Travelling horses in this heat

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sjdress

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Would you travel your horses In this heat to an evening dressage competition? I would need to be leaving at approx 4:30pm which is when It seems to be at its hottest. I’m a bit concerned as lorry’s ventilation isn’t the best. Do you travel horses in this heat?
 
I would always ideally like to travel my horse not at the hottest part of the day but sometimes it's not doable. How long will you be in the lorry for? Maybe open up the lorry as soon as you get to the yard so any heat trapped in there already can escape out and cooler air in.
 
If competition was a qualifier/important then yes, with the best planning in place. If a minor fun or training session, then no I wouldn't.
 
Yes but then we have good ventilation, roof fans and good travellers. Doing a 3hr trip weds lunch time and tbh hadn’t even considered it! He’s already on electrolytes.
 
Yes, and I will be travelling twice this week.
The horse is fit, and the journey is less than an hour each way. I open all the windows so there is a decent breeze and will get her off the box as soon as we arrive. She'll have a day off the following day.
 
If you can get a breeze through the box then it's probably cooler than standing still. Just check traffic first and travel with water in case of hold ups.
 
If I was confident I could keep moving to keep the air flow then I wouldn't be especially worried (for a short journey) - if it was going to be sitting in stop/start or crawling traffic which I would around here at 4.30 then no. I know how uncomfortable I am myself in that situation without aircon.
 
We are going to pony club this evening which is a 35 min journey on A roads. I'm happy to do it, and pony will be unloaded as soon as we arrive and water offered.

Fiona
 
AFB said:
If I was confident I could keep moving to keep the air flow then I wouldn't be especially worried (for a short journey) - if it was going to be sitting in stop/start or crawling traffic which I would around here at 4.30 then no. I know how uncomfortable I am myself in that situation without aircon.
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This. I've been stuck on a non moving motorway before on a hot day in a horsebox and it made me nervous
 
Normally yes but it depends what I’m travelling for. My 2 have got a 4 hour journey on Thursday, only one way due to us relocating, it’s just unfortunate it’s going to be so hot. If it was just for a fun ride/ outing then I probably wouldn’t bother. I don’t find it that enjoyable when it’s this hot!
 
A post popped up on Facebook about travelling livestock in hot weather, it said if you get stuck on a motorway for (I think 30 mins?) you can call 101 and get permission to use the hard shoulder to get off the motorway. I hadn't heard this before and don't know the validity of it but in extreme heat it could be a good thing.
 
EventingMum said:
A post popped up on Facebook about travelling livestock in hot weather, it said if you get stuck on a motorway for (I think 30 mins?) you can call 101 and get permission to use the hard shoulder to get off the motorway. I hadn't heard this before and don't know the validity of it but in extreme heat it could be a good thing.
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It's a load of tosh, there is no regulation. Anyone in distress can call for assistance and where possible be escorted on the hard shoulder, but no 30 min rule exists. I saw the incorrect, badly worded, mis spelt post being shared on Facebook earlier.
Anyone running on a tacho would have issues when stuck for ages, it's hard when you are driving livestock tho.
 
Saw a post suggesting damping down/ or putting in a bag of ice cubes in horse box to reduce the temperature inside.
If you can park in shade or get the airflow going through before you load to reduce temperature as well.
 
Yes. Mine is travelling four times this week, three of those are short (ten min each way) journeys with one long one on Sunday. He’s also working hard (dressage lesson, sj, gallops trip, eventing) all week, at the hottest parts of the day. He’s fully clipped, fit, fed electrolytes and is having no issues.

I don’t think it’s fair to expect a horse to randomly compete on days where it’s super hot, if they are never ever worked in any sort of heat.
 
I'm traveling to Wales on Thursday, leaving at lunch time and it will take about 3-4 hours. The lorry is an old one but the window ventilation is pretty good so will be fine moving. If we get stuck I'll have some sloppy grass nuts to give her if needed. Not overly worried, she is fit and used to working and travelling in this heat. I think spending 4 days in temps stables will be more of a struggle for her as she isn't a fan of the heat really although she copes with it much better now than she did last year.
 
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