Long-distance transport causes significant physiological and psychological stress in horses, with research identifying key risk factors and management practices that minimize welfare impact.
Long-distance horse transport welfare involves sustained stress over an extended period: the combination of motion adaptation challenges, unfamiliar environment, altered social grouping, restricted space, and noise creates a continuous stress burden that accumulates with transport duration. Shipping fever is a welfare-significant consequence of long transport that develops from respiratory compromise when head restriction prevents normal drainage of the respiratory tract - a condition that can progress to life-threatening pleuropneumonia requiring weeks of hospitalization. Dehydration is common because horses often refuse unfamiliar water; training horses to drink from buckets similar to those used on transport vehicles reduces this risk. International transport by air or sea creates even greater welfare challenges, with horses held in restricted spaces for days with limited movement and social isolation. The welfare research on transport is relatively mature with clear evidence-based guidance, but implementation is inconsistent.