I’ve always maintained the miles in the trailer are harder on horses than the runs. Anything wecan do to make our equine partners more comfortable while we are traveling is going to get usthat much closer to the pay window. Before we ever load our horses, we need to inspect thatour trailer floor is in good shape. I actually have two layers of mats in my trailer. I have antifatigue mats, the kind that you buy at Home Depot that hook together like a puzzle, under myregular trailer mats. It makes a tremendous difference in shock absorption as well as absorbingroad heat.

I’m a huge fan of pelleted bedding, and I hate shavings! I use shavings if I can’t getpellets but only if I have to. A bag of pellets goes farther, lasts longer, has less dust, no smell,and are easier to clean, they are just so much better. I like to wet them down to about half waybetween totally broken down and still pellets. If your trailer has managers make sure they areclean and free of dust and old feed. I keep small salt blocks in each manger, for the horses toutilize as desired. Hi-Pro Alfa-Pro pellets are my choice for feed while in the trailer and I offer itfree choice in part because there’s no dust. Upper respiratory issues are always a worry.Horses are designed to eat with their heads down (grazing) obviously that’s not an option in thetrailer so I try to eliminate as many extra irritants as I can. When I arrive places I will feed on theground not in a hay bag, not just because I’m too lazy to put it in a hay bag but because I wantmy horses to get their heads down as much as they can so their heads can drain.

Furthermoreif I stop to water, If possible I’ll set the buckets on the ground not tied to the trailer. Or I let themgraze a few minutes, anything to get their heads down for a little bit.Before I load I like to wrap legs, I feel like any support and protection is beneficial. I personallyuse quilts and standing wraps. I spray legs until pretty wet with 40/60 mixture of DiO and water.I like to hold the quilt behind each leg to catch any over spray, if the quilts a little damp that’sperfect. I’ll spray hocks and knees down to the hoof then wrap. As long as I wet legs with theDiO CONCENTRATEmix, no matter how hot it is my horses legs won’t be sweating when I take my wrapsoff, it’s pretty amazing honestly. Then I spray stifles and mist over the entire horse with DiO.There are several brands of boots on the market that work great to haul in, and gives your horseextra cushion in the trailer and also protects their feet from the heat that comes off the highway,also many times we are forced to unload on asphalt, which is slick and the extra traction fromthese rubber soles makes all the difference. For long hauls I’ll take a small piece of cotton,place it in the bottom of my horses front feet soaked in the same DiO solution and put the bootson. The DiO will pull soreness out while you haul. it’s almost like magic!There’s not a set distance or time as to when to unload, finding a safe place is most important.

Common sense has to be used, if the weather's so miserable you don’t want to be out in it, yourhorse probably won’t either, stop and offer them water and keep going if you need to. Water isthe most important thing. Ideally you should stop every five or six hours walk and water, let yourhorses get their heads down, stretch and relax.I also have Coolaid products for the summer time hauling.If it’s real hot,I can again spray myDiO solution on my horse and place my chilled Coolaid wraps on and haul for up to 2 hours andhave a cooling effect, that goes for the blanket as well.Finding a place to stay at night is very important. Again safety is first, always walk around thepen make sure all gates are secure nothing is broken or dangerous, don’t let your horse drinkout of water tubs that are available. A simple bag of shavings can make a pen morecomfortable when needed. Just like you,when your on the road, better rest,more comfort andless stress will greatly improve your horses performance at the next competition!!

Good luck and safe travels.

Sabrina Ketcham

Kayleigh Pelham is a 16 years old and is a Sophomore atBurleson High School. She has been riding and barrel racing in rodeos sense she was 6 years old. Kayleigh has competed in numerous events and is passionateabout Barrel Racing. She currently rides for the Burleson Elks High School RodeoTeam and also compete in some of Texas biggest Barrel Racing Associationslike B.R.A.T (Barrel Racing Association Of Texas) along with other barrel racessuch as the Winmore Dinosaur Classic/American Qualifier, Winmoreproductions and Elite Barrel racing.

I’m kayleigh and I have been using this product for a couple of months now because my horses back has been hurting a lot when I ride we found this product and thought we would try it so we got the concentrate and spray bottle and used it like it says on the directions and I have gotten so much more movement from him when I ride. Recently he tied up on me and was barely able to walk, we used it on his back legs when we came back the next day he was walking and looked so much better. I thank you for making such a good product. I know i will never go without this stuff it really is truly amazing.