Scientific evidence demonstrates that transportation imposes significant physiological and psychological stress on horses, informing welfare-centered transport management practices.
The physiological evidence for transport-related welfare harms in horses is substantial and largely dose-dependent — longer journeys cause greater stress and immune suppression. This has direct welfare consequences through transport pneumonia, which can be fatal, and through the sustained discomfort of the journey itself. Transport welfare cannot be adequately addressed only at the regulatory level: individual choices about journey duration, rest stops, water provision, and companion presence determine whether a specific journey is well or poorly managed from a welfare perspective.