Moving livestock is more important than ever.

Online sales have opened the door to animals from across the country. We travel farther for shows. Breeding opportunities aren't limited to what's within an afternoon's drive anymore. And professional haulers have made it possible to move livestock distances that many of us wouldn't or couldn't haul ourselves.

That's been a huge step forward for the industry.

But as hauling becomes more routine, it can be easy to forget that transportation is still a major event for the animal.

We talk a lot in this industry about animals not being able to afford a bad day. We watch feed. We watch water. We manage temperature. We obsess over condition and health.

Then we put that same animal in a metal box traveling 70 miles an hour for twelve hours.

Hauling is part of the management program too.

So whether you're driving across town or hiring someone to haul an animal across the country, here are a few things worth thinking about before the trailer starts moving.

Water & Feed:
How far you're traveling will obviously change the plan, but for longer trips you need to decide before you leave how your animals are going to eat and drink along the way.

I'm a bit of a water nut.

If I can safely keep water available without turning the trailer into a swimming pool (looking at you, Mario Andretti trailer drivers) I like having it available.

But that isn't practical or safe in every trailer.

Water sloshing everywhere can create its own problems, so whether you're providing safe access during the trip or watering at planned stops, the important thing is simple:

Have a hydration plan.

The same goes for feed.

As much as practical, I like keeping animals close to their normal feeding schedule. They're already dealing with a strange trailer, strange noises, movement, and potentially strange animals around them.

Something familiar isn't a bad thing.

If you're stopping for fuel or taking a longer break, that can also be a good opportunity to let them eat while the trailer isn't moving.
The goal isn't to make travel day completely normal.

It isn't.

The goal is to avoid making it more abnormal than it needs to be.

If you're hiring a commercial hauler, ask before the animal gets on the trailer:

How do you handle feed and water during the trip?

Don't assume their system is the same as yours. Find out what it is and make sure you're comfortable with it.

Do the Five-Minute Panic Check:

I always do what I call a panic check before I put livestock in a trailer.

It takes about five minutes.

I look at the latches. Gates. Dividers. Flooring. Is there enough traction? What's condition of the floor beneath the mats? Anything loose. Anything that could tip over. Anything sticking out. Anything sharp. Anything an animal could somehow get its head, leg, halter, horn, or whatever else caught in.

Basically, I look around and ask:

"If something stupid were going to happen in here, how would it happen?"

Then I try to prevent it.

I'm also the person who locks the latch on my old trailer because I don't trust the thing not to jiggle itself loose going down the road.

Paranoid?

Maybe.

But these are problems that often don't need to happen.

Nobody wants to arrive and discover an animal got caught on something, jabbed itself, had equipment fall on it, or—God forbid—isn't even in the trailer anymore.

You may laugh, but I've heard and seen too many sad stories not to be a safety nut about my trailer.

Five minutes of eyeballing things beforehand is cheap insurance.

Don't Forget the Trailer Has to Make the Trip Too:
While you're doing the panic check inside, take a minute to look at the equipment that's actually getting you there.

Tires.

Spare tire.

Lights.

Brakes.

Hitch or coupler.

Safety chains.

Trailer plug.

Anything else your particular rig depends on.

You don't have to become a mechanic every time you haul livestock.

You do need to know that the trailer is reasonably prepared to make the trip you're asking it to make.

Because a beautifully prepared animal doesn't benefit much from your hauling plan when you're sitting alongside the highway with a blown tire and discovering that your spare hasn't held air since 2017.

What's the Weather Like Back There?:

It doesn't matter what season you're hauling in. You need to think about the animal's environment inside the trailer.

If you're sitting comfortably in your climate-controlled truck while the animal is flash frying in a poorly ventilated 1,000-degree trailer, you're probably not going to be happy with the result when you get there.

The same thing works in reverse.

If you're cruising through a snowstorm with the heater blasting while the animal behind you is experiencing exactly no degrees plus wind, you're probably not going to be thrilled with that result either.

The temperature inside your truck tells you absolutely nothing about the temperature inside your trailer.

Think about ventilation, bedding, drafts, humidity, sun exposure, stocking density, travel time, and the weather you're actually going through.

And here's one of my favorite highly scientific methods:

Do some bookwork in your trailer.

Seriously.

If you're unsure what the environment is like back there, spend some time in it under similar conditions.

You might be surprised.

Just remember that conditions can change considerably once the trailer is moving, so don't treat a few minutes sitting inside as a substitute for checking ventilation and weather.

And if you're fortunate enough to have a climate-controlled trailer, great.

Now have the good sense to not double-check it but quadruple-check it before you hop in the truck and jet-set for twelve hours.

You do not want to discover after a long haul on a 110-degree day that the air conditioning quit thirty minutes after you left home.

Choose Pen Mates Carefully:

I'll be frank with this one.

One animal traveling alone may be nervous and irritable.

Several animals traveling together can be reassuring—unless they don't get along.

Then you've created an entirely different problem.

Having a buddy along for the ride can be a good thing.

Having an ill-tempered jerk trapped in there with your animal for six hours is not.

Think about temperament, size, species, sex, horns, familiarity, available space, and whether those particular animals can safely travel together.

This becomes harder to control when you're using a commercial hauler, but it's still worth asking:

How are the animals grouped during transportation?

You may not get to choose every pen mate, but you should at least understand how the hauler manages them.

And don't forget that the amount of space matters just as much as who's sharing it. Animals need an appropriate amount of room and secure footing to travel safely.

Stress + Exposure:
Disease prevention becomes especially important when animals are being commercially hauled or traveling with livestock from multiple places.

Think about what a newly purchased young animal may already be experiencing.

It may have just left the only farm it has ever known.

New people. New animals. New noises. A trailer. Different water. Potentially different feed. Temperature changes. Hours of transportation.

Then add possible exposure to animals, equipment, trailers, farms, sale facilities, and environments it has never encountered before.

That's a lot happening at once.

Transport stress doesn't guarantee an animal will become sick, but stress plus increased exposure is something you need to take seriously.

If you're using a hauler, ask about their biosecurity practices. How are trailers cleaned? How frequently? Are animals from multiple farms traveling together? How are they separated?

And once your animal gets home, pay attention.

Don't assume that because it walked off the trailer looking fine, the story is over.

The Trip Isn't Over When You Park:

I think this part gets forgotten.

Arrival is part of transportation.

Before the trailer ever backs into the driveway, know where the animal is going.

Have the pen ready.

Have water ready.

Have familiar feed available.

Know how you're handling quarantine or separation from the animals already on the property.

Then give the newcomer a chance to settle.

Pay attention to the things that tell you how the animal is handling the transition:

Is it drinking?

Is it eating?

What's its attitude like?

How is it breathing?

Is it moving normally?

What does its manure look like?

Does it seem to be settling in, or does something feel off?

Knowing what is normal for the animal beforehand makes those observations considerably more useful.

If something doesn't look right, don't wait until a small concern becomes a big one. Get appropriate help when it's needed.

A Good Haul Should Be Boring:

That's really the goal.

The trailer gets there.

The animal gets off.
It drinks.

It eats.

It settles in.

And before long, it goes back to being itself.

Nobody has an exciting story to tell about what happened on the interstate.

Nobody spends the next three days trying to undo what happened during twelve hours in a trailer.

Nobody says, "You wouldn't believe what happened on the way here."

A good haul should be boring.

And most of the things that keep it boring aren't complicated.

Check the trailer.

Have a plan for feed and water. Think about temperature. Choose pen mates carefully. Understand the added disease risk. Know what you're doing when the animal arrives.

Whether you're hauling it yourself or handing the lead rope to somebody who's taking it halfway across the country, transportation is still part of managing that animal.

You spent too much time trying to prevent a bad day to give it one on the way there.

What's one thing you've learned the hard way about hauling livestock? Let us know in the comments below.