🚚 Dietary Tips for Hauling Horses: Keep Your Horse Healthy on the Road in 2025 🐴💧

By Dr Duncan Houston BVSc

Whether you’re headed to a competition, clinic, or a new pasture, hauling horses in 2025 comes with nutritional risks. Dehydration, diet changes, and stress-related digestive upset can all lead to colic or poor performance. Here’s how to avoid common mistakes and keep your horse feeling their best on the road. 🧠🐎

💧 1. Hydration Is Top Priority

Dehydration is the biggest nutritional risk during transport—especially in warm climates. Horses lose water through:

• 🌡️ Sweating in a warm trailer
• 💨 Breathing dry air with road dust
• 🛑 Not drinking while in transit

Prevent this by:

• 🕓 Hauling early morning or late evening to reduce heat stress
• 🚿 Offering water at every stop
• 🍓 Flavoring water with sugar-free gelatin or a splash of feed—but only if your horse is used to it

Pro Tip: Always test flavored water at home before traveling so your horse is familiar with it. 🧪

🥣 2. NEVER Change Feed While Traveling

Abrupt feed changes can cause:

• 💥 Digestive upset
• ⚠️ Impaction or gas colic
• 📉 Poor appetite and performance

To avoid problems:

• 🎒 Bring your own feed to the event or destination
• 📦 Pack enough hay, grain, and supplements for the whole trip
• 🚫 Do not use unfamiliar feed or forage sources on the road

Your horse’s gut thrives on consistency. Stick with what they know. ✅

🦠 3. Use Probiotics—But Start Early

Adding a probiotic can support the digestive system and reduce the stress-related shifts in gut bacteria. However:

• 🧬 Start at least one week before hauling
• 🚫 Don’t start the probiotic on the travel day

Introducing any supplement suddenly—yes, even probiotics—can itself cause digestive upset. 🔄

💊 4. Be Cautious with Medications

If your horse requires medication, consult your vet before giving anything close to travel time. Reasons to avoid last-minute meds include:

• ❌ Can’t monitor for reactions while in transit
• ⚠️ Increased stress may amplify side effects

Best practice: Discuss timing and necessity with your vet before your trip. 🩺

🧭 5. Plan Your Route Around Horse Needs

• 🛑 Stop every 3–4 hours to offer water
• 🚪 Allow horses to rest outside the trailer if possible
• 🧊 Bring extra water from home if your horse is picky about unfamiliar water

Bringing your own water or using water flavoring can prevent “travel dehydration.” 💧

📲 Ask A Vet for Travel Nutrition Plans

Need help preparing your horse for hauling? Visit AskAVet.com or use the Ask A Vet App for personalized hauling prep, water strategies, and feed guidance. 📱🐴

Dr Duncan Houston and the team can help you create a safe feeding plan for both short hauls and cross-country trips. 💬🧠

🏁 Final Thoughts

In 2025, the key to successful horse transport is hydration, dietary consistency, and slow supplementation changes. Don’t gamble with feed or water sources—plan ahead for your horse’s digestive health. 🐴🚚

Need a hauling nutrition checklist? Visit AskAVet.com to download yours 🚛🐎