Advantages of Rear Facing Transportation
Physiology, Balance, and Management of Horses During Transportation
Orientation of the horse within a transportation vehicle has been identified
as a potential source of stress. Several studies have examined horses facing
toward or away from the direction of travel. The advantages of facing away from
the direction of travel or "backwards" includes the ease of loading
a horse backwards into a trailer rather than facing a dark, small opening which
may be perceived by the horse as a scary cave (Creiger,1989). Also, the hindquarters
of the horse are positioned at the area of impact during braking or acceleration.
In the back facing position, the horse's head is not constantly carried in an
elevated position such that the horse may use its head and neck to balance more
effectively. It may also be advantageous that the forelegs are placed in the
rear of the trailer and may adapt to swaying motions more readily than the hind
legs. This "buttress" posture adaptation is commonly exhibited during
grazing, whereby the shoulder provides better lateral support than the rear
legs. Often, the rear legs engage in a side stepping action when responding
to lateral pressure.
A study examining the response to traveling forwards or backwards during a one
hour journey showed a significant decrease in heart rate in the horses traveling
backwards. These horses also tended to rest more often on their rumps in maintaining
their balance. The forward facing horses held their heads in a higher than average
position and also moved more frequently due to difficulty in balancing. Interestingly,
the forward facing horses vocalized more frequently. Heart rates increased at
loading and unloading, and decreased during the journey as the horses became
accustomed to the motion of transport. The authors concluded that the forward
orientation may be more physically demanding due to efforts implemented to maintain
balance (Waran, et al., 1996).
Heart rates were also measured in another study examining horses tethered facing
forward or backward in a stock trailer undergoing road transportation for about
40 minutes compared to controls which were loaded but remained in a parked trailer
for the same duration. Heart rates were not significantly different for horses
facing forward or backwards during transport or while parked. However, heart
rates were increased in the horses undergoing transportation. Transient increases
and decreases in heart rate during transportation were attributed to the decelerations
and accelerations of driving. Heart rates were highest at the start of the ride,
then decreased during the first 15 minutes, until heart rate stabilized as the
horses adapted to the motion of the trailer (Smith, et al., 1994).
Balance
Loss of balance can be the source of both minor and catastrophic injuries, and
behavioral problems in horses. If extreme, damage can be caused to the vehicle
and the horses may become unsuitable for safe transportation. In a competitive
equine world, a horse that "can't handle traveling" is drastically
disadvantaged economically. It is important to understand how a horse attempts
to balance with the motion of transportation, thus assisting in the design of
vehicles and handling of horses during transportation.
Transportation produces horizontal forces due to acceleration. The response
of the horse to this motion has been defined as passive, yielding, or reactive
sway (Roberts, 1990). Passive sway is the elastic balancing mechanism uses when
the support platform is moved under the horse's hooves. If moved too quickly,
such as accelerating too fast, the horse will actually attempt to take several
steps in the direction of the travel. Yielding sway involves the trunk to remain
stationary while the head becomes more upright. Yielding sway is appropriate
for balancing during small temporary accelerations. For longer horizontal accelerations,
reactive sway involves the movement of the feet in a repositioning movement.
The head may move forward while the horse's body leans inward over the inside
leg. This type of balancing is performed when a vehicle is turning; reactive
sway may maintain balance without staggering.
The stance is the most noticeable change observed during balancing. A quiet,
but alert horse will have all four legs vertically placed directly below the
body. A horse reacting to the motion of transportation, will place the forelegs
apart in a "buttress" position, while the hind legs may take a less
splayed position. This wide stance allows the horse to retain balance by exerting
thrust with one leg or the other.
As compared to a backward facing horse, a forward facing positioned horse has
noticeable differences in the handling mechanism of acceleration and braking.
Severe braking may force a horse to take forward steps to preserve its balance,
bring its head closer to the bulkhead. Roberts (1990) has suggested that braking
may be perceived as a threatening situation. The horse may become progressively
more fearful with the repetition of braking and acceleration. This may lead
to injury or other safety problems. The inexperienced horse may show a similar
behavior as a young horse pulling against a lead rope, with the front legs spread
apart and weight displaced to the rear legs, while the head is jerked upwards.
This type of posture was not observed in horses oriented backwards. During deceleration,
the backward facing horse may take on the "plow horse" look. Braking
caused these horses to displace weight to their hindquarters and even rest the
large muscle mass of the rump on the trailer. Acceleration is easier to handle
since the front legs and head have more floor area to utilize than in a conventional
trailer.
Taken
from:
Physiology, Balance, and Management of Horses During Transportation
by Dr. Carolyn Stull, Extension Animal Welfare Specialist, University of California
Effects of transporting horses facing either forwards or backwards on their behaviour and heart rate.
The effects of transporting horses facing either forwards or backwards were compared by transporting six thoroughbred horses in pairs in a lorry on one journey facing in the direction of travel, and on another journey facing away from the direction of travel, over a standard one-hour route. Heart rate monitors were used to record their heart rate before, during and after the journey and the horses' behaviour was recorded by scan sampling each horse every other minute. The average heart rate was significantly lower (P < 0.05) when the horses were transported facing backwards, and they also tended to rest on their rumps more (P = 0.059). In the forward-facing position, the horses moved more frequently (P < 0.05) and tended to hold their necks in a higher than normal position and to vocalise more frequently (P = 0.059). During loading the average peak heart rate was 38 bpm lower (P < 0.05) when the horses were backed into the horse box for rear-facing transport than when they were loaded facing forwards. However, there was no difference between transport facing forwards or backwards in terms of the peak unloading heart rate, or the average heart rate during loading or unloading. The horses seemed to find being transported less physically stressful when they were facing backwards than when they were facing forwards.
Taken
from:
Effects
of transporting horses facing either forwards or backwards on their behaviour
and heart rate by Dr Natalie K Waran, Institute of Ecology & Resource
Management, University of Edinburgh
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