If you are looking into transporting horses or cattle as a DIY farmer or rancher, below are five helpful tips for those looking to grow their properties and enterprises. Safety for the transporter and the animals is of utmost importance for beginners and old hands alike. These tricks will help provide the basis for transporting both cattle and horses by a trailer.
Herd animals are easily intimidated. For this reason, it is important that everyone involved understands to use the gentlest methods first when moving the animals. Sticks, paddles, flags and other humane signaling tools can be used when an animal must be separated or redirected, whereas electrical prods, excessive shouting, and hitting should all be discouraged.
Additionally, for either cattle or horses, animals should not be loaded near others that they do not know. Cows and calves or mares and foals should be separated to avoid trampling or overcrowding the young. Cows and bulls should not be loaded together either, and neither should mares and stallions.
Bruising can be reduced as well by ensuring cattle or horses that are unfamiliar with each other are not loaded in proximity.
Additionally, the more times that an animal is loaded and unloaded throughout the journey, the more chances there are for bruising, whether from collisions with the trailer or other animals or from fighting. Try to plan your trip so that only one load and unload must be completed when possible.
Like bruising, trampling is much more likely if the animals are loaded and unloaded more than once.
Trampling can happen during the loading and unloading processes or even once loaded if the animals are packed too tightly together. For this reason, it is important to make sure each animal has enough room to prevent being trampled by its neighbors. Care should also be taken to avoid causing panicked stampedes rather than an orderly flow of traffic when loading or unloading.
Make sure your livestock are well rested and have had ample access to water before setting off. Each type of animal has a maximum amount of time it is allowed to go without water before you are required to spell them (give them a rest with access to food and water). Ensure you are aware of how long your journey will be and plan to spell the animals accordingly if needed.
Plan for Weather Conditions
When it is very cold or windy, wind chill can be an extreme danger to transporting livestock by a trailer. If possible, plan your journey for a time when it is above freezing, and there is no rain or extreme wind. Combining rain with freezing temperatures can be lethal to cattle or horses when traveling long distances.
One should also plan for proper ventilation and shelter from the sun if it is especially warm. With many animals packed into a relatively small container, overheating must be considered and prevented carefully.
Learning to safely transport your livestock will result in a better experience for you and them. Remember, the basic guidelines that make long-distance travel comfortable to you will apply to your animals as well.
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