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There are several things to consider when
transporting your horse for long periods of time
and large distances. First, if you are crossing
state lines, you will need to have a health
certificate. This certifies that your horse is
not bringing any contagious disease into the new
state. To obtain a health certificate you need
to have your veterinarian examine your horse. He
or she will then issue the certificate. In
addition, many states require that your horse be
vaccinated for certain diseases. Most states
also require that your horse be recently tested
negative on a Coggins test (the test for Equine
Infectious Anemia). The health certificate is
only good for 30 days so the examination needs
to be performed close to your departure time.
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During the trip offer water
to your horse
every three
(3) hours.
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The second
consideration is health risks to your horse. The
biggest problem seen in long distance travel is
impaction colic. The second biggest problem is
respiratory tract infections. Impaction colic is
caused by manure drying out and forming a
blockage in the large intestine. The reason this
problem occurs in horses being transported is
thought to be a decreased water intake during
the trip. To address this problem, here are
three suggestions. During the trip offer water
to your horse every three hours. Horses may
decrease significantly their water intake if the
water tastes differently from what they are used
to drinking at home. Therefore, before your trip
put a small amount of vinegar in your horse's
water. Then, while you travel and during the
first few days at your new location continue to
add a little vinegar. This will make all the
water taste relatively the same. Finally, if
your trip is more than 10 hours long, I suggest
having the veterinarian out to administer a
gallon of mineral oil via a nasogastric tube.
The mineral oil will help keep the manure soft
decreasing the chances of an impaction.
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The second problem
associated with long distance travel is
respiratory infections. In studies of severe
pneumonia in horses over 70% of the patients had
recently traveled for long distances just prior
to becoming infected. This association on
respiratory infection and travel is known as
"shipping fever" among cattleman. Shipping is
highly stressful and may lower a horse's
resistance to viral diseases. For this reason,
making sure your horse is well vaccinated for
Influenza and Rhinopneumonitis is critically
important. Bacterial infection secondary to
viral infections quickly follow. This leads many
veterinarians to give departing horses a dose of
penicillin at the time mineral oil is
administered just prior to long distance travel.
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The chances are
that most horses will not have any problems on
any particular trip. The problem is that a few
horses will have problems. The strategies above
are designed to minimize the risk of your horse
becoming one of those few."
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Article by Dr.
Douglas Novick is a veterinarian in the San
Francisco Bay Area who limits his practice to
the treatment of horses.
ALSO Check out:
TRAILERING HORSES
from Another Authority:
Check out articles like:
"Towing
Trailers, - Tow Like a Pro"
This is ann excellent article. It is from authors of
www.equispirit.com (Neva Scheve is the
author of three books about horse trailering.
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