Horse Holidays Taking Your Equine Friend On Vacation With You

Horse Holidays

Taking Your Equine Friend On Vacation With You

By Janet Forster

Getting out into the great outdoors with your equine companion is a great way to spend your time. For many horse owners, it’s also a great way to spend a holiday. Furthermore, it solves that problem of finding someone to look after said horse whilst you’re away. Just pack him or her up and take them with you!

Sounds easier said than done? Taking a 1000+ pound pet on holidays with you does present a bit of a logistical nightmare. It isn’t really the same as packing pooch into the car and heading off, is it.

Or is it?

Have Horse Trailer; Can Take Horse On Vacation With Me

Fortunately for those who like some degree of creature comfort when taking a wellearned holiday, even with neddy along, there are a lot more options than there used to be. Whilst ‘roughing it’ (where you pitch a tent somewhere, tie your horse to a tree or picket line for the night, and hope it’s still there in the morning), can still be done, today’s horse vacation enthusiast has so many choices. Some are even civilized!

You can for instance rent a rustic cabin that comes complete with a corral or yard for your equine companion. Use it as a base for exploring the surrounding countryside on horseback.

If you’re fortunate enough to own a horse trailer with living quarters, there are horsefriendly equivalents of caravan parks where you can set yourself up for a spot of horsefriendly glamping. Even if you don’t have such a horse trailer, you can probably hire one easily enough.

Then there are the custom horse holiday set ups where you can rent a small house or lodge, and paddock, for the duration of your holiday. Like the rustic cabin option, these are a great way to put in some quality riding time in a new environment.

Finally, if you’re an accomplished rider and happy to pass on some of your knowledge and experience, some riding centers will provide free accommodation for you and your horse in exchange for those.

Arranging Your Horse Vacation

There are a number of ways to ensure your planned horse vacation goes exactly as planned. First, check with the venue / venues you’re planning to stay at ahead of time so you know what amenities they provide. Imagine rocking up without portable horse yards or fencing only to find they’re not provided!

See if you can find online reviews about these places from people who have stayed there. Social media can be your best friend here. Ask the question in a horse group and you’re bound to find someone who knows someone who knows someone who has been there (or has heard of someone who has driven past)!

Make sure your holiday riding ambitions are commensurate with your level of riding fitness. If you don’t ride that much, planning a long riding holiday could end up very uncomfortably for you. Start training by putting in additional riding hours well before you leave. You wouldn’t attempt to run a

marathon without training, would you? It will also make your horse fitter as well.

Make sure your horse is healthy and not sore or lame.

Organizing To Take Your Horse On Holiday With You

Regardless of what type of horse holiday you’re planning, you need to organize a few things for neddy as well before you head off. As a rough rule of thumb, if your horse uses it at home, chances are s/he will also need it whilst away.

Horse trailer – make sure it’s safe, reliable, and preferably recently serviced or checked out. Remember to check the spare tire, especially if you’re heading somewhere where tire repair places are few and far between. You may even want to consider investing in a tire repair kit to take with you.

Hay – unless you know you can buy hay at your destination, take it with you. Some producers even supply bagged hay bales, which are excellent for travelling. However, if you’re travelling across state lines, make sure you can transport it across with you. In Australia for instance some states prohibit the import of unprocessed agricultural products from other states due to weed, pest, and disease concerns.

Grain / pellets – if your horse normally has a hard feed, you can pre make their daily rations in zip lock bags for convenience. It will save you carting large bags of each product.

Water – check ahead to make sure the water where you’re staying is suitable for drinking. If your horse is a fussy drinker, definitely consider taking water with you (a couple of capped large diameter PVC pipes attached to the sides of the horse trailer make excellent water tanks). Alternatively, teach them well ahead of time to drink water with molasses or something like apple juice added to mask any unusual taste. Buckets / feed bins and something to hang them on or attach them to – you really don’t want them knocking their water over if you’re in the middle of nowhere with only a limited supply of it.

Hay nets or hay bags – hay has a nasty habit of making a mess and leaving possibly unwanted seeds behind.

Rubbish bag and small folding manure rake or scoop to collect hay scraps, manure etc.

Portable yards or portable fencing equipment if you’re camping out and there aren’t yards or paddocks available. Some campsites do provide various portable options as well so be sure to check ahead.

Horse blanket if your horse is currently wearing one; it may also pay to consider packing a fly sheet and/or rain sheet in summer just in case where you’re heading has an insect problem, or there is a bit of rain forecast.

Grooming and hoof care essentials including a hoof pick, rasp, and trimmers; if your horse is shod, consider packing a hoof boot just in case they lose a shoe. On the topic of shoes and hooves – get your farrier out to do their feet shortly before you plan to leave.

Insect spray / fly mask

Portable First Aid Kit containing emergency lotions and potions for both you and your horse – topical wound dressings, antiseptic wash (and container to put it in), bandages, cotton wool, gel pack, sunscreen etc.

Comfortable, correctly fitting tack – if you’re going to be riding for extended periods of time, using ill-fitting tack is a sure way to make your horse sore.

Saddlebag – essential for water and edibles, particularly if you’re going to be doing some long rides. Cellphone with GPS, and perhaps also a compass.

Flashlight / matches or cigarette lighter (for your camp fire) and possibly some fire starters as well.

Food, water, camping gear etc for yourself unless these are provided at your destination. Be sure to include essentials like

• comfortable riding boots • proper riding pants that won’t get uncomfortable after a few minutes in the saddle, • helmet • gloves • rain coat • suitable clothing, preferably that you can layer according to weather conditions • safety vest if appropriate

Even though it can take some time, research and effort to plan a horse vacation, once you’ve done this it can be a lot of fun and an amazing experience. You might broaden your riding experience, make some wonderful friends and discover new scenery and places.

About the author:

Janet Forster hails from sunny Perth in Western Australia. During a lifetime spent with horses, she has bred, competed, loved and written about them. She owns a collection of high percentage Tb crossbreds, most of which are palominos and registered Australian Stock Horses.