would you???

xmariax

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would you travel your horse in a trailer for 3-4 hrs to get to a show to travel him back on the same day or do you think this is too long for a horse to travel for???
he travels very well and we would stop for water etc...
i cant get a horsebox and this is my only option would anyone else do it or is it too long to travel??
opinions please ..... thanks x
 
I drove three hours to my sisters farm once to hack my two ponies with my daughter round the peak district where she lived but I then I didn't go straight home and they went in her paddocks for a couple of hours while we had tea and a break before heading home. We stopped half way to water and swap haynets as well.
 
My colleague and her family regularly travel show ponies for 3hrs + and back again, they do not seem to have any problems. In many ways better than putting your horse in dodgy temporary stables!

If your horse is a good traveller and used to a trailer I can't see why a trailer would be any worse than a lorry.

As long as you can give him a little chill out time between finishing show and travelling home I'm sure he will be fine.
 
Unless it was a very important show that you have qualified for, or there are very few classes near you for your horse (don't think I explained that very well - Like Fella and I are going to compete in ridden heavy horse classes which are few and far between so we will have to travel longish distances to be able to compete in that class) then no, I wouldn't.
 
hmm. Although lots of horses are traveled for hours when they come from abroad, personally I think it is too far to go to a show and back unless you can spend a good amount of time there.

Can you not get a stable/paddock for a night?
 
Lucy and i do endurance we have travelled 3hrs did a 80km ride then travelled home again and she is 19 years old! and not a typical endurance horse she is a 13.2hh welsh pony! you have to use trailers for endurance as you need a car for your crew.
 
sorry forgot to say yes i have qualified for royal london was plannin on takin a horse box with living and staying over nite but horse box has fallen thru....so yes there are stables available but i have no accomodation,thought about gettin b&b overnite but have been told im not allowed to leave horse on premises alone so not sure what to do, there is 3 adults goin and my 4yr old daughter so can t really sleep in jeep lol!
 
Can you sleep in a tent at at the show most endurance people do when staying over night not shore what showing lot do never stayed over at a show before.
 
firstly may I say congratulations-very jealous!!!
Secondly, no I wouldnt travel that far in one day but I guess for something like that then maybe a one off. Do you think your horse would perform well after the long journey-thats the question??? Mind you- a night in a stange place might be worse????? sorry, not much help!
 
i ve never stayed over before so im not really sure!!!!
this will be the furthest i have travelled him altho he came over from ireland.
 
thanks rachel....i dont think he'd mind a strange place hes quite a chilled out chap, altho didnt think about his performance after that long drive!!!
im not sure wot to do to be honest....would be a shame to miss out as i might not get the chance to do a show like this again but then dont want to over do it with all the travelling ....ho hum.....
frown.gif
 
The only thing i no for shore is you are not aloud to sleep in the stable with your horse any more. With the number of you going don't think you'll fit a horse in aswell anyway.
grin.gif
Hope you solve your dillema soon and good luck.
 
I no what you mean about the camp beds being ok if its warm. I worked with eventers and the rider got the cosey living and the grooms had to sleep in the horse bit of the lorry on camp beds. We spent a week at an event in scotland!!!
 
only prob is there is 4 of us dont think we ll all fit in
frown.gif

think my only option is to drive back home hopefully horsey will manage ok...thnks for all ur supportive messages! x
 
I wouldn't no. I would be worried about dehydration, muscle stiffness, distress, etc.. If I couldn't get into temporary stabling, I would arrange it at a local livery yard. If I were you, I would stay in a tent or put a camp bed in the trailer. Loads of people do it in summer.
 
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