Physiology, Balance, and Management of Horses During Transportation

Horses throughout the ages have been transported for a variety of reasons including breeding, military endeavors, competitions, ceremonial proceedings, pleasure activities, biomedical purposes, and slaughter. Transformation of the modes in transporting horses has progressed from the utilization of boats or ships to move calvary horses, to conveying racehorses in vehicles drawn by other horses in the early 1800's, followed by railways until the 1920's. Motorized conveyances were developed in the middle 1900's, and trailers or vans hauling pleasure, show, and race horses became essential in the horse industry. The 1960's to 1970's were known as the "trailer age," since it was commonplace for powerful cars to pull horse trailers. The veterinary literature of this era also documents an increase in trailering accidents, ailments, and other related stress incurred while transporting horses. Today, airlines expediently fly horses around the world. Queen Anne (1702-1714) may have played a key role in the development of transportation vehicles. One of her charges arrived at the race track in a large, horse drawn conveyance which carried the horse in a sling surrounded by a gondola (Cregier, 1989).