A: The CAA suggests that first, you make sure your truck is fit for travel. Take your truck in for regular check-ups and especially before embarking on road trips. You should keep an emergency survival kit in your vehicle at all times. Keep one kit in the back of your truck or horse trailer and make sure you include the following items:
- Shovel
- Traction mats
- Compass
- Warning light or road flares
- Emergency food pack
- Booster cables
- Road maps
- Matches and a survival candle in a deep can (to warm hands, heat a drink or use as an emergency light)
- Sand, salt or kitty litter
- Tow chain
- Cloth or roll of paper towels
- Extra clothing and footwear
- Axe or hatchet
- Ice scraper and brush
- Fire extinguisher
- Methyl hydrate (for fuel line and windshield de-icing) A smaller kit that includes the following items should be kept inside your truck. One place to store the kit is in the space under the front passenger seat:
- Flashlight
- First-aid kit
- Blanket (special survival blankets are best)
- Sterile gauze
- Non-stick dressings
- Box of adhesive bandages
- Tape to secure dressings
- Two-three triangular bandages
- Tweezers
- First aid manual
- Scissors
- Safety pins
- Packaged alcohol
- Wipes
- Instant cold packs
- Reflective rescue blanket

A:   One way to get your horse over its fear of bags or the jacket in the trail class is to start on the ground. By “sacking out” your horse while you are on the ground it will decrease its fears, and you remain in control without fear of falling off. By doing this every time you work your horse for about 25-30 minutes, you should see changes in your horse in a short period of time.
I can’t emphasize enough the impor-tance of safety in this exercise because you will be asking your horse to ignore its flight instincts as it faces some primordial fears.
To start your horse in this exercise you will need a sweater or light jacket. At first, your arms will get tired sacking out your horse. Your horse should be haltered, unsaddled and you don’t want to use a lead shank that is so long that you might get tripped up if you need to move quickly. Stand at your horse’s shoulder, as this is the safest place to be, and keep your horse on a fairly short lead so it can’t get too far away from you. Not all horses will react the same way. Be aware that a horse’s instinct is to run and when you take that option away, some horses may try to kick or strike the sweater. Hold the sweater up so the horse can smell your sweater, don’t try to touch the horse’s face at first. If your horse looks the opposite way, gently pull its head back to center and hold it there until the horse stops pulling against you.  
Once the horse has given you some trust with the sweater, you should start to gently rub the horse on the shoulder. Thousands of years of evolution will tell your horse to run and he will move around to avoid the sweater. It is important that you stay calm and relaxed no matter how frustrated you might become. By continuing to slowly use the sweater at its shoulder, the horse should eventually stand still and become more accepting. If your horse reacts violently by either rearing, excessive kicking or striking you may need to seek out some profes-sional help.  
When your horse accepts you rubbing on its shoulder, start rubbing the sweater from the withers to the hips up and down its sides remembering to remain in your safety zone. If at any time the horse moves away or gets worried, go back to the last spot that the horse accepted what you were doing. Once you have gone back to the tail, up and down the sides on both sides of the horse, start at he shoulder again and work your way up the neck to the head. Remember to stop and praise your horse as they always learn faster and easier with positive reinforcement.
Now that you have rubbed your horse down from head to tail, starting again at the shoulder and keeping your horse on a short lead, hang on to the sweater firmly and begin to gently flap it against your horse just behind the shoulder; do this until he stands still. Once he accepts this, stop and praise your horse. Begin again and start to move down the body. If the horse becomes upset at any point don’t stop but go back to the spot where the horse accepted being sacked out. Now that you have gone back to the tail, start again at shoulder and move your way up the neck, make sure you do this on both sides.
Continue with this exercise every day until your horse doesn’t react to being sacked out. Have someone with you when you move onto this next step.   Get on your horse and have someone stand   at the horse’s shoulder. Have your helper rub the sweater on the horse’s shoulder like you did at the start. When the horse is completely relaxed, have them hand you the sweater. Keep your reins short, and always remember to stop and praise your horse when he does well. While sitting on the saddled horse, rub the sweater on its neck and as before, gradually move back over its hips as it becomes comfortable.
As the horse accepts this, the next step is to hang the sweater on a fence or jumping standard and then pick it up again. Allow the horse to stand beside the fence and relax, start rubbing the sweater on the neck and hips and then quietly move the sweater onto the fence. Praise your horse when he does well. When you go to pick up the sweater, make sure you are close enough to the fence that you don’t have to reach very far. Keep your reins short and make sure that you tell the horse to ‘whoa’. Pick up the sweater and praise the horse. Do this a couple of times and always try to end your session on a good note.
Be aware that you may spend all this time sacking out your horse and he may never completely get “over” being scared and may just let you down in a class.