Horse going to horspital!! Need travelling advice

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Sharonr

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Hi,

My horse is going to the Dick Vet's in order to have allergy testing done.

He's not been travelled for about 6 years now and with him being a stressy TB, I'm worried!!!

Does anyone have any advice as to what is the best instant calmer on the market to make it a safe and comfortable journey for him? He's an ex-racer so would have been used to travelling but think it would have been in a box rather than a trailer.

Is it best to leave him without travel boots on or not? The reason I ask is that when he was delivered to me, he didn't have any boots or bandages on and no travel rug either.

Any help would be much appreciated as I'm stressing already!! Thanks.
 
I'm sure there are more experiences people than me but I believe all the professional transport companies avoid rugs/ boots etc. especially if there is a chance the horse will mess around as getting stuck/ trapped/ caught on something is more of a risk that the protection boots provide.
 
If I was in your position, I would not be thinking about using an over the counter product.

I would speak to my vet with a view to use acp or similar and then ensure I arrived early enough for the drug to have worn off. A prescribed product will work, an over the counter might work. As the appointment is important you might as well make sure he loads and is calm. The last thing you need is to not load at all or arrive at the vets with a terrified horse that will be good for nothing.

I would use travel gear and I would have an experienced friend or two with me in case anything goes wrong.

Can you have a trial run around the block well before the important trip to see how he reacts plus to find out if he accepts the travelling kit ?
 
I just picked up my 2 year old from Rossdales, until he went in last Wednesday he had never been on a moving trailer. I put a full length breast bar in and cross tied him, no boots but quite a bit of straw in case he went on his knees or sat down. He was fine, a bit sweaty on arrival but loaded OK again this morning to come home so it can't have been that bad. I did shut the top back doors so he wasn't scared by things coming up behind him and it also meant he spent less time trying too look over his sholder as he could only see through the front window.
Good luck. On calmers I have heard the magic syringe is good.
 
Thanks for all this.

We are going to have a trial run tomorrow to see how it goes with him and whether a calmer or ACP will be required, or if he will even load at all. I'm trying to keep a positive mind that he will load as he doesn't have a choice really!!

Thanks Irish_only. Never thought of taking his food away beforehand so that's he's hungry. I just know that when he proper stresses, the last thing he thinks of is his stomach but it's certainly worth a try.
 
Just a thought but if he's going for allergy testing do you need to avoid feeding him anything unusual? Maybe talk to the vets and check you're not going to impact the testing if he's had any chemicals (over the counter or otherwise)
 
Polos Mum said:
Just a thought but if he's going for allergy testing do you need to avoid feeding him anything unusual? Maybe talk to the vets and check you're not going to impact the testing if he's had any chemicals (over the counter or otherwise)
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Good point!!! I'll check that with them when they phone to tell me the date he's to be admitted!! Thanks. x
 
hi I travelled my 3 year old arab cross who had been on box rest for 3 weeks! on a 7 hours journey (was a total unavoidable emergency). He had a tiny tiny bit of sedalin and rescue remedy befor we left and during the journey travelled amazing
 
our vet came out and gave our stressy TB mare a muscle relaxant and a bit of sedation to help with her journey when she had to go to hospital --it did help she was calm the whole 3 hours and didn't even sweat up which is a first for her
 
If a horse is used to bandages/boots then i do use them, but if its a one off, then i would rather not stress the horse any more than necessary. I would look at over reach boots and a tail protecton though.

Not sure i would be happy sedating a horse that is not used to travelling as he will be wanting his wits about him, but if he is a proper stress head it could be the lesser of two evils.

Some times a horse is better of being loose in the box, so they can position themselves where they feel most comfortable.

One horse i travel sits his bum on the side of the box, splays his front legs about 5ft wide and has his head almost on the floor. He travells perfectly happy like this, but if he were tied up short, or did not have the foot room it would be a very different story.

If you are hiring a box usually the driver will be in the best place to advise you - especially if they are used to travelling ill horses - there is nothing quite like the back of the box bouncing round if your travelling one with colic - that is a pretty stressful experiance, and i always want either pain killers or sedation before i start the long drive to Liverpool.

Good luck
 
If you possibly can, take another horse with you - one known to be very calm and a good traveller. Your horse will then pick up the behaviour of the good horse and be relaxed himself.

I travel a lot of young horses and always do this and it seems to work well.

If you are stressed yourself try to leave the loading etc to someone calm and experienced. Horses so pick up on your nerves!
 
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