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RE: [RC] [RC] Soaked Flake Hay While Trailering - Howard Bramhall

Yea, that caught my interest as well. I'm thinking, "What the heck do you do about that one?" All I have room for in my trailer is hay. Can't have water in front of them, no grain or beet pulp (soaked, of course). So, would it be better not to have nothing at all. That doesn't seem like a good idea. What to do?

cya,
Howard (dehydration sucks the life out of a horse, and, me too. Where's the beer?)


From: April <ridecamp_mail@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [RC]   Soaked Flake Hay While Trailering
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 09:03:31 -0600

I was reading February's EN. There was an article in there about dehydration and
colic. It was an article by Jeannie Waldron, DVM. Something that peaked my
interest is that it _seemed_ that Dr. Waldron was advising to limit the amount
of DRY hay the horse has in the trailer.

http://www.aerc.org/ENFeb04AskAVet.asp

"The severity of this lurking dehydration can be affected by certain management
techniques for better or worse. Eating hay in the trailer, availability of
water, distance traveled, and environmental factors can significantly effect the
level of dehydration."

"...the majority of endurance horses finish considerably more dehydrated than
when they start. And again, they stand, eat dry hay, and haul yet more hours
home. We can manage around some of these factors..."

I know that fiber is supposed to increase the thirst mechanism in a horse, so
they will drink more. I don't want to remove hay from the trailer during a trip,
he needs to eat! I don't want to put beet pulp or hay cubes in the trailer
because of the risk of choke.

So I was pondering the possibility of getting a large flat pan and soaking a
flake of hay in lots of water for an hour before traveling. Then transfer the
soaked hay (sans pan and water) to the trailer. Or should I just put the whole
pan and hay in the trailer?

Tanna has a bad habit of not drinking while being trailered, even if he is
removed from the trailer for 10 or 15 minutes. Knowing this, I want to mitigate
the risks of dehydration as much as possible. He already gets electrolyted
before a long trailer ride and with the feeding mangers in our "new" trailer, we
will be unloading every 3-4 hours for the horses to be able to drop their heads.
(As well as opening their windows at every opportunity.)

So, basically my question is, what are the thoughts of experienced endurance
folk and vets on giving soaked flake hay to my boys while trailering?

Thanks,
April
Nashville, TN

===========================================================The two best drugs to have in your kit are Tincture of Time and a Dose of
Common Sense. These two will carry you through 99.999% of the problems
associated with horses and endurance competition.
~ Robert Morris

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