Hauling horses is always a nerve-wracking chore. It is hard to be prepared for every emergency but there are some things you can do to prepare for when things go bad. If you lose your taillights, use red LED headlamps designed for hiking and other outdoor activities (in the camping section at Walmart) as an emergency substitute. The LED is bright enough to be seen at some distance, which not only keeps you from getting rear-ended, but also keeps you from getting pulled over!  Keep in mind, these do not light up when breaking so they are not intended as a long-term replacement for regular working lights. But they work nifty-neat in a pinch when you can't just stop and fix things. 

 

Do you have an escape artist that knows how to pull the pins out of round-pen corral panel assemblies?  To nip this in the bud, use tie-wraps to secure the chain to the joint of the corral panels so the little darling can no longer lift the chains! 

 

This is not a topic that horse people generally like to discuss but probably one of the most important. At one time or another, most horsemen will have to face the possibility of having to decide to put a horse down or having a horse die on its own.  These events are painful enough without having to worry about how to "take care" of the body. I urge those of you reading this who have horses to select a method of disposal that is both legal and feasible for your situation (economically and physically).  If you are going to bury the horse on your own property, select a spot away from wet areas or near bodies of water.  Once you select a spot, be sure you can dig down to a depth of at least 6-8 feet (10 is better).  If you do not own the backhoe necessary to dig to this depth, make prior arrangements with one or two local contractors who can be available on short notice to do this.  Cremation is possible in limited areas  and is worth considering if you have limited burial spots, however it is also very expensive.   We were recently caught off guard by the unexpected death of one of our horses and found it stressful to get the burial taken accomplished.  I hope this prevents others from this difficult situation.