Hay, hauling, and tin-god inspectors

[cberto@juno.com]

When I haul (straight 2-horse), I always have some flake hay and a
special goodie like carrot pieces or a handful of grain in a low pan, so
that Pea-Brains will look forward to trailering...and it works.  Yes, I
tie his head because once after a (thankfully) short haul I found his
nose to the floor, going after spilled hay, and he got stuck, couldn't
raise it.  I stop every 2-3 hours (I've learned all the roadside rests on
I-5!) and unload so Billy can lower his head&neck, snort&blow,  urinate,
drink, etc.   I walk him doing circles and eights to flex him, and after
20 min or so he pops happily back in.  (With a zillion eyes watching, I
clean up all spilled manure...)   BTW, when trailering long distances
even in fine warm weather, I use a sheet or blanket PLUS a square of
fleece secured over the hindquarters.  Those large muscles are getting a
constant stream of high-velocity wind while trucking down the road and he
has to stand there and take it.   Once he was shivering so badly,  the
next day when he P'd the urine was v.v.dark...everything turned out OK,
though.  
   When we did Outlaw Trail in '95, vesicular stomatitis was the big
concern.  We got a VS-free certificate for going from CA to Utah, and
then a fresh cert. for the return trip. Now, while in UT, Crockett had
certified weed-free hay available for purchase, which I got and used, no
problem.  But on the trip home,  when we got to the Ag. inspection
station at Truckee Calif.,  the agent was not the least interested in 
the VS certificate, but he threw a hissy fit because I had bought hay
out-of-state and it "might" have bad bugs in it, and the weed-free tag
meant nothing!   Fortunately I had no hay left at that point or I might
still be in Truckee.   I might add that at that time, California did not 
have a hay-inspection program in place.   Cheers (;-), Connie B.

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