We all love our horses, we love to work with them and take them with us to various events around the country. Be it for a show, a rodeo or demonstration sometimes these trips can be long. Not only does moving our equine partner out of their normal environment add stress but trailering can put tremendous stress on all of the their muscle groups.
We need to remember as we travel we are sitting in vehicles that are built for our comfort. Your equine partner however is working hard to stand in an ever moving and shifting trailer. Unlike other animals, horses do not lie down during transport. Your horse will be constantly using all of it’s muscles in tiny isometric movements to maintain its posture and balance. As well, the horses foot is made to move, it is often referred to as the horses other heart. It is made to push the fluid back into the circulatory system with each step, often this can not fully happen when they are being transported resulting in swelling in the lower limbs.
Imagine how sore you would be if you spent the entire length of your trip standing in the bed of your truck with nothing to hold on to, relying completely on your core and leg muscles to balance yourself and keep yourself standing up. Now that you are at your destination, you can walk around and stretch a bit, have a feed and sleep, when morning arrives its time to go to work! Many of us when looking at this experience through our horses eyes could relate to the reasons for decreased performance, increased reactivity and overall fatigue.
Trailering for either long or short trips combined with other factors including heat and stress can easily lead to fatigue. Fatigue in your equine partner can not only lead to metabolic problems such as tying up, but a fatigued horse often looses the ability to protect those areas that may already be stressed contributing to ligament, joint and tendon issues
Booking a massage with a qualified bodyworker once you arrive at your destination can help your horse recover much more quickly from their trailering experience. It will help get all of the fluids moving again, encourage the removal of waste material and increase their ability to relax readying them for a better performance!