Trailering Across the Desert

["guest@endurance.net" <guest@endurance.net>]

Dru elfs@c2i2.com
 Hi Sharon and All,
  When I trailer to California, there is always a dang 
desert to cross , and I live in one, sooo here"s what to do.
If you have to go in the daytime, put shavings on the floor, fairly thick, water them and add block ice, I use at least six at a time in each stall area. I also carry an extra cooler full of cube and block ice and replace the block ice as we go. We also stop at gas stations that have water spickets (take a hose too) and spray the horse off at every opportunity while in the trailer, it really cools them off and rewets the shavings. I also take several large towels and drape them over the horse, and pour cool water on them from the cooler with the ice in it, as it melts from  the heat, and they can wear that getup while on the road. Make sure it is a good cooler though or you will be buying more ice !
 Of course you have the option of driving at night, but please make sure you have had enough sleep, there's no reason to drive tired , endangering the rest of us out there on the road. If we are going to drive more than one days drive away, we start out early in the morning (4:00 am) and drive about six or eight hours and stop in the heat of the day (12:00ish), find a shady, breezy place for the trailer and nap till the sun goes down, then continue on as far as we are comfortable with that night, usually four to six more hours and then stop and sleep again until early morning and then take off and start the cycle again.
This way you get enough rest, and are not hauling in that late afternoon heat so much. This is how I drive to Tevis, as we live on the Mexican boarder and cross not one desert but two, the Arizona and Nevada deserts to get there . 
Dru (who is not going to Tevis THIS year,wah :-(. )