DOTT.SSA EMANUELA VALLE <\/p> Travelling is not that simple even when a horse is used to it. Stress caused by transportation results in tensions and worries, determined by numerous factors, that in the long run will affect horses\u2019 wellbeing.<\/p> The physical and environmental stresses that will affect the horse the most are:<\/p> Vibrations<\/strong>: the horsebox vibrates and moves constantly, forcing the horse to continuously change its centre of gravity to maintain balance. The horse\u2019s body and his legs become like \u201csprings\u201d that balance the variations, accelerations and decelerations of the vehicle and have to absorb the impact of the conditions of the road. Studies prove that the horizontal oscillations for about 50 km of travel can reach 240 meters and the vertical ones up to 90 meters. These may vary according to the driving style of the vehicle used and the route taken.<\/p> Light:<\/strong> continuous variations in brightness, as well as noise, smell and temperature are very important factors that create continuous tension in the horse, which must adapt continuously to these changes. The factor that has the highest impact on the horse is the variation of light, especially from areas of intense light coming from the window, to dark areas such as tunnels, which can create tension. The time the horse needs to adjust to sudden light variation is longer than for us humans. If less than 5 seconds are enough for the man, the horse needs a little longer.<\/p> Temperature:<\/strong> the temperature inside the vehicle must never exceed the \u2018critical temperature\u2019, when the horse struggles to thermoregulate. The horse must travel with a \u2018thermal comfort temperature\u2019 which shouldn\u2019t exceed 20\u00b0C or a maximum critical limit of 25\u00b0C. In the thermal comfort zone, the horse does not sweat and therefore, does not waste energy, decreasing the degree of fatigue.<\/p> <\/p> <\/p> These are numerous and have significant consequences on the transport. Among these the most important are the quality of driving and the route taken, the microclimate in the horsebox, the horses lack of experience in travelling, separation from his stable mates and all the physical factors such as light, temperature, noise and vibrations.<\/p> They should NEVER<\/strong> be used unless prescribed by the vet. In fact, administering sedatives before loading the horse with the idea of helping it to manage travelling stress can actually increase the risk of trauma as this could compromise his ability to balance.<\/p> <\/p> Above all, older horseboxes, perhaps those chosen by amateur riders, are not equipped with adequate ventilation. Therefore, it is good to park the horsebox in airy and shady areas, remembering that light colours attract less sunlight.<\/em><\/p> <\/p> In order to reduce the risks associated with transport, EFSA (the European Union agency with the task of serving as an impartial source of scientific advice) has drawn up a \u2018Scientific Opinion\u2019 based on the studies of many horse welfare experts.\n<\/p> Some important points of the scientific report underline that:<\/strong><\/p> \u2013 \nIn order to minimize stress\n<\/p> and injuries, \nhorses should be trained\n<\/p> for loading and unloading: this takes time at home and should be part of the training routine of the young horse. Getting on the vehicle must be a positive experience.\n<\/p> –\n The microclimate during transport must \n<\/p> always be monitored in order to have an ideal travelling environment for the horse.<\/p> –\n Horses are more comfortable if they \n<\/p> have room on the sides in front and behind. According to research this space corresponds to 40 cm around the horse (at its widest point such as the belly and from the tail to the nose with the neck parallel to the ground). The length should be 50 cm if a hay net is supplied during transport.\nThis allows the horses to balance well because they can spread their legs and lower their heads.<\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> What you need to know to make travelling more comfortable for your horse DOTT.SSA EMANUELA VALLE DIP. SCIENZE VETERINARIE – UNIVERSIT\u00c0 DI TORINO EBVS\u00ae EUROPEAN SPECIALIST IN VETERINARY AND COMPARATIVE NUTRITION Travelling is not that simple even when a horse is used to it. Stress caused by transportation results in tensions and worries, determined by…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8890,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[34,161],"class_list":["post-8885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-horse-care","tag-veterinaria","tag-veterinaria-en","category-72","description-off"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cavalliecavalieri.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cavalliecavalieri.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cavalliecavalieri.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cavalliecavalieri.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cavalliecavalieri.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8885"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.cavalliecavalieri.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8902,"href":"https:\/\/www.cavalliecavalieri.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8885\/revisions\/8902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cavalliecavalieri.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cavalliecavalieri.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cavalliecavalieri.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cavalliecavalieri.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
DIP. SCIENZE VETERINARIE – UNIVERSIT\u00c0 DI TORINO
EBVS\u00ae EUROPEAN SPECIALIST IN VETERINARY
AND COMPARATIVE NUTRITION<\/em><\/p> Horses also suffer from motion sickness <\/strong> <\/h4>
The \u2018motion sickness\u2019, or the feeling of nausea and possibly vomiting that we experience during a journey, has not been proven in horses, especially because they cannot vomit, or communicate their feeling of nausea. However, we can certainly say that even the horse is greatly affected by the movement. How much he is affected depends on the vehicle, driving style, road surface conditions and the direction he is facing.\nIf a horse is a bad loader, he is struggling in a small horsebox or travelling in an oblique position, we cannot exclude that it is not due to the unpleasant sensations he experiences on that particular type of transport. The position or the lack of space may affect a particularly sensitive horse, so even if the handling is correct, his stress levels would still increase. If our horses are forced to travel on a horsebox where they don\u2019t feel comfortable, they will sweat, get agitated, produce loose stools; a sedative certainly doesn\u2019t help, but it might even cause complications. We must have a lot of patience and show empathy to the horses that do not travel well and understand their needs.<\/p> The critical factors during the journey<\/strong><\/h5>
Sedatives and tranquilizers<\/strong><\/h5>
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<\/figure>Choose light colours<\/h5>
Expert opinion<\/strong> <\/h5>