If a horse ‘goes down in the box’ what should be done?

Prevention is the key element here. Basically having an experienced, considerate driver is, in most of these cases, the most essential aspect where horses are being transported. Also a decision as to whether or not a horse is fit to travel may have to be taken under certain circumstances.

For example, if a horse is very weak or very sick, or in the case of an injured or a very distressed horse or a horse suffering from malnutrition etc., it is unfit to travel. A practical decision should be taken by the owner, or in a more serious case, it may need to be veterinary based.

Why would a horse be deemed by law to be ‘unfit to travel’?

Under the transport regulations and guidelines, a horse is deemed to be unfit to travel where all of its four limbs are not weight-bearing. Basically, this means where a horse cannot place its weight on its four feet and it cannot load unassisted on to a trailer/box.

An exception in certain cases here would be where a horse has to be transported for or following veterinary treatment or to an equine hospital. This would exclude animals with protruding internal organs or very serious open wounds. Sick or injured animals can be considered fit for transport if transport is not likely to cause additional welfare problems for the horse. In cases of doubt, veterinary advice should be sought.

What are the common injuries that occur to a horse in a trailer or horse box?

1. Wither and back injuries – caused where a horse goes under the front bar (especially ponies and smaller horses).

2. Injuries, cuts and grazes – where a horse tries to bolt out the groom’s door at the front, causing various injuries.

3. Capped hocks - This occurs where the horse ‘sits back’ in the box, balancing itself through its hocks pressing against the side of the box and injuring them. This can be prevented by using hock boots.

4. ‘Tail scald’ occurs if a tail bandage is not used or if it is not properly applied and slips out of place. Again it is more likely to happen where a horse sits back while in transit, to balance itself in the box.

5. Horse nervous/over-excited when loading and travelling – some horses are bad travellers and tend to get excited when travelling. This is particularly so if they have had a bad experience in travelling previously, over use of physical force at loading, or where there is an inexperienced erratic driver.

Having horses properly handled before attempting to transport them is important.

Should nervous and unhandled horses be tranquillised for transportation or can this cause other problems?

Sedation is used to effect, in some selected cases where a horse is a poor/nervous traveller. Ensuring a safe dosage level of sedative is important to avoid consequences of over sedation causing the horse to fall when travelling. Also in some cases if sedation is used initially for a few trips it may help.

Alternatively a useful exercise in these cases is to give the horse a few feeds in the trailer/horse box while at home.

This approach gives the horse a positive association with the box, loading, unloading etc. Where a horse tends to be a claustrophobic traveller it can be useful in some such cases to discard the use of the partition.