Inside Your Horse Trailer

Until recently no major studies had been conducted about the effect of travel on horses. The best advice most folks could hope for was to glean some pearls of wisdom from the ocean of opinions and tales of other road warriors. As a result I actually found the results of the recent study by the University of California Davis Campus noteworthy in that their observations essentially did not differ from what responsible commercial horse transporters have known for years. In other words they put down in writing what we already practice. The best part about their study is that it confirmed what we already know and made it knowledge public.

So heres how the road looks and sounds through the eyes and ears of a horse 
NoiseRelated Stress
Most of us have witnessed the remarkably sensitive hearing that horses possess but even when weve seen them catch the sound of footsteps from a mile away full awareness escapes us. With hearing sensitive enough to hear that distant footfall doesnt it make sense that entering a trailer echoing with noises might be a tad unnerving? Rattling dividers squeaking floors and joints wind rushing in through open windows passing traffic and a myriad of other sounds inundate our horses every second theyre on board. The trend of many trailer manufacturers in recent years has thankfully taken this into consideration. Within the past ten years or so makers have incorporated alternative fastening materials and have learned from mishaps in an effort to provide us with a safer and less stressful environment for our horses and a more appealing product.
However no matter how welldesigned and manufactured a trailer is it will eventually experience wear and when things wear out they often get a little noisier. Formerly quiet trailers develop squeaks rattles and other signs of age. Part of my regular maintenance routine involves a shakedown of all moving parts doors hatches ramps and so forth. I will test dividers give doors and hatches a vigorous shake and test everything that moves could move and a few that shouldnt move but might. Ive also asked a friend to drive my rig across a bumpy parking lot while I ride inside just to see what the horses experience.
Trailer Interiors
Lighting is seldom a concern until we stub a toe or scrape a shin on something in the dark. Some studies have shown that horses seem to have greater visual