This is easier with a handful of animals than a semi-trailer, but take a peek at the animals. If there are injuries give the receiving end warning or deal with the situation there, depending on the situation. Make sure the animals are comfortable as much as can be during transport.

Check attitude: We cannot change other drivers but can change how we approach it. We don’t know who or what that other driver is. It may be a tired single mom heading home after working 12 hours but it might also be someone who is reckless and has less regard for you than the animals you’re hauling. Use safety precautions, be rested and alert and remember that your load is alive and shifts much differently than ‘dead weight’ tied down.

Consider weather: Snowy, sunny (especially driving into the sun), hot and cold can all make a difference not only in the road conditions but the comfort and safety of the animals aboard.

Consider temperature: Very hot or very cold temperatures can affect the animals on board. In hot weather don’t rely on moving in order to maintain a safe temperature for the animals you have on. Pigs, for example, cannot tolerate heat and often are hauled at night for this reason.

Consider distance: While there are many safety issues the same whether you’re driving 100 miles or 1000 there are generally longer days with longer trips. Consider whether at any point you will need to unload animals to rest and drink and where that would best be done.

Consider animals: Keeping the animals safe in transport is important for them to arrive in good condition. With horses use extra care in hauling stallions especially if mares are also on board. With fuel and transportation costs there sometimes can be a conflict between getting as many as possible on board with not overcrowding or endangering the animals on board. Animals that are pressed in so tightly they can’t stand normally often mean the possibility of animals falling and getting trampled.

Consider documentation: Have a dashboard camera, a good digital camera and accurate records that are kept up to date. Keep equipment maintained and document it. Keep documentation of how many shipped, how many arrived safely and other factors that establishes a good record as well as pointing out in what areas you need to improve.

These things take but a couple minutes to do but can save you time and money. Be safe!

The technical summer season may be dwindling down, but the heat is definitely not.  In many parts of the country, cities and states are still seeing temperatures in the upper 90s and even 100s.  With the heat and humidity, horses being transported for long distances, especially in climates they are not used to are prone to dehydration.

Dehydration results from the excessive loss of fluids and cause horses to have an elevated body temperature, develop colic, have muscle malfunction and even die.  With the fluid loss is also a loss of the essential electrolytes that the body needs, which are very important components in normal body function.

The electrolytes include sodium, chloride, potassium, calcium and magnesium.  They are vital to muscle contraction, nerve transmission and blood fluid balance.  These substances are soluble in water and sweating causes them to be lost.  When a horse sweats and then dries, the white residue that is seen is salt and indicates a loss of electrolytes.

Horses that are transporting through consistently hot weather will need to be watched for sweating and electrolyte loss.  You can test whether or not a horse has become dehydrated by taking your thumb and forefinger of one hand and pinching the loose skin on a horse’s neck.  If the horse is hydrated, the skin snaps back quickly.  If the horse is dehydrated, the skin will stay in the pinch that you made with your fingers or “tented.”  This is an indicator of dehydration and a sign that the horse needs fluids as well as electrolyte supplementation.  However, horses are different and some may develop gastric irritation and ulcers from electrolyte supplementation, so it is important to discuss this with the horse’s owner prior to supplementing it.

There are several ways you can supplement a horse with electrolytes.  Typically we do so without realizing it when we feed a salt or mineral mix to our horses.  Horses will self-supplement if they have a salt or mineral block available to them.  You can make these available to horses in your trailer by installing small salt block holders or placing them in buckets.  If you place them in buckets, be careful not to pour liquid or mashes onto the blocks, as it will cause them to melt.  You can also put electrolytes into a horse’s drinking water.  The drawback to this method is that not all horses will drink the water and those who do drink it may not consume enough of the water to get adequate amounts of electrolytes. Powdered electrolytes can be placed on the horse’s feed. Most horses will consume them readily in this manner, but others may refuse to eat.  Finally, there are oral pastes available and are ideal for those horses who have become stressed or you can’t seem to get electrolytes down them any other way.

Horses aren’t the only equines that need to be transported from place to place.  Donkeys are often hauled whether it is across the country or to a local show.  However, few transporters take into consideration the special attention that donkeys require.

First and foremost, it’s important to understand that you can’t rush a donkey.  If you try to hurry along a hesitant donkey, you’re only asking for trouble.  Most of the tricks that work well on a stubborn horse do nothing on a stubborn donkey.  The best method that works for a donkey is a long lead rope that will reach a secure ring located in the front of the trailer.

Before asking a donkey to enter a trailer, run the end of the rope through the ring.  This is typically a two person job, as one person needs to keep the donkey from backing up when the other asks it to load.

Remember, donkeys are very strong and when they decide to go back, they’re going back and you can’t hold them without a wrap or two around the ring with the lead rope.  This is a slow process, but as long as you don’t allow them to back away at all they will begin to figure out that they don’t have very many options.  Many donkeys will load this way without any fussing.

A common problem when loading a donkey is that they may decide to enter the trailer with their front feet and then freeze.  This can be frustrating because you know they’re almost there, just two more feet to go.  However, don’t make a big deal out of it.  Just move around in a very relaxed manner.  Avoid opening dividers or doors, as this can cause them to become uneasy and then they definitely won’t enter the trailer.  They will simply become suspicious of you and the trailer.

Try to avoid using food as a bribe for loading into the trailer, but there is nothing wrong with a little treat after they have successfully loaded.  However, if you do have a donkey that seems to be motivated by food and you don’t really know the donkey and he doesn’t know you, then a little alfalfa or grain may be a good tool for developing trust between you and the donkey.

Finally, remember that patience is key.  It’s also a good idea to make the trailer an inviting place to be by putting down shavings, cleaning out strange manure and eliminating flies.  If you have lights, turn on the interior lights and open any feeder doors or windows that will increase the light.  If it’s a warm day, have as many windows and vents open as possible to avoid the trailer feeling like an oven.

Many horse and livestock owners are affected by the rising costs of fuel and the added cost of fuel prices have forced some horse owners to reduce some of their summer activities, like hauling to horse shows and participating in trail rides. However, there are several things that horse owners can do to help maximize their vehicles fuel efficiency. By properly maintaining the tow vehicle and carefully planning ahead, horse owners will still be able to participate in many different horse related activities.

One of the most important aspects of maximizing the fuel efficiency and reducing the costs associated with hauling horses is to properly maintain the vehicle that is used to haul the horses. One of the most important aspects of maintaining the tow vehicle is to keep the engine tuned. Research has shown that a properly tuned engine can result in as much as a four percent increase in fuel efficiency.

Another important maintenance area is to replace the air filter on a regular basis. The air filter is used to remove particles and impurities from the air that enters the engine. By keeping the air filter replaced, horse owners can increase the mileage in their tow vehicle by as much as ten percent.

It is important to allow time for horses to rest when they are being hauled long distances; however owners should not let their tow vehicle idle while the horses are resting. When a tow vehicle is idling, it is getting zero miles to the gallon and as a general rule; larger tow vehicles will waste a great deal of more gasoline than a smaller passenger vehicle.

Horse owners should also use the cruise control on their vehicle as much as possible when hauling their horses and other livestock. This is because the cruise control will maintain a constant speed on the highway, which will result in great fuel efficiency.

Horse owners should also only pack the necessary supplies that they will need when traveling. This means that owners should carefully plan ahead and leave any extra supplies that will not be required at home. The Department of Energy has estimated that even an extra one hundred pounds in the tow vehicle or the trailer can result in a two percent reduction in miles per gallon. This amount will increase even more as the amount of excess weight that is being hauled increases.