PRECIOUS CARGO Fiona cameron has some practical advice for transporting your horses in comfort and safety

The biggest problem that horse owners have with floating or trucking their horse is when he starts scrambling. This is when a horse literally can’t get his footing, tries to spread his legs to balance, then starts ‘climbing’ the sides, especially in a float. Scramble marks can sometimes be seen on float walls and it is surprising how high the hooves go. It can also happen in a truck, if the partitions come right down to meet the floor, or when the horse is positioned near a solid partition at the end nearest the driver or accommodation.
Any horse, even a seasoned traveller, can begin scrambling if driven too fast around corners. Nervous horses, too, are more likely to panic and start scrambling, as are older horses with arthritis that have trouble balancing.
To solve the problem, the horse needs more room to spread his legs in order to balance. Otherwise the horse feels he is losing his balance, will try spreading his legs up the sides of the float, or truck, and can even fall over. Horse owners commonly believe that their horse will have a better journey if he is packed tight in a float so he can’t move around. While some horses can cope with this, it is actually the opposite to what a horse needs, especially if he scrambles.
If you have been moving your horse on his own in a double float and he has started to scramble, you can give him more room by pushing the partition three quarters of the way across and fixing a three-quarter bar behind him. If that is not enough to prevent him scrambling, a full bar can be fixed behind and the partition pushed all the way across. This is preferable to taking the partition out altogether, which would allow him to move around too much inside the float. The three-quarter or full bar can sometimes be purchased from float manufacturers, or be made to measure by an engineer.
This effectively means, however, that you can only travel one horse in the float. Another option, if you have to travel two, is to find an extra-wide double float.
 There are also floats designed so that the horse travels facing backwards. Using this type of float could help a horse that scrambles, as tests done on horses facing backwards show lowered heart rates. An angle-loading float may also help as the horse is not against the solid outside on one side as in a conventional float, but is positioned diagonally across the middle. This is more like in a truck and makes it easier to spread his legs for balance. It’s worth trying your horse in either of these types of floats, if you can, to see if there is any difference, before going ahead and making a purchase.
In a truck, to solve the problem, make sure the horse doesn’t have any solid partitions beside him. You could also have a space fitted that is extra wide between partitions, or take out a partition and give the horse two spaces instead of one.
One of the main reasons a horse will start to scramble is when being driven too fast, particularly around corners. Drivers, especially those unfamiliar with horses or new to towing, commonly drive at the same speed as they do without a float on the back. Powerful vehicle, radio on, and off they go. Experienced horse people can also be guilty of driving too fast when in a rush. A float, driven at speed and with two horses moving around in the back, has the potential to sway and even jackknife before rolling over. Truck drivers can also be guilty of driving too fast and having the horses literally rattling around in the back. Horses arriving dripping with sweat are a sure sign of a rough trip.
Horses are instinctively claustrophobic. They are a prey animal. Being trapped in a confined space means, to them, they can be killed and eaten if they cannot escape. Horses can be trained to overcome this instinct and fear, and most do; but if a horse has a bad experience or is injured in a float or truck then his worst fear is confirmed. Retraining a horse like this to load on a float or truck is time-consuming, time that could have been saved by driving slower and with more care.
Even if you do drive considerately and your horse does not scramble, travelling your horse can still carry some degree of risk, which is why some people like to put protective boots, or bandages, on a horse for travelling. If your horse is shod, or travelling beside another horse and could possibly catch him with a hoof under the partition, or if your horse is liable to hurt himself in any way, then boots or bandages are wise. However, he must be used to them before travelling and they should not be too hot or uncomfortable for the horse, otherwise he may kick to try and get them off and in the process injure himself, so negating the whole point of them in the first place.
Some people question the need to tie up their horse in a float, or truck. Although there are horses which are definitely happier not tied and restrained, tying does limit what the horse can do if he gets bored; like putting his head down under the bar in a float, or trying to turn around and possibly jamming his head against the partition grill.
The best way is to tie the horse with a little slack so it limits his movement, and tie to baler twine attached to the ring. That way it will hold sufficiently to check his movement but break in an emergency.
Make sure you have a safe procedure when loading or unloading a horse in a float or truck. When using a float, once he is in, do up the bar or chain, put up the ramp and then go round and tie him up. And do the reverse procedure when offloading. Untie, ramp down, bar or chain undone, horse out. In a truck, the horse goes on, the partition comes across then he is tied up, and the ramp goes up. The reverse happens when you take him out. This avoids any potential disasters like the horse deciding to come out when he is still tied up, but not restrained with a partition or ramp.
Safe journeys with your horse.