For a horse, a journey is physical work. It balances for hours in a moving vehicle, often eats and drinks less than usual, and arrives somewhere with different water, different stabling and different noises. Competitions then add altered feeding times, higher workloads and sometimes several days away from home. This page looks at why that combination affects digestion, what owners can do before, during and after travelling, and where supplements may or may not have a role.
Why travel and competition affect digestion
Several pressures arrive together when a horse travels. Forage and water intake usually drop, stress hormones rise, and the normal rhythm of eating, moving and resting is broken. Research reflects this. A review of equine microbiome studies in Animal Microbiome notes that transport, fasting and exercise each produce measurable shifts in faecal bacteria. One small study of eight healthy horses, by Schoster and colleagues in the Equine Veterinary Journal, found a lower abundance of one major bacterial group after transport compared with baseline. Those changes do not mean a horse will become ill, but they show that the gut notices a journey.
Competition stabling counts as a change of housing too. In a systematic review of colic risk factors published in PLOS ONE, recent changes in housing were one of the two management changes with the strongest evidence, and the studies that found this effect described changes within two weeks or less. Multi-day shows, long-distance championships and seasons with frequent away fixtures all fall into that window.
Management before, during and after a journey
Before you leave
World Horse Welfare's guidance on fitness to travel recommends assessing every horse before any journey, including temperature, any discharge from the nose or eyes and any lameness. It also advises practising loading well in advance, so that the vehicle becomes familiar rather than frightening. Horses should have access to forage and clean water before setting off.
From a digestive point of view, the most useful thing is to keep the diet unchanged in the run-up to an event. Avoid introducing a new hard feed, forage or supplement in the days before you travel. If you plan to use a gut supplement through the season, start it at home well beforehand, following the manufacturer's introduction instructions, so that any reaction is seen at home rather than at the venue. Our guide on how to feed a probiotic covers introduction and timing.
On the journey
World Horse Welfare says most horses travel better with forage available throughout the journey and with regular water breaks, and advises planning water and forage breaks at least every four hours on long journeys. Its vehicle guidance also recommends keeping journey times to a minimum and identifying safe places to stop for rest, feeding and watering before you set off. Travel increases the risk of respiratory problems, particularly where ventilation is poor or the horse cannot lower its head, so good airflow and clean, low-dust forage are worth the effort.
Many horses are reluctant to drink unfamiliar water. Carrying water from home and offering it in a familiar bucket is a common and sensible precaution, as is offering water as soon as you arrive.
At the venue
Keep feeding times as close as possible to the routine at home, and keep hard feeds small. For shows of more than one day, weighing forage and feed into labelled bags for each day helps whoever is feeding stay consistent. Forage should remain available for as much of the day as is practical.
After you return
World Horse Welfare describes giving a horse time to settle and rest after a journey as just as important as the preparation. Let your horse stretch its head and neck down, offer hand grazing or turnout if it is safe, and watch appetite, drinking and droppings closely for the next day or two.
Where supplements may or may not help
There is little direct trial evidence on gut supplements for travelling horses specifically. A review of live yeast in Animals found variable and sometimes contradictory results overall, while a review of probiotics in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine described the evidence for clinical efficacy in horses as weak. A daily gut balancer started at home may be a reasonable choice for an owner who travels often, provided expectations are realistic. Pastes are sometimes used on travel days because the dose is taken in full even if a horse leaves its feed, and our comparison of powder, pellets and paste weighs up the formats. Individual products are assessed from their published information in our reviews hub, and our page on hindgut health explains the ingredients in more depth.
Electrolytes and the stomach
Horses that sweat heavily during travel or work lose electrolytes, and our electrolytes guide explains when supplementing makes sense. One point is worth knowing before you reach for a syringe: the ECEIM consensus statement on gastric ulcers considered electrolytes mixed into feed to be safe, but linked oral electrolyte pastes and hypertonic solutions to an increased risk of squamous gastric disease. Talk to your vet about the best approach for your horse. Competition horses that show signs of stomach discomfort may need a gastroscopy, and our gastric supplements guide explains how those products differ from hindgut support.
Competition rules and BETA NOPS
Feeds and supplements can contain naturally occurring prohibited substances, either because of the ingredients or through cross-contamination during processing. The British Equestrian Trade Association runs the NOPS scheme to reduce that risk. BETA notes that racing and FEI rules take a no-threshold approach to naturally occurring substances that could affect performance, and that certain lower-priority herbal ingredients are permitted only for horses that are not competing.
The scheme applies to companies rather than individual products, and BETA points out that a product made in an accredited plant does not mean the company marketing it is accredited. BETA provides a webchecker for confirming membership. Use it, read the label, and always check the rules of your own governing body before you compete.
Signs to watch after travelling
- Reluctance to eat or drink at the venue or after returning home
- Fewer droppings, drier droppings or loose droppings
- Dullness or lethargy that does not lift once the horse has settled
- A raised temperature, cough or nasal discharge in the days after a long journey
- Pawing, looking at the flanks, repeated lying down or other signs of discomfort