This weekend, Porsche moved back to the folks place, a several hour drive. She is not always the most calm traveller, so I added some things to our routine to help her (and it totally seemed to work!)
1. I got fuzzy halter covers.
I had been keeping an eye out for a travel halter, something that was breakable, but the ones with real sheepskin can be pricey - not to mention hard to clean! So when I came across a velcro set that would work with my own leather halter: JMS Sheepskin Fleece 9 piece set on Riding Warehouse with a 20% coupon in my hand - I nabbed them! The quality is great, the stitching/velcro is nice and I can see these were made with love to last. I think Porsche appreciated the extra comfort.
2. I used Redmond Rock Daily Gold for ~3 weeks before the move, and have gradually got her eating her grain "sloppy".
I got a free 2 week sample of this at the local feed store, and despite my skepticism and the vague claims on the website, I did notice an improvement in both girls - so I ordered it! It is basically a mineral clay that neutralizes excess stomach acid and encourages drinking. Yes, I fully realize I am buying pre-packaged dirt LOL.
3. I dosed her with Omeprezole the day before and the day of (6 pills hidden in peanuts)
To preemptively stave off any acidy stomach, I used some human strength Omeprezole from Costco. I've seen great results with this technique and Porsche previously.
4. She got 1 tube of Quia-cal one hour prior to loading up.
I spied this on at the feed store, and it was a total impulse buy. I had never heard of the brand, but Porsche often breaks out in a sweat in the trailer, so something to make her less nervous seemed like a good idea.
Porsche definitely knew something was up when I pulled her out of the pasture, and threw a poo party in the crossties, but about 30 or so minutes after her Quia-Cal dose, she did visibly relax, and completely self-loaded into the trailer (granted, I think she thought we were headed to the horse park for some fun :) I drove behind the trailer the entire way, so I could watch how she was doing - and she really was totally chill! When we stopped for gas, and opened up her window to let her get a bit of air, she was softly nickering at me (usually there is screaming LOL).
Half-way point: good time to fuel up, get some fresh air & snacks!
She stepped off the trailer without being drenched in sweat and settled beautifully into the 2-acre pasture - eating and drinking and saying hi to the neighbor's geldings & burro.
What are your favourite tips/tricks for trailering?
Sounds like all of those things did the trick!
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