The other day whilst I was driving through town, I came up behind a float with a horse inside that was laying against the center divider and as we approached the round about the horse’s rear disappeared – I held my breath and it came back up again but then the horse lent against the divider again as they went around the roundabout.

The driver was doing a good job of driving very carefully as I am sure they could feel the horse moving around but the horse was clearly not happy about being in there. I was very concerned for this horses safety and there was nothing I could do as the car kept driving on.

It occurred to me in that moment at how incredible it is that people seem quite willing to accept that their horses aren’t good at floating and just continue to put them on anyway and think that by driving slowly they will ‘get away with it.’

To me, the most incredible thing about this situation is how easily it could have been avoided. Too often, horses are just bundled onto a float with their owner crossing their fingers and hoping that they survive the trip.

WHAT!!???

This is a flight from fear animal. One that will do whatever it takes to get out of a situation if they feel that their life depended on it.

There are gazillions of horses out there that scramble, weave, refuse to go on and or rush off, all caused by little or no preparation for floating.

In my opinion, none of this needs to happen!

If you are prepared to spend a few hours teaching your horse to think their way through claustrophobic situations, to see a float as a comfortable place to be and most importantly to have the horse make the decision to walk on rather than be forced on then you will save yourself a lot more time and heartache in the long run….and a lot less vet bills!

Makes much more sense to me.