Trailering your horses during the hot summer weather can pose many serious challenges to you, and health risks to your horses and animals – including dehydration and heatstroke.

It is important to take precautions during summer horse transport, and here are 6 tips to help you move your horses safely:

TIP 1: Trailer only during the coolest hours of the day.

TIP 2: Clear all horse trailer vents and obstructions for optimal airflow.

TIP 3: Always carry a bucket and 2-3 gallons of drinking water per horse.

TIP 4: Park only in shaded areas, or locations with good breezes and airflow.

TIP 5: Double check that your truck is in good running order (USRider recommends carrying two spares for your horse trailer).

TIP 6: Check traffic reports and do your best to avoid any traffic jams that would slow down your journey.

Be prepared for all possible outcomes such as breakdowns, delays, and less likely scenarios, and you should be able to safely transport your horses during the hot summer months.

When trailering your horses it is also smart to be aware of harmful ammonia fumes which can build up during horse transport – to improve the health of your horse consider using a product such as the Trailer Genie kit to absorb harmful ammonia gasses and keep them out of your horses lungs! Click the banner below to learn more.

Recently reported by thehorse.com, more than 830 of their readers responded to a poll asking, “What precautions do you take during hot weather when riding your horse?”

The Horse readers shared what they do to keep their horses cool in the results of their poll below, showing 7 of the most common responses on how readers keep their horses cool during the hot summer months.

The Stall Genie weekly blog articles feature tips and articles on common equine health conditions and what you can do to recognize, avoid, or treat them.

Horse Health
In general most peoples veterinarian bills are going up each year, with the cost for most horses around $200 a year – but if any health issues occur your bills can easily shoot over $1000 dollars in no time. Heeding these general horse health tips can help your horse stay healthy year round and avoid those costly vet bills.

Tip 1: Dental Care
A typical horse has 44 teeth. A simple test to check the oral hygiene is to give 4 to 5 kg of hay to the horse on an empty stomach. If the horse can eat continuously with both sides of its teeth, then the horse is having healthy teeth. If it does not eat, then it will be mostly due to pain in the teeth. In which case, it is better to show to a veterinary doctor. As the horses chew, their teeth gets worn out. This is not a problem as they keep growing teeth. But the wearing down action could result in pointed teeth, which may be filed down to prevent injury to the gum. It is advisable to learn the proper method of examining the teeth from your veterinary doctor. This will prevent last minute damage controls which can be rather painful to the horse, to you and to your pocket.

Tip 2: Exercise & Turn Out
Make sure you give your horses as much exercise as possible. Imagine, how you will feel if you are kept in one place for 18 to 20 hours. The major effect of not getting proper exercise for a horse can be colic, gut ulcers, limb issues, behavioral problems. Horses are gregarious animals who love moving and grazing around. They have to keep moving in order for breathing in fresh air, for circulation and for proper digestion. Pasture and company of other horses give a sense of safety and mental stimulation. Exercise gives proper lower limb circulation. Give exercise as much as possible. A horse should be taken outside its stable for at least 8 hours in a day. Younger horses will require at least 10 hours of turn out.

Tip 3: Healthy Stall
A healthy stall environment must have an excellent cushioning for animal comfort, a fresh water supply, ample room, it should be clean to reduce bacteria borne wet spots. The horse urine has harmful ammonia fumes leaving foals who sit close to the floor especially vulnerable; using a product such as Stall Genie can reduce harmful ammonia fumes and keep a healthy stall environment for your horses.

Tip 4: Get Educated on Breed Requirements
Learn about your horse’s special needs. Each breed has its own unique need. Breeds, susceptible to laminitis should be given less access to the spring grass. Appaloosas, which are little night blind may run in to a fence at night. Some are more resistant to cold weather. Some are less resistant to colic. Also take in to account the behavior and medical history of the horse.

Tip 5: Quality Food
It is very important to give natural food as much as possible. Pasture grass is very important. Hay can be given in winter. Digestive system related issues crop up in horses fed mainly on grain or commercial feed. Oat meal with apples and sugar is a good combination. Many horses like watermelon, pear, mango (no seed), papaya and guava. But first give a piece and see whether your horse likes or not. Berries like raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries are good. Vegetables like carrots, celery, beet greens, peas, sweet potato greens, lettuce, plantain and green beans are also good. Few horses, after a little persuasion, starts eating these food items. Man-made food like Performance pellets must be given as per the direction of the veterinary doctor. Proper vitamins and minerals are needed for energy generation, muscle protection, maintaining immune system etc. To improve appetite it is better to give Vitamin-B rich food. Bran mash is recommended for working horses who does large amount of exercise. Not all horses like vegetables and fruits.

Tip 6: Check On Horses Regularly
Check your horse each day. Know its normal daily behavior. Like, whether it is a quiet grazer or runs around more. How much does it eat daily? Any symptoms of being unwell like drastic changes in daily routine, stopped eating, should be investigated. Colic, initial lameness can be easily treated if you are watchful. Daily watch and prompt treatment can reduce cost of treatment. Remove stones and other items from hooves daily. Check the horse for injuries and abnormalities during regular grooming.

Tip 7: Safe Pasture Area
Barb wired areas should be avoided. It can cause cuts and bruises. Take care for poisonous plants around the pasture area. Pasture with lot of green juicy grasses will be always welcome. It also is a place to meet fellow horses which will improve its communication skills reducing boredom and provides a sense of safety. This will reduce behavioral issues.

Do you recall that burning sensation that fills your nostrils when you’re mucking out your stalls? That is the smell of deadly ammonia fumes, which hurt the health of your horse. Stall Genie can help absorb these harmful ammonia gasses and here are 4 reasons why.

Reason 1: Ammonia Absorption & Elimination
Stall Genie products were developed to absorb harmful ammonia gasses before they can reach the lungs of your horse or foal. Recent studies have shown that ammonia is harmful, especially in foals who can suffer from heaves due to ammonia exposure.

Reason 2: Reduces Fly & Parasite Populations
Stall Genie also acts as a dehydrator, reducing harmful fly and parasite populations in your horses stall. Stall Genie nutrients stimulate the growth of aerobic microbes that digest the biological matter in the bedding material. This activity and the increase in microbe population remove moisture out of the bedding and help keep it dry.

Reason 3: Compost Booster
Stall Genie treated bedding retains un-metabolized urea, a valuable nutrient in the compost.

Reason 4: Beats the competition
Stall Genie Products outperform competitors in the performance chart below.

Stall Genie Products WORK

Simple, by absorbing and eliminating deadly ammonia fumes and moisture. The absorption of moisture will help eliminate populations of parasites and flies which thrive with moisture, while the Ammonia absorption will improve the health of your horses and foals reducing veterinarian bills and resulting in a happier healthier horse.

Tip 1: Ammonia inhalation into a horses lungs can hurt the health of horses, with foals being especially vulnerable.

As written by Tracy Williams in Equus Caballus, Tracy discusses the hazard which ammonia places on your horses health, in which a very small inhalation of only 10 parts per million over a 5-7 week period can cause dysfunction.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, ammonia is a toxic, reactive and highly hazardous chemical. Their recommendations warn that concentrations of greater than 50 ppm can cause serious harm to human beings. Even in the cleanest barns, ammonia levels in equine stalls exist well above this concentration. Furthermore, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services warns that humans exposed to ammonia can suffer chronic inflammation of airways, airway hyperactivity, and chronic irritation of eye membranes

Read The Complete Article: Ammonia Beware

Tip 2: Pay Particular Attention To Foals

Foals spend much of their youth near the floor of the stall where ammonia resides, leading to a much higher ammonia health risk in foals. In addition to this, foals are weaker and the ammonia’s adverse health effect’s are even more pronounced in young foals. According to Frederick Harper PHD written for the University of Tennessee, up to 15% of all foals will suffer from a severe respiratory health disease before one year of age.

About 15 percent of all foals have severe respiratory disease before they are one year of age. Problems appear from one month to one year of age. But, most respiratory diseases occur when the foal is 2-6 months of age.

Not only are these diseases costly and time-consuming to treat, but they disrupt other farm activities, such as foaling, breeding mares, training and showing…High ammonia levels have been associated with respiratory problems in foals, as well as other animals.

Young goals also have an immature respiratory system, making them more susceptible to disease. It has been reported that 10 ppm of ammonia is the level above which one might expect problems in animals. But, ammonia levels as high as 400 parts per million (ppm) were measured in foal stalls in one study. So it is important to reduce the level of ammonia in foaling stalls, and all stalls in barns where foals reside.

Keeping a clean, ammonia-free stall is especially important when it comes to foals, who are at greater risk for respiratory disease than older horses.

Read The Complete Article: Ammonia and Foals Don’t Mix

Tip 3: Reduce Flies in Horse Stalls

Ammonia gas and fecal matter have the dangerous effect of attracting flies and parasites. Stall Genie will eliminate moisture in the bedding, insect and internal parasite eggs need moisture to survive, so the reduction in moisture will improve the horse’s environment in more ways than just odor control. Essential oils in the product replace the harmful ammonia gas with a pleasant smell and serve as an insect repellent.

How Can Stall Genie Help?

Simple, by absorbing and eliminating deadly ammonia fumes and moisture. The absorption of moisture will help eliminate populations of parasites and flies which thrive with moisture, while the Ammonia absorption will improve the health of your horses and foals reducing veterinarian bills and resulting in a happier healthier horse.