How to Bring Your Horse on Vacations

Taking your horse on vacation with you is probably easier today than it has ever been before. There are many stables available in each state that will accommodate transient horses, so even if your final destination is a couple days' drive away, you can be sure your horse can be within a comfortable traveling distance. However, even though travel with your horse may be easier, it still requires extensive preparation and planning to ensure the safest trip possible -- whether you are transporting the horse yourself or you hire an equine transport service to do it for you.

Things You'll Need

  • Computer
  • Phone
  • Veterinary services
  • Horse trailer
  • Tow vehicle
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Instructions

    • 1

      Research the health certificate and vaccinations requirements not only of your final destination but of all states you will pass through on your way to and from your destination. See Resources for a site that lists the state veterinarians for each states and their email addresses to get the most accurate information on state requirements.

    • 2

      Decide whether or not you are going to transport your horse yourself or hire an equine transport service. If you are hiring a service, be sure to book your horse's transport far enough in advance to ensure you can get your horse to your vacation destination at the same time you are going to be there. If you are transporting your horse yourself, research overnight stops along the way that offer equine accommodation. Book well in advance as these accommodations often have limited stalls available for transient stabling.

    • 3

      Have your veterinarian administer vaccinations at the recommended interval before you leave for vacation. Most vaccinations should be administered 10 to 14 days before traveling. Many of the required vaccinations will be ones that you already give annually to your horse; however, if your horse will need several vaccinations, be sure to space them out in intervals recommended by your veterinarian.

    • 4

      Along with one of the veterinarian's visits to administer vaccinations, you will need to have blood drawn from your horse for a Coggins test, a blood test that tests for Equine Infectious Anemia. A negative Coggins result is required by all states in order for your horse to be transported across state lines. Most boarding stables will require proof of negative Coggins as well. Although Coggins results are now available electronically in most states, making this process very quick, you should still be sure to leave enough time to get your results back and time for retesting in the unlikely event that the blood sample is lost in transit or results are lost in the system. Most states require proof of negative Coggins from the last six months to one year, so plan accordingly --- even if you have your horse tested annually, you may need retesting before travel to comply to a six months time period.

    • 5

      Pack carefully for your horse. Start making a list so you don't forget anything. Be sure to consider not only things you will need at your destination, but also things you will need on the road. Bring water and food buckets for your horse so you do not have to risk exposing your horse to disease using other horses' feed containers. Bring not only enough food for the entire trip, but enough to cover a few extra days in case you get stuck on the road or decide to stay longer. Pack a five-gallon bucket or two of water for the road. Plan your trip so your horse can rest for a day or two (depending on the length of the trip) at your final destination before you ride.