MOST horses will be transported by road at least once in their lives, and competition horses may experience many journeys throughout their career.
We are fortunate that with a bit of preparation and sympathetic habituation, most horses tolerate transport relatively well – although tests have shown that even seasoned travellers experience some physiological stress.
Such stress is evidenced by dehydration, an elevated heart rate, and raised blood cortisol (the stress hormone) levels for the duration of the journey. In addition, as little as one hour's travelling can alter a horse's faecal microbiome.
There is, however, a sizeable minority of horses who adapt poorly and become significantly stressed each time. Injuries during transport are relatively common, the majority occurring in horses that are reluctant loaders, unhappy travellers or are transported by unsympathetic drivers.
Prolonged transport of all horses can itself be associated with weight loss (principally
