A Novel Load Cell-Supported Research Platform to Measure Vertical and Horizontal Motion of a Horse's Centre of Mass During Trailer Transport

•A custom two-horse trailer was built with an instrumented floor.•Vertical vibrations during transport were measured by shear beam load cells.•Custom software recorded changes in load and the centre of pressure per horse.•Absolute vertical displacement was 69.55 m for Horse 1 and 97.56 m for Horse 2.•Vertical mechanical work done was 322 kJ for Horse 1 and 443 kJ for Horse 2.•Horizontal excursion was 227.1 m for Horse 1 and 243.0 m for Horse 2.