4th May, 2015 Let the Train take the Strain

A full diary this week with four non or reluctant loaders to see. This isn't the normal pre-season rush to get horses loading before the showing season. The first horse has stopped loading after eleven years of loading happily in her own box. The lorry went in for a complete check over on Friday and nothing was out of place. The second is a young horse that has also been loading happily but a change of box saw her refusing to load even before she'd been for a ride in it. The last two are horses that have never travelled much at all, one just once to get to where she is and once to the vet and back. The other has never been anywhere at all.

Now deeply immersed in the joint BARTA and IH survey and report on incidents and accidents in horse transport the current research makes it very plain that the 'train' does not take the strain. Travelling in a lorry or a trailer is hard work mentally and physically for horses no matter which way they are facing.

Our survey does not close until the end of June, so if your horse has had and accident or incident during tranport please complete the survey at British Animal Rescue and Trauma Care Association  We have had 114 replies so far out of which several horses have had to be rescued by the Animal Rescue Teams from the Fire and Rescue Service but many have also been self-rescued.