Do You Ever Ship Your Horses?

[nnadams]

I have a couple of horses I might need to transport over 1000 miles. I know people ship horses by truck or even plane, but this makes me very nervous. Can you please share your shipping experience and advice with me? How expensive is it to ship a horse and is it safe? Thanks in advance for any information!

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

Usually by truck, unless you are going 3000+ miles or over an ocean. Air shipping is very expensive, and can be very dangerous to the horse (if they don't ship well, they can be euthanized to protect the plane). This is of course a much lower risk with a mini. Truck is pretty normal. 1000 mile trips usually take two days. Some people/companies unload half way and let them rest, others drive straight through. Some go door to door, some work out of hubs. Some allow you to rent the whole trailer to get direct service, most do a circuit loading up, then drive to the destinations. Some companies offer box stalls (my preference) and some do slants/reverse slants. Large rigs (semis) allow box stalls or straight loads, as do some larger goosenecks. Moral of the story is there is a different company for pretty much anything you want. Shipping a single horse can be $0.50-$2/mi, multiple horses varies greatly. I've used All State Express several times. Sometimes I really liked them, others, they weren't as good. But I'd recommend them. I've never worked with any of the companies that specifically ship minis so can't help you there.

Shipping is such a normal part of a horse's life these days that its almost routine. There is almost nothing to worry about with a quality shipper

I've done several 1000 mile drives myself, they are a lot of fun. I put 5000 miles on a truck in a single month last year hauling all over the country.

 

[ruffian]

I've shipped and received horses from several parts of the country, Texas, Tennessee, NJ, Kentucky, and had no problem with receiving them in excellent condition. Just make sure you use a reputable shipper, preferably one that ships miniatures and ponies exclusively. Check out the LB shipper board or ask here for references.

I've also had horses go overseas, and they obviously ship by air after shipping to Texas (from Michigan) by truck and they have arrived safe and sound.

 

[nnadams]

Usually by truck, unless you are going 3000+ miles or over an ocean. Air shipping is very expensive, and can be very dangerous to the horse (if they don't ship well, they can be euthanized to protect the plane). This is of course a much lower risk with a mini. Truck is pretty normal. 1000 mile trips usually take two days. Some people/companies unload half way and let them rest, others drive straight through. Some go door to door, some work out of hubs. Some allow you to rent the whole trailer to get direct service, most do a circuit loading up, then drive to the destinations. Some companies offer box stalls (my preference) and some do slants/reverse slants. Large rigs (semis) allow box stalls or straight loads, as do some larger goosenecks. Moral of the story is there is a different company for pretty much anything you want. Shipping a single horse can be $0.50-$2/mi, multiple horses varies greatly. I've used All State Express several times. Sometimes I really liked them, others, they weren't as good. But I'd recommend them. I've never worked with any of the companies that specifically ship minis so can't help you there.

Shipping is such a normal part of a horse's life these days that its almost routine. There is almost nothing to worry about with a quality shipper

I've done several 1000 mile drives myself, they are a lot of fun. I put 5000 miles on a truck in a single month last year hauling all over the country.

Is it more cost effective to do it yourself if you have the time to do it? I would not object to taking them myself, but I thought it might cost me alot more to do it than a hauler. I assume if you can find a hauler already making a trip in the general direction, they might be willing to take some more horses for pretty reasonable, you would just have to be flexible on time.

 

[disneyhorse]

Unless you are hauling several horses or are brave enough to offer to ship other people's horses along the way to help cover your gas costs, it is definitely cheapest to have a commercial hauler ship your horses.

I have shipped LOTS and LOTS of horses with commercial haulers and have usually been extremely happy.

You can do a Forum search for haulers that are recommended.

Andrea

 

[targetsmom]

I just had a mare and foal shipped here (three weeks ago) from about 1,000 miles away and was very pleased with the service. The hauler (Hauled Wright aka Hauled Right) put them in a small box stall up front, away from everyone else. I have had other horses shipped here (one got detoured in an ice storm) and again was pleased with the service. Like anything, it pays to do your homework, ask the right questions and don't just go for the lowest price. If you can be flexible on the timing you are way ahead of the game because they likely have certain routes they do once a month or so. I had to wait a bit for the mare and foal because the foal was too young to travel when they came this way the previous month.

 

[Sue_C.]

I sold a gelding that went straight across Canada, from Nova Scotia, to Vancouver Island. That is almost as far as you can get. I found a shipper that took him as far as Alberta, and the buyer arranged it from there. Tt took them four days to get to Alberta, then he had a few days rest, and after a total of (I think) nine days, she had him home. He was alwsys very-very good in a trailer, not silly or stressed at all, so that certainly helped a lot. I had another one take a three day trip to the French Islands off Newfoundland, with a short quarentine, and a ferry ride, before getting to his new home...and there was no problem with him either, and he had never even been in a trailer before.

It is best to get as many references as possible, and really cover all bases before sending your horse away with strangers.

 

[nnadams]

Thank you everyone for all the good input and advice!

The trip would be from NW Florida to New York so if anyone has any good recommendations of a shipper who works the east coast, please let me know.

 

[sfmini]

Just my 2 cents worth here but the year AMHA Worlds was in Reno we had Commodity in training with Mike McCabe. The two of them flew while we drove the trailer out, then Judy's hubby flew home on the return ticket (obviously in the bad old days before all of that security). Poor Commod laid down and slept for two days, just wrung out. Good thing we got him there early to recover as he did go on to win the Country Gelding class with Mike.

We hauled him home and he relaxed, had room to lay down and rest and came out of the trailer bouncy and happy. I won't fly a mini again unless it is overseas. Commodity is very level headed and had loads of show and travel experience and I was surprised at how stressed he was.

 

[Mominis]

I had Shake shipped to me via commercial transport and the whole deal was a NIGHTMARE!!! Once the hauler did finally get him, he had a good ride and arrived in good shape. Make triple sure that you check references (which I did do, but it wasn't enough), get a solid date on the haul, and DO NOT give a deposit until you have a pickup date that is set in stone. A day or two either way is acceptable, but I ended up with my hands tied and almost a month delay in the pickup of my horse. I will never have a horse commercially shipped again if I can at all avoid it.

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

I've been bumped around a lot when hauling commercially. It is very common, since the shipper tries very hard to fill the entire trailer to minimize costs. You will find a PLETHORA of shippers working the east coast. Shipping from Florida to New England is extremely common, especially in the fall and spring.