72 pages.indd - Victoria Hamilton Dressage
Transcription
72 pages.indd - Victoria Hamilton Dressage
LONG DISTANCE ROAD TRAVEL OF HORSES by Vicki Hamilton Everyone involved in transporting horses long distances by road has their own tried and tested routine that they follow and that so far has worked for them. There are so many factors to consider such as the route being traveled, the weather, the number of horses versus number of people on the trip, the age and fitness level of the horses and the experience of horses and people on board to name just a few. WHY IS LONG DISTANCE ROAD TRAVEL SO RISKY? Horses are designed to be walking around all the time with their heads down in a grazing position. To put animals like this into confined spaces such as a truck where often they cannot stretch their heads down leads to all sorts of physiological changes in their bodies. These changes can lead to some potentially life threatening illnesses some of which will show either on the trip or immediately on unloading but others may take days to develop. The most important of these delayed hidden problems is travel sickness, a form of pleuropneumonia. Stress can reduce horses’ gut activity which may result in colic or laminitis. Concussion may also result in laminitis. Dehydration can contribute to many problems as well as being important in itself – drying of the airways combined with reduced mucus clearance from the horse being unable to stretch its head down for a long period of time predisposes the horse to chest problems. Additionally the long time being immobile can play havoc with the horses musculoskeletal system even though the constant balancing during transport uses an enormous amount of muscular energy and may even result in tying up. WHEN IS A TRIP CLASSED AS LONG DISTANCE TRAVEL? Most researchers agree that after 5-6 hours confined in a truck or float bay horses start to show certain physiological changes that may be detrimental to their health and well-being. The majority of horses will cope and go on to have no problems when arriving at their destinations but there are the unfortunate ones who either become too unwell to continue the trip or arrive and require days or even weeks to fully recover depending on which body system is primarily affected. Like people, all horses are different and in important thing to remember is just because a horse has traveled many times before does not make him immune to 50 EQ Life 72 pages.indd 50 getting travel sick, colic, laminitis, dehydration or tying up. He may be less likely as he will hopefully not be as stressed due to his experience one can never guarantee that all will be fine. WHAT CAN BE DONE TO REDUCE THE RISK? Risk reducing practices may be divided into those associated with truck design and those associated with the management of the team. Management Practices ►Plan your trip meticulously. Know how far you will be traveling each day and where you will stop. Talk to as many people as possible to see what they do when they travel the route you are planning. ►Never travel a horse that is unwell. I know from experience how disappointing it can be to cancel a long planned interstate trip to a major competition but I am sure it would be devastating to lose a horse due to the greed to compete. I won’t travel a horse that has had even a minor cold for at least 3 weeks. Travel the horses in familiar position and order (see section 2 above). ►If possible only travel horses with horses they know. This is for two reasons – firstly so that they are not sorting out their pecking order and secondly so that they are not exposed to certain potential pathogens (bugs) that a strange horse may be carrying. ►Reduce all dust as dust irritates their airways. Dust is in hay so this should always be soaked. We put the hay in nets and soak them for at least 20 minutes, then hang them to drain. Sometimes we feed the hay in hay bags but mostly on the floor so the horses have to lower their heads to eat it. This is again where the cameras are so useful as sometimes it takes a horse a day or so to get comfortable enough with the truck that they will eat on from the floor. We only feed from the floor on the long straight hauls we have across the Nullabor. It would not be possible for a horse to do this when driving on very windy or hilly roads where constant changing of speed is necessary. Dust is also from dried manure and this dust contains a multitude of pathogens. Therefore good hygiene is essential. We clean the truck at every stop, so this is once during the day and then again at night and then where ever possible we hose it out. Dust also comes from road dust if the ventilation is not correct. Bedding, if used, is another source of dust. ►Don’t over-rug as if there are a lot of horses they keep each other warm but on the other hand be careful of draughts. ►Leave the horses’ heads untied or tied as long as possible so that they can carry their ears lower than their withers. eqlife@bigpond.com 11/03/2005 12:14:19 PM Drive safely. ►Stop every 2-3 hours to offer water and then after 4-6 hours unload and walk the horses. They usually will get into a routine and most of ours will straight away urinate, roll and then go for a walk and a pick of grass. We redo the horses’ boots and clean the truck before reloading them. I don’t use tail bandages in our truck as on the angle they do not seem to rub their tails. When I have traveled them in other trucks I have used satin lined tail bags and would never use a tail bandage on a long distance trip. I would prefer a rub than to lose a tail. Then it is on the road again with another offer of water after 2-3 hours and then stop and yard them overnight. (Obviously all these stops are not possible for major transport companies where there may be 12-15 horses to only 2 drivers. Also in these situations some of the horses may not load very well so the stress of un-loading and then re-loading them would probably greatly outdo the stress of staying on the truck and arriving earlier. There is also the risk of unloading horses in unfamiliar areas, often completely open.) ►Know your horse’s temperature and check twice daily on trip. We always do this for 2 days before the trip and then for another 4 days on arrival and always at the same times of the day when the horses are quiet (ie before breakfast and then again before dinner). ►Prophylactic antibiotics were used routinely years ago but haven’t been for some time now. The idea behind their use was to help the horse fight any infections he may be challenged with along the way. Current thought is that these actually may do more harm than good by altering the horses’ natural flora both in his gut and in the respiratory tract. If gut flora is affected then digestion may be altered leading to problems such as colic and laminitis and alterations to respiratory natural flora may allow nasty pathogens to get a head start. ►Feed a probiotic such as Protexin or Opti-Minz for a week before the trip, the duration of the trip and a short time afterwards. These help to maintain normal gut flora. ►Let down for 2-3 days before traveling – less fit horses travel better ►Reduce grain over the last few days before leaving and then feed none during the trip – just hay/chaff. This is to lessen the risk of colic or laminitis due to stress related reduced gut function. Instead of being digested normally the feed may end up being fermented in the gut. If traveling for days on end I keep my horses on a small amount of Mitavite Munga as this is a completely extruded feed and therefore minimizes the chances of fermentation occurring. The other advantages of this feed is that I can buy it in all States and being extruded I can take it through strict quarantine checkpoints. ►Carrots! Carrots! Carrots! Anyone having been on an East-West trip with me will have memories (or nightmares) of chopping up kilos of carrots. I use these to encourage horses to eat off the floor of the truck by giving them a kilo each at every stop. That works out eqlife@bigpond.com 72 pages.indd 51 to at least 3 kilos of carrots per horse per day - a lot of carrots for a full truck on the road for a few days! ►Carry a range of supplements to cover all situations. Routinely I give the horses Tripart paste for 2 days prior to the trip and then each day just before loading to help prevent fatigue and reduce the risk of cramping. At night on arrival they are given ►Recovery paste to assist muscle cell recovery and offered an electrolyte and energy drink. We mix up the Energetic Isotonic powder sachets as they seem to love the taste and it can mask different waters. I also carry Tranquil paste to give to horses that do not seem to be settling on the trip or into their new nightly accommodation and VAM paste if any of them seem flat and need a pep-up ►Joint protectants – I feed Cosequin routinely to all my competing horses but also give them a course of Pentosan Equine before a trip across the Nullabor. This is to ensure their joints are in the best possible shape to cope with the concussion of the trip. ►Do your homework re feed and quarantine regulations ► for each state (ie tick spraying, liver fluke faecal testing and drenching). Check what feed you may take across certain state borders and if you are going to lose all your hay and chaff at one point make sure you find somewhere to buy it. This is very important if you will be crossing this point on a Sunday morning. Sometimes if doing a short, return journey it is possible to leave feed to collect for the way back. ►Arrive early enough so the horses can rest and recover ► from the trip before having to compete– usually one week for us from Perth. ►Get the horses used to drinking different water and to ► settling into strange areas quickly. We do several smaller trips throughout the year such as 5-hour trips where they will stay overnight as test runs and then if we have a horse with a problem we work out our plan of attack. ►First Aid Kit – this has to be extensive especially if ► traveling routes where it may not be possible to visit a vet for up to 36 hours. It is best to discuss this with your vet before every trip and remember to keep everything in date and cool if necessary – including sticky bandages which can become unusable if left in a hot truck for too long. ►Farrier tools also should be carried and a set of spare ► shoes. My farrier always shapes an extra set of shoes for each horse traveling the last time he shoes it before we leave and we take these for emergencies. WOW! I hope I haven’t turned anyone off the idea of taking his or her horses interstate to compete or to perhaps relocate! It is a fantastic experience and as long as everyone keeps a close watch for potential problems as opposed to believing they will never happen to them the trip will probably go very smoothly. Just remember it is “better to be safe than sorry” and although some of the management measures I mention above seem like overkill they are all there for a reason. EQ EQ Life 51 11/03/2005 12:14:20 PM