Preparing Your Horse Trailer for a Long-Distance Haul — and What to Carry When Things Go Wrong** A long haul is won or lost before you ever hook up. This is the checklist I use — trailer, truck, horse, route, and the two kits that live in my truck all the time. **Start 2–4 weeks out — don't wait for the week of the trip** - Tires: check the date code, not just the tread. Trailer tires age out at 5–7 years even if they look fine. Check the spare too, and make sure your jack actually fits the trailer. - Bearings: repack them. A seized bearing on the highway is how a trip ends. - Brakes: test the brakes and the breakaway system. Pull the breakaway pin — the trailer brakes should lock. Put it back, or you'll burn the brakes up. - Floor: pull the mats and look. Soft wood, rusted aluminum, and cracked welds hide under mats. If a hoof can go through it, it's not roadworthy. - Hitch, chains, ramp, dividers, latches, lights, and wiring: check every one. A divider latch that pops open at 65 mph is a disaster. - Truck: service it, check towing and payload ratings, and know your tongue weight — 10–15% for a bumper-pull, 20–25% for a gooseneck. - Practice load a week early: load the horse, drive around the block, and fix anything that rattles, rubs, or won't latch before you're 300 miles from home. **Prepare the horse** - Coggins and health certificate: check the timing — most states want a health certificate within 30 days, and some want Coggins within 6–12 months. Don't guess, check the destination state. - No feed changes the week of the trip. Same hay, same grain. - Take hay and water from home. Horses drink less on the road, and strange water makes it worse. Offer water at every stop. - Know your horse's resting vitals before you leave, so you know when something's off on the road: temperature 99.5–101.5°F, heart rate 28–44 bpm, respiration 8–16 breaths per minute, gums salmon pink and moist, refill under 2 seconds. - Legs and feet: trim/shoe in time, check for heat or swelling the morning you leave, and make sure the horse is fit enough for the trip — a long haul is work.