As any parent can tell you, a road trip with a 2 year old is no picnic. There's all the stuff you have to pack: pampers, playthings, car seats, DVDs, Cheerios. It takes a lot of preparation before you hit the road. When that 2 year old is a horse, the work is times two. Like a child, a horse-young or old-needs a lot of gear in order to weather a long road trip. But horses also need special care along the way to keep them safe and healthy.

Most of us trailer our horses at one time or another, but it's usually a short drive to a nearby show or trail ride. However, if the trip is going to be a long one, you need to do a little planning and a lot of prep work.

Horses aren't cargo; they're living, breathing creatures that can suffer from the unnatural confinement and the rumble of the road.

In general, broke horses trailer pretty well. Most can handle a couple of hours locked up in a metal box. But when the hours stretch from dawn to dusk, or even into days, it requires a lot more from the horse…and a lot more from you.