Hey horse people, I got a question for ya...

[Bustem' Down]

Are horse trailers bad for horses joints? Twice this weekend I found myself behind one watching it bounce around on the bumps in the road and the horses bounce around with it. One was on a slow two lane road, the other was on I-495. Just seemed like it would be bad for thier knees or something.

 

[HorseRiding God]

It Caused the Almighty Zues to develop an enlarged prostate, but he was actually pretty happy about that.

 

[Bustem' Down]

It Caused the Almighty Zues to develop an enlarged prostate, but he was actually pretty happy about that.

I wouldn't be.

 

[Robin]

I am sure that depending on the trailer, and the driver, there is some issues not good for the horse that is standing on all fours in the trailer bouncing down the road. Most of the new trailers have a better air ride shock system to eliminate the excessive bounce. Extra padded walls for the horses to lean. Some of us wrap the legs to prevent accidental bangs and bumps. ANd we drive as careful as we can to advoid jerks that pull out infront of us to avoid being behind us on the road, not realizing when we hit the brakes to avoid them we are possibly adding to any injuries that can occur to our precious cargo. Its nice to have someone ask. Now that you know please be sure to be kind when we are taking a little longer to pull into traffic and dont blow your horn it doesn't make us go any faster, it may upset the animal being hauled in the back. THANK YOU

 

[DQ2B]

Are horse trailers bad for horses joints? Twice this weekend I found myself behind one watching it bounce around on the bumps in the road and the horses bounce around with it. One was on a slow two lane road, the other was on I-495. Just seemed like it would be bad for thier knees or something.

Trailering puts more fatigue on their muscles, digestive system and respitory health than on their joints. They must continually shift their weight to keep balance as the vehicle moves (think riding on a bus while standing but not holding on), some won't eat or drink while in the trailer (or pee for that matter) and they cannot put their heads down as nature intended which is not healthly for their respitory system. As the previous poster mentioned, trailering as carefully as we can is the best we can do to help the horse cope so don't expect us to drive the truck and trailer like we would a car and again, thanks for asking!