Transporting Arthritic Horse Long Distance?

[Emilyrose9]

I have a 25 year old mare with severe knee arthritis (one leg is bowed). She is happy in herself though very stiff, she still will do the odd canter in the field and has a cheeky attitude. She travelled to me a few weeks ago from her old home who unfortunately had neglected her. She did fine on that 2.5 hour journey. However we are moving house (this was going through before we took her under our care). The new house has her ideal set up of land and field shelter/stable when needed. However the journey from where she is now to the new place is 6.5 hours from Lancashire to the Highlands (in a car so will be longer in a horse box). Do you think this is doable for her or am I being completely unrealistic? Does anyone have experience with transporting an old arthritic horse long distance?

I'd also need to find a transport company willing to do the journey so any recommendations appreciated!

thanks in advance!

 

[splashgirl45]

i wouldnt want a younger horse being in a box for that length of time without a leg stretch , i know it would be a faff but i would transport her for 3 hours on one day, arrange stabling for that night and take her the rest of the way the next morning. maybe im being silly but a 25 year old with a dodgy knee having to balance for over 6 hours cant be good and i would worry that it would make her very sore. i would bute her as well just to keep her more comfortable

 

[Caol Ila]

Don't have any advice, but moving to a horse property in the Highlands sounds sweeet. Living the dream.

 

[Melody Grey]

I would bute and use someone with a massive lorry (like Eric Gillies)- I think the ride would be more comfortable for her. The length of the journey wouldn’t worry me overly if it was a solid ride. A stop over would be good, but wouldn’t be a deal breaker for me if not. What a destination for her though! ?

 

[Melody Grey]

I would bute and use someone with a massive lorry (like Eric Gillies)- I think the ride would be more comfortable for her. The length of the journey wouldn’t worry me overly if it was a solid ride. A stop over would be good, but wouldn’t be a deal breaker for me if not. What a destination for her though! ?

ETA: keep the bute going for a few days post arrival and monitor how she looks when stepping it down. Might take a few days to settle after the journey.

 

[The Xmas Furry]

I would bute and use someone with a massive lorry (like Eric Gillies)- I think the ride would be more comfortable for her. The length of the journey wouldn’t worry me overly if it was a solid ride. A stop over would be good, but wouldn’t be a deal breaker for me if not. What a destination for her though! ?

This, and check with your vet in case they reccomend anything drugs wise to help her along, as mentioned above.

 

[View]

I second using someone like Gillies as they can arrange an overnight off the lorry for her, and I am sure they would be able to administer Bute. Start the bute 24 hours before, step it down gradually afterwards - and straight to the field on arrival.

 

[Goldenstar]

I would do the trip in my own transport .
I talk to the vet re medication bute is not the only choice other’s symptoms be more suitable .
If you are going up the AI I could offer you an break here ( there’s a pub with rooms in the village ) that’s Northumberland btw .
The old lady could have a stable or a nights turn out or a night in the stable and turnout or you you could stop for a break and pop her in the paddock for a while .

 

[Caol Ila]

I would do the trip in my own transport .
I talk to the vet re medication bute is not the only choice other’s symptoms be more suitable .
If you are going up the AI I could offer you an break here ( there’s a pub with rooms in the village ) that’s Northumberland btw .
The old lady could have a stable or a nights turn out or a night in the stable and turnout or you you could stop for a break and pop her in the paddock for a while .

What an amazing offer!

If you use Gillies, they will -- no matter where in England they pick up your horse -- stop overnight at their stables in Kelso before continuing further into Scotland. So if you go with the commercial route and use them, she will get a wee break in the Borders.

 

[DizzyDoughnut]

I used a transport company, Supreme Horse transport they are based in Lancashire, to bring my youngster home. It was a long journey so they stopped overnight at their yard to give him a break in the middle, I'm not sure if they have have other stopping places in the direction you're travelling but if they do I would recommend them they were really easy to deal with, and sent me plenty of photos of him along the way so I could see he was ok and they only use small 2 horse boxes so your horse doesn't have an even longer journey while lots of others get dropped off first.

 

[Emilyrose9]

i wouldnt want a younger horse being in a box for that length of time without a leg stretch , i know it would be a faff but i would transport her for 3 hours on one day, arrange stabling for that night and take her the rest of the way the next morning. maybe im being silly but a 25 year old with a dodgy knee having to balance for over 6 hours cant be good and i would worry that it would make her very sore. i would bute her as well just to keep her more comfortable

Thank you, you're definitely not being silly! I should have mentioned in my post that I'd definitely plan to break the journey up She is already on 1 Bute a day so I would most likely have to double dose her for travel xx

 

[PapaverFollis]

My old lady travelled pretty much the same journey with Gillies. She wasn't quite as old or arthritic as yours but she was buted (Gillies took a couple of feeds and a couple of sachets to give her on the overnight stop) and she came off looking in better shape than the younger horse to be honest.

The only concern I had really was that because it was a shared load and we were the very last stop they had had a very long day on the wagon by the time they got here and it was a bit much.

If I was doing it again I would pay the extra for a private transport for that reason.

 

[Emilyrose9]

I would do the trip in my own transport .
I talk to the vet re medication bute is not the only choice other’s symptoms be more suitable .
If you are going up the AI I could offer you an break here ( there’s a pub with rooms in the village ) that’s Northumberland btw .
The old lady could have a stable or a nights turn out or a night in the stable and turnout or you you could stop for a break and pop her in the paddock for a while .

Thank you that's such a kind offer!! Unfortunately we wouldn't be passing through northumberland on the journey up but really appreciate your kindness thank you

 

[Emilyrose9]

My old lady travelled pretty much the same journey with Gillies. She wasn't quite as old or arthritic as yours but she was buted (Gillies took a couple of feeds and a couple of sachets to give her on the overnight stop) and she came off looking in better shape than the younger horse to be honest.

The only concern I had really was that because it was a shared load and we were the very last stop they had had a very long day on the wagon by the time they got here and it was a bit much.

If I was doing it again I would pay the extra for a private transport for that reason.

Thank you that's helpful to know, I think I'll enquire about the option for private travel

 

[Emilyrose9]

I used a transport company, Supreme Horse transport they are based in Lancashire, to bring my youngster home. It was a long journey so they stopped overnight at their yard to give him a break in the middle, I'm not sure if they have have other stopping places in the direction you're travelling but if they do I would recommend them they were really easy to deal with, and sent me plenty of photos of him along the way so I could see he was ok.

Thank you for the recommendation !!

 

[Emilyrose9]

What an amazing offer!

If you use Gillies, they will -- no matter where in England they pick up your horse -- stop overnight at their stables in Kelso before continuing further into Scotland. So if you go with the commercial route and use them, she will get a wee break in the Borders.

That's good to know thanks! Have heard great things about Gillies !

 

[PapaverFollis]

Gillies are up in the Highlands with the shared load pretty much every week. The wagon is huge and I think the horses travel very comfortably. As someone said they do a stop over in Kelso. I felt like my horses were in great hands. But they just had a bit of a nightmare trip from Kelso to here. They were due to arrive early afternoon and it was 9pm by the time they got here. The arthritic one was actually fine. The one with the muscle myopathy was less so! Not Gillies fault at all though, I don't know what had happened but I think traffic or an awkward horse or something had gone on.

How far up are you coming? If you're all the way to the top I'd definitely look into a private rather than shared, but a bit further south might be less of a concern!

 

[Goldenstar]

What an amazing offer!

If you use Gillies, they will -- no matter where in England they pick up your horse -- stop overnight at their stables in Kelso before continuing further into Scotland. So if you go with the commercial route and use them, she will get a wee break in the Borders.

But she will be all round the houses dropping off other horses unless you hire a truck for her alone from them ( they certainly did have a small truck at one point ) but will be very pricey .

 

[pistolpete]

How lovely to take her home. I’d planned similar with my old boy three years ago but didn’t manage to sell my house and plan changed. I was having same thoughts. Plenty of hay or haylage and planned stops I think she’s a lucky horsey.

 

[fawaz]

I would not use Bute for a medium length trip where they will not have access to a constant supply of roughage or if they do they may not eat it. You are just asking for an upset tummy/ulcer flair up.

Get the vet to give you something injectable or some Meloxicam for the day of and a couple of days after.

Long trips tend to be more exhausting the longer they drag on so definitely get it done in one hit if she is otherwise fit and healthy apart from the arthritic knee (which the pain relief/anti-inflams will take care of).

Horses are use to being on their feet, 23hrs a day. A 6hr trip will be fine for the old lady.

 

[SEL]

I used a local company to move my arthritic boy (nowhere near as many hours as you're planning) & they moved the partitions to give him as much space as safely possible. I did bute heavily and for a week after - he was sore. It's a lot of work for them balancing in a lorry, much more so than we realise (as my myopathy mare's muscle enzymes have proved).

A friend moved from Bucks to the Peak District and the vet gave their oldie a steroid injection in the bad joint a week before which really helped if that's an option.