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.

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.

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.

One of the most important things that horse owners can do to ensure that their horse remains healthy is to keep them current on all vaccinations and keep them on a regular de-worming program.  It is very important to give vaccines early enough so that they will be able to induce the proper immune response before the trip.  Giving a vaccine just a few days before the journey will not give the vaccine enough time to properly work on the immune system and the horse will still be susceptible to the disease that the vaccine is designed to prevent.

During the trip, it is important to make sure that the horse is comfortable inside the trailer.  Most horse owners will bed the trailer with shavings and give their horse a good supply of hay to eat on the journey.  It is also important to offer the horse water frequently during the trip.

Once you have arrived at the final destination, it is important to carefully inspect the stall or pen in which the horse will be kept.  It is important to look for loose metal, nails and other materials that could possibly harm the horse.  If possible, it is a good idea to sweep the stall and remove any feces that may be on the ground or stuck to the stall panels.  This will keep the horse safe and hopefully prevent the horse from contracting any illnesses that the previous horse might have had.  It is also important to use your own buckets and feed so prevent the spreading of illnesses and to make the horse feel more comfortable.

After returning home from the journey, it is important to keep the horse separated from any other horses on the property for a few days, ideally two weeks.  This will prevent the horses that live on the property from contracting any diseases or illnesses that the traveling horse may have carried home.  It is also a good idea to take the traveling horses temperature twice a day to determine if they are becoming ill because fever is often the first sign of an illness.

One of the most commonly ignored areas of maintenance is the tires on the trailer. Horse owners do not blatantly choose to ignore this area of the trailer, they usually simply forget because they are more focused on making sure that the horse is comfortable during the trip. Data collected from a roadside assistance agency proves that the main reason why horse owners are forced to pull off the side of the side of the road is due to some sort of issue with their tires. Luckily, there are several things that people can do to lessen the chance of having an accident due to flat tire or blowout.

The first thing that horse owners should do is check the pressure in all of the tires on both the truck and the trailer. This is especially important in cold temperatures because the tire pressure will change as the tire heats up on the road. Tires that are underinflated will have more resistance to the road and will overheat more readily than tires that are properly inflated, which can lead to a blow out. One tire that many horse owners forget to check is the spare.

It is also important to make sure that tires are in good condition and are road worthy. All of the tires should have a good amount of tread and look like they are in very good condition. Tires that are old and rotted are very dangerous because they will not be able to withstand the stress placed on them when on the road and will not only be unsafe; they will affect the performance of both the truck and the trailer.

It is also important to use the correct type of tire on a horse trailer. All horse trailer tires are required to have an adequate load rating to ensure that they are safe for use. It is also important to not use retreaded tires on a horse trailer or the vehicle that will be pulling the trailer.

The first thing that horse owners should consider when hauling their horses is their position in the trailer. Two separate studies have been performed that evaluated a horse’s heart rate and behavior both before and after a trip. What these studies found was that horses that were hauled facing backwards had significantly lower heart rates and were not as fatigued because they were able to rest on their rumps during the trip. On the other hand, horses that were hauled facing forward tend to be more restless and hold their heads higher during the journey, resulting in a horse that is more fatigued at the end of the trip.

Another factor that will determine a horse’s level of stress and fatigue at the end of a long journey is the temperature inside the trailer. While this is usually not a problem in open stock trailers, it can be a serious problem in completely enclosed trailers. This is why it is important to open the windows in enclosed trailers and maintain good quality airflow. Another way to keep a horse cool on a trip is to ensure that the horse has access to clean water several times during the journey. Overheating can have an effect on a horse’s health for several weeks after a journey.

It is also important that horses have a good immune system before they endure a long journey. This will reduce the risk of them contracting an illness during the journey. Owners can help to stimulate the immune system by feeding their horse supplements like vitamin C for several weeks before a trip.

Handlers should also take precautions to ensure that horses do not injure their legs during a journey. Both the front and back legs of a horse should be wrapped in protective bandages so that the horse will avoid injury as they are moving around in the trailer. Bandages should be applies so that the coronary band above the hoof is also protected.

January 25, 2008 was the second time that Alberta Farm Animal Care hosted a training course for livestock transporters. This second training course was held due to the high response from people in the livestock transportation industry. There were many companies that were not able to attend the first training session that was held May 18, 2008.

According to a statement from Alberta Farm Animal Care, the Certified Livestock Transporter (CLT) course is a comprehensive course that focuses on many different aspects of the livestock transporting industry. One of the main focuses of the training program is to focus on animal safety. The program is able to offer advice to anyone who will be in contact with the animals during the shipping process including truckers, receivers and shippers.

One of the great things about the training course is that there are breakout sessions that will focus on each individual species and the different factors that are involved with transporting each individual species. Each of the breakout sessions will focus on either cattle, horses, hogs, sheep or poultry. The great thing about having individual sessions for each species is that haulers and transporters who only deal with one species of animal will not have to spend several hours listening to information that does not pertain to their business.

It is estimated that on any given day, there are about 480 trucks hauling pigs, sheep, bison, elk, cattle, horses and poultry in Canada. One can only assume that these numbers are even higher in other parts of the world. By providing training and certification classes, Alberta Farm Animal Care is helping to create a higher standard that is sure to be seen not only in Canada, but in other areas of the world as well. By providing the necessary training to every sector of the Canadian livestock industry, the CLT program will be helping to ensure that everyone involved in the livestock industry has the necessary skills to safely transport animals.

The first thing that people should consider is whether the mare will be traveling with the foal. If the mare will be traveling with the baby, then owners or haulers will need to properly prepare the trailer to ensure that both the mare and baby are safe during the trip. The safest way to haul a mare and baby is to place a partition between the two to ensure that the foal is not accidently hurt by the mare during the trip. If it is possible, an owner may even consider leaving the mare at home so that more attention can be given to the foal at the vet clinic. However, this is something that owners will need to discuss with their veterinarian.

Another thing that owners will need to consider when hauling a foal is the condition of their health. A foal that is sick will have a very difficult time maintaining their body temperature during travel and can become very cold. This is because new foals do not have a great amount of body fat to serve as insulation and being sick will only make it more difficult for the foal to keep warm.

If it is absolutely necessary to transport a sick foal, special considerations will need to be made to ensure that the foal does not get cold during the trip. One way to help a foal stay warm during transportation is to haul them in a trailer that is fully enclosed. This will prevent any cold air from blowing on the foal during the trip. However, this may not be a possible solution for every owner.

In the situation that the foal must be transported in an open stock trailer, the owner should use a foal sized blanket to preserve as much body heat as possible. However, a great amount of heat can be lost through the legs. One way to prevent this type of heat loss is to wrap the legs. A foal should be constantly supervised any time leg wraps are used to prevent the foal from injuring itself.

All livestock animals were once a prey of some sort.  All predators have their eyes on the front of their head and have sharp teeth.  All prey have eyes on the sides of their head and have blunt teeth.  You, to a prey animal, are a predator so it is important to remember that when you are handling livestock.

All livestock animals have a point of balance at their shoulder.  When you stand behind their shoulder, it encourages them to move forward.  When you stand in front of the shoulder, they will either stop or they will back away.  Many handlers will make the mistake of standing in front of the shoulders of those animals that they are trying to load.  This is the case with horses often as you try to lead their head into the trailer rather than giving them a driving force from behind.  Groups of cattle or pigs will often move easily into a chute if you don’t stand in front of their shoulder but encourage them from behind.  Because of this, it is often not necessary to prod every animal to get them to the chute and onto a trailer. In fact, if you can stand behind their shoulders and motivate them to move forward they will often move quite easily through a chute and into a trailer without being prodded at all.

All livestock animals also have a “flight zone.”  This is the distance that they feel safe from you and if you move into that space they will move away.  The size of an animal’s flight zone will depend on how tame the animals are.  You can think of this as their “personal bubble.” The size of the flight zone also depends on how excited the animals are, the more excited they are the large the zone becomes.  For cattle, it’s important to remember they are easier to move if they are calm and if they do get excited it will take about 20 to 30 minutes for them to calm down.

If you understand this concept of flight zones and point of balance, you will be much more successful in moving animals and working with them while you are traveling.