Thoughts on trailering

Along the way from Vermont to Virginia, we stopped several times, which allowed Bestie to rest her legs and take a break from the constant bracing.

Over the years that we've owned Dude and Bestie and the kids were showing, my experience with trailering generally involved travel to destinations no more than a couple of hours away from home. And we never owned a trailer, so the experience also was limited to paying for someone else's services, watching the girls get the horses prepared with wraps, and then following the trailer to our destination. The prospect of trailering Bestie from Vermont to Virginia for our move was a bit daunting. A few thoughts, now that she's settled in Virginia...

If I had to do it over again, I would start the process by talking to my horsey friends to see if they have any trailering recommendations. When I got around to this (I started with web searches = mistake), one friend passed along her parents' chosen hauler for their Standardbred race horses, and another shared the contact information of the private hauler whom she has trusted with her horses over the years and many miles. It's definitely reassuring to have the opportunity to choose from haulers for whom you have personal recommendations. I would think that vets, farriers, and local tack shops would also have folks who might sing the praises of specific haulers if asked.

When I started web searching to identify a transporter, I quickly got a bit overwhelmed. Searching turned up a few companies that focus on the east coast route I needed. After looking at their websites, I turned to other sources to read more about the hauling companies; sources like the Better Business Bureau and Google review pages, and the companies' own social media pages, if they had them. Compiling all of that gave me a sense of each company, but that's all it was - a sense. 

I felt that I would need to make a decision based on my gut feeling on which option was best, given the available information. And there's nothing like mentioning you're reading up on haulers to encourage everyone to start sharing their hellish hauling stories - not exactly what I wanted to hear! Kind of nerve wracking.

In the end, the kind owner of Bestie's new barn trailered her to Virginia. 

My set of to do's prior to Departure Day...

1. Setting up a vet appointment. At the appointment, within a month of departure, Bestie received the shots she would need to transition and a health certificate. My vet also gave me two tubes of GastroGuard, and prescribed dosage as follows: 1/2 tube the day before departure, 1/2 tube the day of departure, and 1/4 tube for four days after arrival at our destination. She also gave me a tube of Ace in case Bestie got worked up on departure day (we didn't need it). She suggested bringing enough hay to offer two weeks of transition time from VT's timothy to VA's orchard grass, and to have the destination barn's nearest vet's contact information in case care was needed upon arrival (it wasn't). The appointment was a good opportunity for me to ask questions (Shipping boots or standing wraps? Standing wraps, for support on the 13 hour journey) and to be reassured (Dr. Emily's reality check for me - "Remember horses travel all over the world. In the scheme of things, Bestie's travels are nothing to worry about. Stay calm and all will be fine.")

2. Loading practice. Bestie hadn't been trailered in almost 7 years, so our new barn owner suggested practicing. We practiced once while I was still in Vermont, and then our Vermont barn owner practiced with Bestie in the week between closing on our VT house and trailering Bestie, when I was in Virginia. It all worked out great - after a little bit of "hmmn, not sure about this," she loaded fine on Departure Day. It helps that Miss Food Motivated could see the full hay net. :)

3. Filling containers with water from our VT barn's well to encourage Bestie to stay hydrated en route - familiarity. I also brought along a few small apple juice boxes to add to the water for enticement (not needed).

4. Packing all health information and my first aid kit to be accessible during travel.

5. Going through all of our horse stuff to get rid of anything we wouldn't need in our new digs. Even with a pretty extensive clean-out, a lot of full plastic totes still ended up in the trailer.

6. Making sure Bestie's routine prior to departure didn't change up too much. 

En route...

We stopped every few hours to give Bestie a chance to rest and to check on the hay and water situation. She went through a few hay bags full of hay, which was great as it kept her occupied on the long ride. She didn't drink much; luckily it wasn't super warm on travel day. 

Upon arrival...

I walked her around for several minutes so she could stretch her legs. Her stall had been bedded extra deeply to give her more cushioning in case she was a bit stiff and sore. She did drain a good portion of her water bucket once in her new stall. She had bute in her first grain meal at the new barn to also ease stiffness. 

The first week...

I came to the barn daily the first four days and groomed her and walked her. I also rubbed her legs each day with Sore No More. Turn out started right away, first as half days to ease her into the generous amount of grass in the pasture, and then to a couple overnight turnouts at the end of her first week. Basically she had a relaxed first week to settle in. One week after arrival, I handwalked her to the neighbor's outdoor sand ring with the intent of lunging her, but just walked her around for 20 minutes as she seemed a bit too "up" in the new surroundings to safely lunge.

Travel from Vermont to Virginia was a long trip for 20 year old Bestie, but she traveled and settled in well. Whew! Huge peace of mind.