Practice trailering horses and large animals before you need to
Loading a horse, llama, or cattle into a trailer in a smoke-darkened, wind-noisy evening is the wrong time to discover the animal has never been...
Loading a horse, llama, or cattle into a trailer in a smoke-darkened, wind-noisy evening is the wrong time to discover the animal has never been trailered or that the lights are out. Practice trailer-loading in daylight, in calm conditions, with treats and patience, well before fire season. Halter-train every horse you own. For cattle, sheep and goats, train them to load through a chute. Confirm the trailer’s wiring, brakes, lights, tires (including spare) and floor are in working order at the start of each riding or fire season. Carry water, feed, lead ropes, halters, a first-aid kit and identification paperwork in the trailer. Have the destination — a friend’s pasture, a fairground, an evacuation host — agreed in advance, with the route mapped and confirmed against current road closures. If you have more animals than trailer capacity, identify in advance who will help with extra trips, and plan which animals go first (sick, young, breeding stock typically prioritised). Many communities across the West, in both Canada and the US, have volunteer livestock-rescue networks; reaching out before fire season is the time to learn who to call.
Most failed livestock evacuations come down to one cause: animals that had never been trailered before — practice loading on a calm day, not on the worst day.
Source: Alberta — Farm Animals and Livestock Preparedness
Last reviewed 2026-05-02.
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