Those of you that live in hotter temps, like 110-120 degrees F?

Question

If I might move... and a big 'IF' to southern arizona... and during the summer... Do you guys haul with air conditioned horse trailers?

How do your animals take the heat? Do you have misters on them?

Has anyone moved from a milder climate to something like that and what preparations did you make with your horses?

Thanks!!

Answer 1

Good question. I want to know.   I'm answering so I remember to go back and check for other answers.  Otherwise I will forget even if I star this.

The parking was what concerned me too.  But I just thought of something.  What about those flexible thermal reflective insulation sheets (look like bubble wrap between two of those reflective thermal blankets)  I think I would glue that to the inside of the roof of my trailer to cut down on the trailer getting too hot in the sun.

You can trim it with a scissors so it would be really easy to put in and isn't too expensive.

I may do that anyway because my trailer gets hot here.

Answer 2

I moved from NH to NC but it was in November.  In NH it was cool...winter jackets needed.  In NC no jackets needed at this time.

My  horses already had their winter coats...nice and thick.

We moved them out in the morning.  They each had a box stall, thickly bedded.  We also stopped every 3 hours to water them and let them rest for 20 minutes or more.  

When we got to NC there was a severe thunderstorm and we had to unload in it at 2am.  Lightning and thunder all around with a driving rain with winds of about 50mph.  Terrifying.

My horses started shedding out instantly and by a months time they were slick.  They sweat alot but nothing horrible.

We kept a fan up and limited their time out during the day so they could slowly adjust and not go hog wild in the sun.

Buckets of Electrolytes along with a tank of plain water helped.

After a year they adjusted.  The high humidity is still an issue but they have learned to rest during the day and not stay in the sun too long.

They are still yanks....nuttin' I can do about that! haha

As for AC in the trailer...we trailered many to Texas and back to NH and there was never AC in the trailer.  The drivers stopped frequently and also had a scheduled layover for the horses to rest from sunup til sunset.  They normally tried to drive in the evening when the heat coming from the road wasn't so bad.

The trailers had the drop downs with screens so it was breezy.

Answer 3

I moved from Ohio to Texas.  No, they don't air condition horse trailers.  Horses just have to deal with the heat.  We turn them out in shaded pastures and have plenty of water available for them at all times.

Horses are like other animals, they can adapt.

Answer 4

I live in Texas. And no one I know has an air conditioned horse trailer. I open up all the windows possible for air flow. And I try to haul early before it gets super hot when possible. And I try to avoid traffic so as to keep the air moving back there. When I do these things, the horses arrive at their destination with hardly any sweat, so they must be doing OK.  

Horses usually adapt pretty well to the heat. I think its actually harder on people sometime since they move in and out of air conditioning. Since the horses are out all the time, they get pretty adapted.

I don't know anyone who has a mister, but its probably not a bad idea. At my barn, sometimes the horses will play in the water trough and splash themselves with water to cool off. We'll also turn the hose on them for a cool down.

Answer 5

I live in Southern California and our temp gets to 100 plus we are more in a desert area.  Have the stock trailer will be good, only large transport companies have air conditioning none of us normal folks do.   I'm having a misting system created that will work with my setup.  What i do now is go down and hose the kids down in the hot parts of the day, they roll but a little dirt i can deal with and they all seem to enjoy it.  

Their water heating up is a major problem, we are always dumping and adding cool water for them, even heats up if put under a shelter.  You'll need to play around a bit to see what will work for you.  I lived in the Arizona for 2 years but in Prescott, the surrounding areas off that hill were pure heck during the summer, hotter than heck.

Answer 6

You won't need air condition, or misters.  They will do fine, keep the windows open for the breeze, when you move make sure to have plenty of water (like anytime), and shelter or shad trees.  They will adapt and do great:)

EDIT

Your welcome, but one other thing I thougt of when you do stop for rest, bathroom, lunch and so on find a shady spot if it's gonna be a while to park in:)

Enjoy your travels.

Answer 7

Hi Mule!!!!!! :)

No air conditioned horse trailers unless you have one made, that I know of. It would take 2 summers for them to adjust. You can put misters out in the corral with them.(You already said that...) When I move horses from there(WY) to here(NV) it is rough the 1st summer then the 2nd is kinda hard but by the 3rd mine seen to be fine. When we moved from southern Ca to here they had no problem. But where we were from it still got 114. I did hose them often the 1st summer. Then you end up riding in the morning or eve. I ride mine in the cooler days now. They are fine, they don't even sweat that much. Boy, you'll sure love those winters compared to WY!!!!! LOL Not as windy!! & Not even close to 20 during the day !!!!! LOL I sure like Vegas winters, 43 has beed the coldest during the day, since we have been here.

*****edit********

Mule~~ The chick who said you don't need misters has no idea were your comming from. & Your mules are use to!!!!!! I think you WILL need misters for your guys!!!!! At least the first 2 summers. It took that long for us to adjust so I figure about the same for my horses & then still maybe another summer. We have misters in our garage. What part of AZ?? Then I can talk about that temp better.  Because some parts of AZ  get hotter then here.