Whether you're heading to a show, clinic, or training away from home, travelling with your horse takes planning and not just for transport and tack. A horse’s digestive system is highly sensitive to stress, change, and disruption, all of which commonly occur during travel. A well-planned feeding routine is essential to maintain condition, support digestion, and ensure performance isn’t compromised.

Why Travel Puts the Gut at Risk

Transporting horses, especially over long distances or in warm conditions can lead to dehydration, reduced forage intake, and disruptions to the gut’s natural motility. Add changes in water, hay, or general routine, and horses can quickly become unsettled, both physically and mentally.

Travel stress has been linked to increased risk of colic and gastric ulcers, so taking nutritional precautions can help reduce this risk.

Keep Diet Changes to a Minimum

One of the most important principles when feeding a travelling horse is consistency. Avoid making any sudden changes to feed, forage, or supplements in the days before or during travel. If you know your horse will need a different forage or water source at the destination, try to gradually introduce it in advance to reduce any digestive upset.

Stick to familiar feeds and prepare pre-measured meals before you leave. If your horse normally eats soaked feeds or mash, bring the dry feed and add water on the day, ensuring it has time to soak fully before feeding.

Prioritise Fibre Intake

Forage is essential to keep the digestive system functioning properly. Horses should never travel on an empty stomach, offering a haynet of familiar hay in the trailer helps keep the stomach buffered and maintains fibre flow through the gut.

Soaked fibre feeds such as beet pulp or grass pellets can be a useful addition both before and after travel to support hydration and fibre intake, especially if forage intake is reduced while away.

Turmash is ideal for travelling horses, it’s fibre-based, easy to digest, and includes live yeast to support gut stability during periods of stress or disrupted routines.

Hydration is Key

Dehydration is a real risk during transport, particularly in summer. Encourage your horse to drink before loading and provide access to water during longer journeys. Electrolytes can be offered in feed or water the night before, and again after arrival, to help replace losses from sweat and stimulate thirst.

If your horse is fussy about water away from home, bring some from your yard in containers or try flavouring water with a small amount of apple juice to mask changes in taste.

After Arrival: Settle and Support

Give your horse time to settle before resuming work, particularly if there’s been a long journey. Maintain their usual feeding schedule and continue to prioritise fibre and hydration. If changing hay types (e.g., from hay to haylage), introduce it gradually alongside familiar forage.

Travelling is demanding on horses, and thoughtful nutrition plays a huge role in reducing stress and digestive risk. Stick to their regular diet, prioritise forage, support hydration, and avoid unnecessary changes before or during your trip.

By doing so, your horse will arrive settled, healthy, and ready to perform.