The Long Haul

Our destination in Oregon was over 400 miles away.  I've never trailered that far, so did a little research to try and make it as comfortable as possible for the horses.  This is what I did to prepare for and during the trip:

-Truck/trailer maintenance:  I've had my trailer about a year now, so it was about time for my annual maintenance check anyhow.  There is a trailer place nearby, where I got my trailer brakes: AB Trailer Hitch.  It's the only place I know in the area so I didn't compare prices, but they are very nice.  They checked the lights, tires and wires, greased the bearing, and whatever else they do.
I'm lucky my dad is a mechanic, so I asked him to take a look at my Ford Expedition before the trip, top off oil etc.

-Fans:  While my trailer was in the shop, I also asked them to install fans.  Even though I have adequate windows and vents, I thought it couldn't hurt and is especially useful if we have to sit in traffic.  My fans are installed on the same wire as my trailer's interior lights, so they are on if I turn the lights on.  The guy at the trailer shop recommended this because having them separate requires a lot more labor to install.

Trailer fan

-Frequent stops:  The advice I read online was to stop about every 3 hours for about 20 minutes, to give the horses a break from the vibrations.  So I got gas, and if the station wasn't busy stayed under the awning at the pump, otherwise I tried to find a shady spot, and opened the windows.

-Water:  I offered the horses water during some of our stops, and read that they may or may not take it.  Cupid drank a little each time I offered, while the other horse with us didn't at all.  My trailer has a water tank, which made this pretty easy.

-Wraps:  People have pretty strong opinions on each side of this issue, whether to wrap legs or not.  I did put on Coolmax no-bows on all 4 legs, and bell boots in the front.  The wraps did not get loose, and his legs did not feel hot underneath when I took them off.  I just feel more comfortable with this, I would feel horrible if he sliced his legs somehow.  My friend's horse was bare legged, and didn't have any problems either - so this one goes down to personal preference.

-Hay:  I had grass hay in front of Cupid, and he ate pretty much the whole ride, so I refilled his hay at one of our stops both on the way there and back.  His travel buddy only ate about half her hay bag on the way up, and finished that up on the way back.  I also brought hay with me, so he has what he's used to at home. 

-Camera:  I got a little camera that transmits a live feed to my phone through Wi-Fi.  The one I got (Rear View Safety model RVS-83112-Wifi) is listed as a back up camera, not specifically intended to watch horses in a trailer, but it did the job.  It was $140 on Amazon.  A camera is totally unnecessary, but it did give me peace of mind, especially since I wasn't sure how Cupid and the other horse would get along.

Camera, placed in rear trailer window

Captured on the camera

-Ulcergard: I started giving Cupid Ulcergard the day before we left, and continued until the day after we got back, in case he was stressed from the travel or being in a new place.

Driving by Mt Shasta