Written by Mary Ann Marcellus
from the teachings of her late husband, Don Marcellus
The first thing to do, long before you load the horse is check the
trailer. Start with the outside of the trailer.
Check:
1) for loose screws, bolts, broken rivets.
2) exterior wiring, Contacts can be cleaned with WD40
3) hitch, ie. chains, pins, lubrication, snaps, bolts. Check the hitch
mechanism for rust or cracks. It should be oiled frequently and the
movement should be easy. The chains should be attached by crossing the
chains under the tongue. This prevents the tongue from doing a nose
dive into the asphalt if it should come undone.
4) tires ie. tread, inflation, spare. You may want to carry a can of
aerosol tire sealer.
5) for rusted ties
6) door latches, oil if necessary
7) rust. Small rusty spots can be cleaned up with rubbing compound or
they may have to be lightly sanded. Dull paint can be made shiny again
with white polishing compound and then finished with a coat of paste
wax.
8) brakes. Jack up the trailer and spin the tires. Step on the
brakes. They should stop! Or hold the electric brake hand control while
pulling forward. This test works best on sand or gravel. At least one
wheel on each side of the trailer should lock up and leave a drag mark.
Also check the emergency break away brake system. Try pulling the
cord. If it doesn't work, check the battery.
8) the bracing, struts, etc. under the front end of the trailer. It
should be bolted or welded solidly in place.
9) fenders. Be sure they are attached solidly so they don't bounce and
rub on the tires.
10) the wheel bearings. You don't have to take everything apart. Just
every once and awhile feel the hubs after the trailer has been hauled.
If there's excessive heat, get them re-packed. They will always feel
slightly warm.
11) lights. Be sure they all work properly and don't dim too much when
4-way flashers or signals are turned on. If they do, it may be a poor
ground.
12) Windows. Be sure the ventilation is good. Poor air circulation has
been shown to be a cause of "shipping fever". Ideally, you need to have
a complete change of air 3 times every hour. Therefore it's best to
keep windows open even in cold weather (wear blankets) and you don't
want the loaded trailer to sit too long especially if the trailer floor
is dirty. Find a shady spot to park in hot weather.
Then check inside.
Check:
1) for anything sharp i.e. metal edges, broken hardware. Most sharp
edges can be filed off or covered with duct tape. Don't forget to check
the hay manger and roof!
2) the floor. Take up the mats and look underneath. The edges and
front corners take the worst abuse. Also check the bottom of the floor
underneath the trailer. You'd be surprised at how much damage gravel
can do to the bottom. I've heard of trailers that sounded and looked
solid on the top, only to find that the gravel had worn the wood down to
less than ½ inch thick from the bottom. Be sure to clean the trailer
floor after EVERY haul. The boards can be rinsed with a bleach and
water mixture to kill remaining bacteria or fungus after every 10
hauls. Be sure the wood is dry before replacing the mats. ( Helpful
Hint: You can paint the wood with deck sealer to help prevent problems.)
3) the tack compartment or dressing room. Look for leaks and seal up
holes and worn out door seals.
4) your first aid kit. Be sure the supplies are full.
5) your jack. Be sure it's large enough to raise the trailer with
horses loaded. You can't always unload safely.
It's time to load 'em up!
We always start our horses with loading and going nowhere. Then short
trips to help them acclimatize. When hauling for longer distances we
hang a hay net so they can nibble en route. If you tie your horse, be
sure the rope is short enough that they can't get tangled in it, but
long enough they won't get scared and pull back. If they are in a horse
trailer, they should be able to back up and feel the butt bar. This
gives them something to lean against.
Load your horses in order of dominance. We prefer boss hoss first,
followed by the next in line and on down. There is less chance of
fighting and by loading the boss first, the others don't feel trapped
and try to escape.
As far as actually driving, the best analogy Don told me was to "drive
like I had a hot cup of coffee between my legs with no lid!" Slow
everything down by at least half. This includes starting, stopping and
turning. And don't forget, the longer the trailer, the more whip lash.
Remember "crack the whip"? The end of the trailer will seem to travel
much faster than the tow vehicle. Don would always gently touch the
brakes before changing anything eg. turns, stops, change of direction
backward or forward. He felt it gave the horses a chance to get ready.
He hauled many a "problem hauler" with no problems for thousands of
miles. Not to say he came away with a perfect record. There was the
odd time he had a scrambler but for the number of horses and the numbers
of miles...
Whenever you stop for fuel, check the horses and offer water. (Helpful
Hint: Some horses won't drink much when on the road. Something that
worked for Don was to start adding a small amount of Coke to the water
several days before leaving home. When he ran out of the water he
hauled for them, he would add Coke to the fresh water and voila! No
more drinking problems. And you can buy Coke everywhere. This also
works when you get to your destination as well. And don't ask if Pepsi
works!)
Be sure to stop occasionally to let the horses rest. It's amazing how
tired they can get just trying to keep their balance. Plan meal breaks
on the trip for yourself so your horses can rest.
Some horses refuse to urinate in the trailer. Sometimes adding fresh
bedding will help with this problem. If not, you'll have to unload them
at intervals to give them a chance to relieve themselves. Don would
stop at least every 10 hours to check. This is when using shavings as
bedding comes in handy. It's easy to see who's done what! Sometimes it
may even be necessary to sprinkle a little bedding down on the ground
for the horse to get the idea. You'd be amazed at how well that works.
About 6% of horses transported for more than 8-12 hours will develop
shipping fever. And of course, the longer the journey the more likely
the hazard. And this figure is for a problem free haul. Often times we
run into difficulties along the way so the incidence will increase.
Once a horse arrives after a long journey take its temperature twice a
day for three consecutive days. About half the horses show signs after
24 hours, the other half show evidence of disease 2 or even 3 days after
transport. If the temperature is elevated, it's best to contact your
vet. Shipping fever, in extreme cases, can be fatal.
ZERO TOLERANCE
by Don Marcellus
The peculiar sound emanating from the barn was one I didn't
recognize. Hollow, rasping, rhythmic, but too loud for breathing; it
was drawn-out, with a strange sort of reverberation - a delayed echo.
Some new veterinary equipment? My boss was very progressive . . .
I walked toward the entrance, but before I stepped out of the airy
sunshine onto the solid plank floor of the barn's interior, my nostrils
were assaulted by an unfamiliar odor. Not a pleasant one.
Decomposition? Partly, maybe, but there was another, different element,
too- a smell vaguely like something spilled on a stove. And a third,
more subtle tinge, was confused into the waft - the source of which
eluded me.
Inside, the mystery was deeper. Two large animals, located in separate
stalls across the aisle from one another, stood facing me. They were
live horses, but that fact wasn't immediately recognizable. A
confusing disguise obscured their identity to a certain degree.
There was an unsettling strangeness about them. No horses should have
looked like that. Heads like poorly carved wooden mannequins; no
clearly chiselled facial features. Skin, hairless in some places; in
others, the hide resembled that overstretched, forlorn sort you see on
museum specimens from an earlier century. Yet it glistened, oddly . .
. Cotton bed sheets were draped over the animals, covering them from
the ears back. They stood motionless. Altogether, the scene was
puzzling, surreal.
The noise was breathing - heavy and labored, as they both strained for
air through half-closed nostrils. The smell was breath, burnt
horsehair, and mineral oil which soaked the sheets.
I'd never seen a horse who'd been in a fire.
In some ways, I wish I'd never seen these two. But maybe because I
did, and you are reading these words, some other horses, somewhere,
might be spared a terrible ordeal.
The horses belonged to an older couple I knew fairly well. Good
clients. Nice people. A small, leathery stockman and his wife.
My employer explained the circumstances:
They'd been checking cattle in the hills the previous day - my day off
- and like so many times before, had been riding their two good saddle
horses. Partners, all four.
The horses had been bred, foaled, raised and trained by the couple.
Like their owners, they were seasoned - both of the geldings were well
into their late teens - tough and hardworking. Dependable. Gentle.
On the trip home, travelling in stock racks bedded with straw and
covered by a plastic tarp, these two good horses met with disaster.
A cigarette, carelessly flipped out of the window of a passing car
(neither the man nor his wife smoked) found a way on an ill wind, into
the straw. It ignited beneath the horses; in minutes, cruel flames
licked at the helpless pair; heat melted the tarp over their heads.
Poisonous fumes and hot smoke swirled around them, searing delicate
respiratory passages . . .
An emergency stop was made the moment smoke showed up in the truck's
side mirror. The horses were quickly unloaded. With the help of a
trucker who pulled in behind, the fire was soon put out.
But how much damage had the horses sustained? Burns can be
deceiving, difficult to assess.
The rancher and his wife were torn - not wanting the horses to suffer,
yet feeling their old friends should have every chance to survive.
A decision was reached:
If one horse should die despite all efforts at treatment, the other
would be put to sleep.
Massive doses of antibiotics were administered. The sheets were kept
oiled at intervals to help keep burned areas of skin from cracking.
Clear cool water and soft food in small amounts were offered often. Two
days went by. One horse would briefly appear to be responding, then the
other, but it was a losing battle. Too much internal damage had been
done . . .
One of the gentle old geldings was lying down when I came in late at
night to check on them.
I knew he was not going to get up.
I sat cross-legged in the soft clean bedding with him, and held his
head in my lap as he faded quietly away . . .
The stertorous breathing sounds, now reduced in volume by half, evoked
an odd mix of emotions. Relief, knowing he no longer suffered; sadness
that he was gone, for his eyes told me he knew I'd tried hard to help
and he'd fought with a strong will to live; frustration and anger at the
loss of the battle. Resignation, mixed with apprehension.
His friend across the aisle was still standing...
I learned a valuable lesson with the deaths of those two horses. Until
then, I never carried a fire extinguisher when I hauled livestock. I do
now.
The tragedy could have been avoided so easily by the simple act of
someone using an ashtray. The driver who rolled on out of sight never
knew what suffering and anguish that flying cigarette stub caused. I
wonder what that person's thoughts would have been if the soft, dimming
eye - incapable of accusation - of that honest old saddle horse had
dulled forever while looking up at the one responsible . . .
I don't smoke. My choice, my right. And having seen the tears in the
eyes of that old couple, then later, watching a big truck leave with
the sad remains of their two loyal partners, I don't have much patience
with it.
