Horse transport is unavoidable for competition, veterinary care, and sales, but it carries significant welfare risks. Good journey planning and vehicle design minimise stress and injury.
Horses find transport inherently stressful — they are prey animals that evolved to flee danger, and confinement in a moving vehicle triggers fear responses. The physiological stress is real: cortisol elevation, immunosuppression, and respiratory compromise are measurable after even short journeys. Good transport welfare involves appropriate vehicle design (sufficient space, ventilation, and ideally rearward-facing orientation), thorough loading training before emergency situations, appropriate journey length with rest stops, companionship where possible, and post-transport monitoring for signs of shipping fever.