Trip Tips

TACKTIP

PHOTO BY MAUREEN GALLATIN Leather halters or nylon halters with breakaway connections are ideal for trailering your horse. They’ll break or give if he needs to restore his balance.

Choose the Right Halter

Here are three often-overlooked halter-use tips for safety. Use leather or breakaways for trailering. Leather halters or nylon halters with breakaway connections are ideal for trailering your horse. They’ll break or give if he needs to restore his balance. However, avoid using these halter types for training, as they don’t apply precise cues to his nose or poll. Use nylon for everyday needs. Nylon halters are great for leading your horse and to use as you tack up at home and at your trailer. Avoid turning out your horse with a nylon halter, as it doesn’t give or break and can trap your horse in a potentially life-threatening position. Use a nylon halter only when you’re with your horse. Use rope for training only. Rope halters are great for training sessions, because they apply precise pressure and give you horse easy-to-understand cues. However, don’t use a rope halter to tie your horse in your trailer. The rope won’t give or break, and can dig into his sensitive face if he pulls back or shifts suddenly. Plus, if there’s an accident, the rope halter won’t break free. Use a rope halter only when you’re with your horse. —Maureen Gallatin

TRAILERINGTIP

Keep Rig Data Handy

Do you know the type of oil your tow vehicle requires? When you come to an underpass with a low height clearance, do you know your trailer’s dimensions? If your trailer tire is low, do you know the pressure rating to safely fill it up with air?

Stop fumbling through the manual while you’re on the road. Instead, gather all such data before you leave home. Write your tow vehicle’s oil type, the recommended pressure (pounds per square inch) for all tires, and your tow vehicle and trailer’s dimensions and weights onto a three-by-five-inch index card. Clip the card to the driver’s visor for easy checking on the road.

Also keep a digital record. Take a photo of the information, and add it to your mobile device’s “favorites,” or enter the data into your device’s note app. No more digging around for needed information. — Heidi Melocco

PHOTO BY HEIDI MELOCCO Collect and record all essential information for your rig— such as your trailer’s dimensions—before you leave home so it’ll be easy to find during travel.

Hot-Weather Feeding

Sweltering summer heat is a health hazard for your traveling horse. He’s at risk for dehydration, weakness, colic, poor exercise tolerance—even heatstroke. To help prevent overheating, trailer him in the morning or evening when it’s cool, hose him down after travel and exercise, provide plenty of shade, and consider feeding him a hot-weather diet. Here are some tips. Provide water. Keep clean water in limitless supply available 24/7. While trailering, stop for frequent water breaks. If you can, find a shady area to park under. Let him graze. Pasture grass is ideal because of its high water content. Supplement his forage. If your horse doesn’t have enough grass available for it to be his main food (such as when you’re on the road), try tempting him with carrots, celery, apples, watermelon, squash, or salad greens added to a high-moisture mixture of soaked beet pulp and wheat bran. Start with small meals if your horse isn’t used to these feeds. Add salt. Add about 1 teaspoon of salt per pound of the mixture above to improve appeal and get needed salt into your horse. Be sure to also provide free-choice salt. Note that your horse should be eating at least two ounces of salt per day.

Note: It’s normal for appetites to drop off during periods of extreme heat. If this happens, don’t panic. Your horse will start eating again when he feels more comfortable. — Eleanor M. Kellon, VMD In hot weather, pasture grass is ideal because of its high moisture content. Inset: Supplement your horse’s forage by adding a high-moisture food, such as watermelon, to a mixture of soaked beet pulp and wheat bran.

USRIDERMEMBERTIP

How to Report a Disablement

You’ve had a disablement and have called the emergency number on the back of your USRider membership card. What information should you expect to provide? Note that USRider’s Member Care Specialists are highly trained professionals who gather a variety of information to assist in facilitating a speedy and efficient service call. So be sure to have the following information ready when you call: vehicle make and model; year of both the vehicle and the trailer; trailer type and configuration; number of horses; and the precise directions to your current location.

This information helps ensure that the service provider USRider dispatches will have the proper equipment to service your particular vehicle or trailer before heading out on a call. This information also helps the service provider to correctly locate and identify you at the scene. These factors facilitate more efficient service for you. It’s important to provide a complete picture, as a simple disablement can often turn into a situation involving multiple service vehicles, emergency stabling for horses, and more. When you experience a disablement, the information you provide helps the service provider to correctly locate and identify you at the scene.