This message is from: Marsha Jo Hannah <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > "Lois Berenyi" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > my mare. Her first trip almost 4 years ago was from Nova Scotia to New > Jersey. She had a cough for about a month after that. [...] > Her second trip was from New Jersey to North > Carolina, again with other horses via a commercial hauler, and again we had > a month-long cough. Recently I moved her a very short distance but in a > trailer that has seen many horses from a large stable and again we have a > cough. > > [...] Is the hauling itself the > reason and/or does it make any difference if it is a private trailer used > primarily for one's own horses versus a commercial vehicle used for a > diverse population of horses (and their germs)?
Well, certainly being exposed to diverse germs will increase the possibility of a respiratory problem. However, some aspects of hauling also figure into it. Probably the biggest contributor is having the horse restrained in a manner such that he can't lower his head (nose at or below knees) to cough effectively. A lot of 2-horse straight-load trailers have a "fixed manger" (the ceiling of the tack compartment), and the horse is tied short enough (and in a short compartment) such that he can't get his head clear of the manger to lower it and cough effectively. In theory, slant-load trailers would be better---except that most of them have the tie rings about 5' off the floor, so most folks tie just barely long enough for the horse to reach the feeder---still not long enough to cough properly. Normal nasal secretions build up, aggrivated by dust from bedding, hay, or the road, and the horse ends up with a mild pneumonia---"shipping fever". After reading up on this, I had my slant-load trailer modified so that I'm tying 3' off the floor, with a tie long enough that the horse can put his nose on the floor (no feeders---hay is in a haynet). Stress is another contributor to a horse getting sick---it depresses the immune system. Assorted studies have shown that many horses are far less stressed if they can ride facing the rear of the trailer (either slant-rear, or full rear-face). It has to do with the way their joints are angulated and muscled; they can "go with" the trailer motion better when facing to the rear, and can handle turns and stops much better that way. Consequently, I also had my trailer set up to be used slant-rear. This combination has turned my problem hauler into a reasonably happy camper. Marsha Jo Hannah Murphy must have been a horseman-- [EMAIL PROTECTED] anything that can go wrong, will! 15 mi SW of Roseburg, Oregon
