Horse transport involves the movement of horses from one location to another, which can include short trips for local events or long-distance travel for international competitions and breeding purposes. This process requires careful planning and consideration of various factors to ensure the safety and well-being of the horses. Key aspects include the design and condition of transport vehicles, the duration and conditions of travel, and the handling and management of horses before, during, and after transport. Transport can induce stress and affect the health and performance of horses, necessitating strategies to mitigate potential negative impacts. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the methodologies, effects, and management practices associated with horse transport, providing insights into optimizing transport conditions and improving equine welfare.
Crisman MV, Hodgson DR, Bayly WM, Liggitt HD.To determine whether road transport affected pulmonary phagocyte activity, 7 healthy Thoroughbred horses were shipped 1,160 kilometers over 36 hours. Fluid collected by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) 12 hours, and 7 and 14 days after transport was analyzed. Results were compared to those from the same horses pre-transport, and 7 non-transported control horses that had BAL performed at the same times as the transported horses. Of cells recovered with BAL the percentage of viable pulmonary alveolar macrophages (PAMs) declined from 90.0 +/- 0.9% pre-transport to 80.0 +/- 3.7% by 2 weeks post transp...
Potgieter FT, de Waal DT, Posnett ES.The transmission and prevalence of Babesia equi and B. caballi are being studied. Rhipicephalus evertsi mimeticus an ixodid tick from Namibia was identified as a new vector of B. equi, however, R. turanicus, previously reported to be a vector, failed to transmit both B. equi and B. caballi in the laboratory. The accurate diagnosis of B. caballi is being investigated because the nature of its low level parasitaemia does not allow easy detection in thin blood smears, routinely used for diagnosis, by clinicians. Consequently its role as a pathogen remains obscure. The importance of identifying in...
Halldórdsóttir S, Larsen HJ.A survey of summer eczema was conducted on 391 Icelandic horses in Norway. The study showed a prevalence of summer eczema of 17.6 per cent in the horses investigated. Icelandic horses born in Norway where shown to be less affected with summer eczema than imported horses, 8.2 per cent and 26.9 per cent respectively (P less than 0.001). There was no difference in the prevalence of summer eczema relative to gender or colour of the horse. The number of horses affected with summer eczema rose with increasing age and the number of years which had elapsed since importation. On average, Icelandic hors...
Ferlazzo AM, Vinci R, Panzera M, Ferlazzo A, Calatroni A.1. The measured values of acid glycosaminoglycan (GAG) concentration in plasma or in serum show significant differences between trained and untrained horses and among sedentary horses and other animal species (cattle, rabbit, sheep). 2. Diurnal variations in serum GAG levels are reported (cattle), and changes in plasma GAG concentrations after road transport (horses) and in late pregnancy (mares, cows), while sex, age and breed do not affect them.
White A, Reyes A, Godoy A, Martínez R.1. Packed cell volume (PCV), blood glucose, total plasma proteins (TPP) and plasma electrolytes, osmolality, cortisol and aldosterone alterations produced by transport and racing, were investigated in race horses. 2. Plasma cortisol, sodium and blood glucose, found after transport, were higher, while aldosterone was lower than control levels. 3. After racing, PCV, blood glucose, TPP and plasma cortisol, sodium and osmolality were higher than control, while chloride diminished and aldosterone returned to control values. 4. These results demonstrate that transport and racing are different kinds ...
Cain PW, Jones JH, Smith BL.A remote data sampling cart has been designed and built for studying environmental factors that produce stress in horses during transportation. This dedicated sampling cart uses an XT-compatible mother board powered by a 12 V battery, with customized BIOS and ROM program. Sampling is performed using two digital and eight A/D (bipolar, differential) channels in burst mode at a frequency of 1 kHz. Digitized data are stored on magnetic tape for retrieval after the experiment. Configuration of sampling parameters is accomplished via a serial communications link to a host computer, and is stored in...
Baucus KL, Ralston SL, Nockels CF, McKinnon AO, Squires EL.Incidence of early embryonic death (EED) and associated changes in serum cortisol, progesterone and plasma ascorbic acid (AA) in transported mares were investigated. Mares were transported for 472 km (9 h) during either d 16 to 22 (T-3 wk, n = 15) or d 32 to 38 (T-5 wk, n = 15) of gestation. Blood samples were drawn from control, nontransported mares (NT-3 wk, NT-5 wk, n = 24) and transported mares pre-trip, midtrip, and at 0, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h post-transport and daily for the next 2 wk. Incidence of EED between transported and nontransported mares was not different (P greater than .05). Ser...
Baucus KL, Squires EL, Ralston SL, McKinnon AO, Nett TM.Effect of transportation on estrous behavior, duration of the estrous cycle, ovulation, pregnancy rates and concentrations of serum cortisol, plasma ascorbic acid (AA), LH, estradiol and progesterone in mares was investigated. Fifteen mares were transported for 792 km (12 h) during the preovulatory stage of estrus. Transported mares were bled immediately before transport (baseline), at midtrip and 0, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h post-transport and twice daily from d 1 before transport to d 1 (estrogen) or 3 (LH) post-ovulation. Blood samples also were taken for progesterone on d 0, 2, 6, 10, 15, 16, 17...
Traub-Dargatz JL, McKinnon AO, Bruyninckx WJ, Thrall MA, Jones RL, Blancquaert AM.Four bronchoalveolar lavages were performed sequentially on 9 control and 8 transport-stressed female horses. Alterations in results of fluid cytologic analyses, microbial content, and phagocyte function of recovered pulmonary macrophages in all horses were determined. Seemingly, absolute and relative increase in the number of inflammatory cells detected in the second bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of control horses was the result of irritation of the first lavage. This increased response was not observed in transport-stressed horses until 5 days after transport (third lavage; 10 days after init...
Li WI, Chen CL.A specific RIA for beta-endorphin (B-END) was developed to measure horse plasma levels of B-END-like material (B-END-LI) during exercises and shipping. Three exercise speeds and durations were: trot at 260-300 m/min for 10 min; slow gallop at 390-420 m/min for 5 min and fast gallop at 700-800 m/min for 2 min. Blood samples were taken from 4 horses before, immediately after, 30 and 60 min after exercise. Trotting increased plasma B-END-LI from a basal level of 109 +/- 7 pg/ml to 172 +/- 22 at the end of exercise and returned to 127 +/- 17 and 107 +/- 10 pg/ml at 30 and 60 min after exercise. Si...
Houpt KA.Stable vices include oral vices such as cribbing, wood chewing, and coprophagia, as well as stall walking, weaving, pawing, and stall kicking. Some of these behaviors are escape behaviors; others are forms of self-stimulation. Most can be eliminated by pasturing rather than stall confinement. Trailering problems include failure to load, scrambling in the moving trailer, struggling in the stationary trailer, and refusal to unload. Gradual habituation to entering the trailer, the presence of another horse, or a change in trailer type can be used to treat these problems.
Anderson NV, DeBowes RM, Nyrop KA, Dayton AD.Twelve horses comprised 3 treatment groups; all horses in 2 of the groups had recently been transported and had clinical and laboratory evidence of respiratory tract infection, with equine influenza type 2 virus being the principal pathogen. Mononuclear phagocytes and other leukocytes from blood, lung, and peritoneal cavity were studied in phagocytosis and erythrocyte-antibody (EA) rosette assays. Total numbers of pulmonary alveolar macrophages were increased over control values in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid of group 3 horses after recovery from influenza (P less than 0.02), whereas th...
Owen RA, Fullerton J, Barnum DA.Seventeen ponies were infected with Salmonella typhimurium and then 15 were variously stressed by transportation and/or surgery and 9 were given oxytetracycline. Indications of Salmonella reactivation occurred in all the stressed ponies. Diarrhea due to a reactivation of the Salmonella infection did not develop until greater than 3 days after stress, although maximal shedding of organisms occurred within 24 hours. A neutropenia generally occurred within 24 hours after stress and lasted about 5 days. A rectal temperature greater than 39 C usually did not occur. An increase in serologic titer wa...
Wilson RT.Equines have been largely ignored in modern scientific literature on domestic animals, probably because they are not providers of meat and milk. Their contribution to the economy in the Sudan, however, is considerable and they are the principal means of transport both as baggage and as riding animals. They also play an important role in the supply of fuel and the distribution of domestic water in the larger villages and towns. Information on population structure is provided and descriptions, with particular reference to withers height and weight, are given of two types of donkey and of the hor...
Harasawa R, Konishi S, Ogata M.This research study focuses on detecting the presence of antibodies against adenovirus in horses imported into Japan and it demonstrates that the majority of horses imported into Japan have displayed […]
Allsup TN.This paper deals with some recent developments in the air transportation of cattle, sheep, pigs and horses and comments on the factors involved which influence the results.
Judge NG.The transition of the horse from a beast of burden to a predominantly sporting animal has also brought new methods for its transport m order that it may reach its destination safely. comfortably, and in good condition, each method having a special advantage according to circum-stances.
Feringer-Júnior WH, de Carvalho JRG, Moranza HG, de Almeida MLM, Lemos EGM, Soares OAB, Ribeiro G, de Camargo Ferraz G.Cost of transport (COT) and monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs) could affect the ability to perform fast actions during a jumping discipline. This study aimed to compare the COT and evaluate the MCT1, MCT4, and their auxiliary protein CD147 content in the gluteus medius and RBCs of Brazilian sport horses (BH), a breed developed for jumping competitions, with low-level (LL) or intermediate-level (IL) jumping capacities. The physiological difference between the horses was assessed by an incremental jump test (IJT), in which the cost of lactate (COT) and heart rate (COT) of running were determine...
Whitlock F, Grewar J, Newton R.The epidemiology of equine influenza (EI) in the United Kingdom has not been systematically described since the 2019 epidemic. Objective: To summarise UK EI surveillance (2020-2024), quantify outbreak seasonality and assess movement-related sources. Methods: Retrospective observational analysis of national surveillance and horse importation data. Methods: Epidemiological data for laboratory-confirmed EI cases in the United Kingdom were collated. Outbreaks (EI-infected premises) were defined as one or more laboratory-confirmed cases on the same premises within a 4-week period. Monthly outbreak ...
Preis KA, Carnevale EM, Coutinho da Silva MA, Caracciolo di Brienza V, Gomes GM, Maclellan LJ, Squires EL.Transportation of equine ovaries would allow shipment of oocytes for research purposes or transfer after the death of a valuable mare. The objective of this study was to compare two temperatures for maintaining ovaries during a transport interval of 18-24 h. The goal was to obtain pregnancies after transport of ovaries, maturation of oocytes in vitro, and transfer of oocytes. Each shipment was composed of ovaries four to seven mares collected from an abattoir. From each mare, one ovary was packaged at approximately 12 degrees C, and the other was packaged at approximately 22 degrees C. Upon ar...
Atwill ER, Mohammed HO, Lopez JW.To determine whether mean annual frequency and destination of equine travel was associated with exposure to Ehrlichia risticii and whether these associations were modified by horses' place of residence. Methods: Cross-sectional study. Methods: 511 equine operations containing 2,587 horses were visited in New York state from a target population of 39,000 operations. Methods: Each horse was tested for serum antibodies against E risticii, using indirect fluorescent antibody. Information on the horse's travel history, farm's management practices, and surrounding ecology was obtained by personal in...
Crisman MV, Hodgson DR, Bayly WM, Liggitt HD.To determine whether road transport affected pulmonary phagocyte activity, 7 healthy Thoroughbred horses were shipped 1,160 kilometers over 36 hours. Fluid collected by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) 12 hours, and 7 and 14 days after transport was analyzed. Results were compared to those from the same horses pre-transport, and 7 non-transported control horses that had BAL performed at the same times as the transported horses. Of cells recovered with BAL the percentage of viable pulmonary alveolar macrophages (PAMs) declined from 90.0 +/- 0.9% pre-transport to 80.0 +/- 3.7% by 2 weeks post transp...
Fielding CL, Magdesian KG.To evaluate changes in electrolyte concentrations and hydration status that take place in endurance horses prior to the start of a competition and determine whether these changes would be associated with elimination. Methods: 19 horses entered in the 2016 Tevis Cup 100-Miles (160 km) One-Day Western States Trail Ride. Methods: Heparinized blood samples were collected at 5 time points: prior to transport to the ride (T0), during check-in the day before the ride (T1), 1 to 2 hours before the start of the ride (T2), at the 15-km mark (T3), and at the 55-km mark (T4). Packed cell volume and plasma...
Riley CB, Padalino B, Rogers CW, Thompson KR.There is an increased understanding of shared human-animal risk in terms of "one welfare", whereby when animals are at risk, so are people, so preventing injury to one species may also prevent injury to the other. Because transport-related injuries to horses are common, the authors considered this paradigm to study road equine transport-related injuries to humans in New Zealand. The aim was to determine their frequency and associated factors by distributing a survey to horse industry participants through industry organisations asking about their horse activities, road transport experiences, an...
Katić I, Kristiansen J.For almost 20 years the authors have been selecting and editing the material referring to the means of transport which Danish veterinarians used in the 18th, 19th and 20th century. The source material contains memoirs, advertisements from veterinary medical journals, obituaries and other sources, based on which a 210-page book in the Danish language has been published. The article presents an abridged version of this book. In Denmark, the first veterinarians rendered their services at the time when this profession had not yet established itself. They were relatively poor and very often they ha...
Page P, Ganswindt A, Schoeman J, Venter G, Guthrie A.African horse sickness (AHS) is of importance to health and international trade in horses worldwide. During export from and transit through AHS endemic countries or zones, physical and chemical measures to protect horses from the vectors of AHS virus (AHSV) are recommended by the World Organization for Animal Health. Protection of containerized air transport systems for horses (jet stalls) with alphacypermethrin insecticide-treated high density polyethylene mesh is effective in reducing the Culicoides midge vector attack rate. In order to determine the effect of this mesh on jet stall ventilat...
van Schaik AM, van der Pol BA, van der Linde-Sipman JS.A healthy, 10-day-old Welsh A pony colt was totally blind 1 day after arrival at a studfarm. Both eyes appeared normal on external inspection. The young animal had been very distressed during the 40-km journey to the studfarm. Intravenous corticosteroids were administered for 2 days, but did not result in any observable improvement. The animal was euthanized at the owner's request. Both eyes with the optic nerves were removed for histological examination. Both optic nerves showed Wallerian degeneration, a well-known response of peripheral nerves to trauma. The foal, which was not tethered duri...
Katić I, Bajt VV.Transport of animals by water is a very old way of transport because it is relatively cheap and safe, with a minimum loss of animals. Waterways have been used for the transport of living animals and various goods from ancient times, for example in Ancient Egypt and the Roman Empire. Later, Vikings were so successful in their conquests because they always had trained horses aboard. It is believed that the colonization of America was possible because Spaniards were also bringing many horses with them. Danish possessions in the Caribbean owe much of their economic success in the period between 18...
Cain PW, Jones JH, Smith BL.A remote data sampling cart has been designed and built for studying environmental factors that produce stress in horses during transportation. This dedicated sampling cart uses an XT-compatible mother board powered by a 12 V battery, with customized BIOS and ROM program. Sampling is performed using two digital and eight A/D (bipolar, differential) channels in burst mode at a frequency of 1 kHz. Digitized data are stored on magnetic tape for retrieval after the experiment. Configuration of sampling parameters is accomplished via a serial communications link to a host computer, and is stored in...
Bruschetta G, Zanghì G, Giunta RP, Ferlazzo AM, Satué K, D'Ascola A, Fazio E.Horse transport is considered a cause of stress in animals and is known to affect the 5-HT concentrations in both the brain and other tissues. The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of horse transportation and slaughter stress on plasma serotonin's concentration and the expression levels of the related 5-HT1B and 5-HT2A receptors in PBMCs. Furthermore, the IL-12 levels and a variety of blood parameters, including triglycerides, total cholesterol, glucose, aspartate aminotransferase, creatine phosphokinase, lactate dehydrogenase, were also considered. This research was carried o...
Jacquay ET, Harris PA, Stowe CJ, McIntosh BJ, Adams AA.Horses are regularly transported in the United States (U.S.); however, how, and why horses travel by road has not been explored. Consequently, an online nationwide survey was conducted to understand 1) the most common reasons for travel; 2) the types of journeys undertaken when being transported by road in the U.S. and 3) the general management practices when transporting for 3 hours or less. Responses were collected from 1294 participants with at least one response from every state in the continental U.S. The most common survey taker was a female (93.9%), adult amateur (81.2%), horse owner (6...
Gräschke L.Every year, many horses are transported by air. Alongside sport horses traveling to tournaments worldwide, mainly breeding horses, such as shuttle stallions and broodmares, thoroughbreds traded at auctions, and leisure horses are transported by air. Research in veterinary science has highlighted welfare concerns during air transportation. Equine welfare is constituted in the language and discourse evolving from social, political, and ethical views about the treatment of horses. Consequently, this study targets power in creating equine welfare by analyzing the welfare discourses, transportation...
Lertratanachai S, Poochipakorn C, Sanigavatee K, Huangsaksri O, Wonghanchao T, Charoenchanikran P, Lawsirirat C, Chanda M.Horse's stress responses have been reported during road transport in temperate but not tropical environments. Therefore, this study measured cortisol levels, heart rate (HR), and heart rate variability (HRV) in horses during medium-distance road transport with different truck conditions in a tropical environment. Six horses were repeatedly transported in either air-conditioned trucks with full (ATF) or space (ATS) loads or non-air-conditioned trucks with full (N-ATF) and space (N-ATS) loads. Blood cortisol was determined beforehand and 5, 30, and 90 minutes post-transport. HR and HRV were asse...
Takahashi Y, Niwa H, Ebisuda Y, Mukai K, Yoshida T, Raidal S, Padalino B, Ohmura H.Protection of horse welfare during transport is crucial. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of head and neck restraint on behavior and airway bacteria. Unassigned: In a randomized crossover study, six healthy Thoroughbreds were transported by road for 22 h in an individual bay with tight head restraint (50 cm short-rope) or loose head restraint (95 cm long-rope). Behavioral parameters relating to head position, eating, and stress were monitored during transportation. Tracheal wash samples were obtained 6 days before and immediately after transport for bacterial culture a...
Hall C, Kay R.Quality of life is dependent upon the extent to which behavioural needs are met, and the balance between pleasant and unpleasant lifetime experiences. In Part II of this systematic review, articles (n = 109) relating to horse-human interactions were reviewed to identify behavioural evidence of their positive or negative impact on the horse. The number of articles (n = 22) relating to the recognition of pain in horses, indicated the importance of identifying health issues, which are also likely to increase the aversiveness of interactions. These and articles relating to emotional reactivity tes...
Taylor WTT.Many of the most important equine health problems - and their solutions - relate to the role of horses as a domestic animal, especially in riding and other kinds of transport. Recently, new discoveries from the archaeological sciences have rewritten our understanding of early horse domestication, suggesting that the first ancestors of domestic horses emerged in the Black Sea Steppes of western Eurasia at the turn of the second millennium BCE. This new chronology places horse domestication within a wider trajectory of early animal transport, including cattle and donkey, across western Asia and ...
Sanigavatee K, Wonghanchao T, Poochipakorn C, Pongnarudech P, Suchairat T, Jitsopin S, Wanichayanon B, Sripiboon S, Chanda M.Long-distance road transport is known to be stressful for horses, with most research conducted in temperate climates. This study investigated horses' stress responses during long-distance transport before and after a jumping competition in a tropical environment. Ten healthy horses (aged 7.9 ± 1.9 years) were studied. Blood cortisol concentrations, haematology, and heart rate variability (HRV) were monitored during outbound (OTJ) and inbound journeys (INJ). Cortisol concentrations increased five minutes after unloading and remained elevated for up to 180 minutes in the OTJ (P < 0.05-0.001)...
Dai F, Toson M, Bertotto D, Dalla Costa A, Heinzl EUL, Lega F, Minero M, Padalino B, Stefani AL, Trestini S, Maietti F, Zonta G, Di Martino G.The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of self-loading training on the overall stress response during pre-slaughter transportation in slaughter horses. Thirty-two slaughter horses were divided into two groups: the control group (CG) and the Trained Group (TG). For six weeks, the TG horses were trained to self-load using a method based on target training and shaping. Animals from both groups were transported to the same slaughterhouse in small groups on different days using the same truck along the same route. The baseline and post-transportation values of the eye temperature and fecal...
