Hippotherapy

Transporting horse 2,500 miles. How do I haul her? Should I hire a pro??

I am moving 2,500 miles and want to take my horse with me. How do I haul a horse long distance? Should I stop alot, or get there quickly? any tips, or advice?? Should I hire a professional and if so, why?

Public Comments

1. absolutely, Hire a professional someone who uses air ride suspension semi-trailers. I like nationwide horse transportation they have a really nice website and facilities. shop around and do your research before hiring someone but you dont want to do that trip in a small trailer, too many things to go wrong.
2. I would recommend hiring a pro. The reason I recommend this is that you can get a pro with an air-ride trailer specifically for long distances. This kind of looks like a really nice motor home or really nice semi truck. Your horse's ride will be MUCH less bumpy, noisy and traumatizing and much more like hanging out in his stall like normal. Also, have someone with experience come over and teach you how to properly wrap your horses legs for travel (the pro trailer driver may or may not know how to do this). BEWARE - improperly wrapping your horses legs will do MUCH more harm than good - be sure you learn how to do it from someone who knows how to do it properly. Good luck to you
3. As long as you have a horse trailer, you should be good to go. Make sure it has food, and stop every so once and a while to let it out to go "potty"... funny word.. anyways, and keep water so it doesnt get dehydrated... that's all I can tell you.
4. That far...and moving your stuff too... I'd go with the professional. They'll take good care of your horses and you don't have to worry about finding a place to stop for the night, that she can get out. Or breaking down with a horse and trailer on the road somewhere. Or needing a vet call in a strange area. I'd definitely go with the pro...just an opinion though...
5. if you can haul her yourself, and do it well, do that, it will save you major $$. plus you know your horse and can tell if something is wrong... get there as fast as you can, but everytime you get gas or watever, offer water!! you will need a bucket and bring enough water along with you... that way it tastes like water from home... and make sure she has enough hay. be mindful of the weather.. it will change!! you want to keep her as cofortable as possible.. shipping boots too... you can wrap (more support) but then you have the chance of doing them wrong, and with that much stress on the legs, i wouldn't take the chance. plus they get really hot... bring her dinner... if you get her off, she may not want to get back on, no matter how well she is at loading... idk if you would make that all in one day, so maybe if you could plan a stop somewhere and find a barn you could put her up for a night, that also might be good. make sure you bring medical stuff, just in case!! good luck!!
6. Oh yeah, for anything over 800 miles or so, unless you have an air ride van you want a pro. For that far, it actually might be cheaper to fly it out cargo. I have a friend who has a job that involves escorting valuable property in cargo planes and she says very often there are horses in cargo. You could probably get it done for under a grand via air.
7. I am getting ready to do the same thing CA to GA. I like the idea of the air suspention on the big movers but the cost for two horses is just way too high for me. If I go with a regular transport they are going in a regular trailer and all I am doing is saving myself the trouble of doing it and it still isn't all that cheap. More than likely I am going to be hauling them myself. Make regular stops - every couple of hours (probably overkill). Always stop overnight at a layover stable - there are a ton of them listed online. I am even looking into getting air suspention put on my trailer - it isn't that hard to do. Make sure you have all your papers - health cert and cogins. Check the laws of every state you are going to be driving through - some states require horse trailers to stop that the scales for inspection. Good luck.
8. You don't say where you are from, but if you are near a racetrack you should call a van that is working out of there and they might be going in your direction anyway and you may get a good deal .
9. I'm on the other spectrum than the others lol... as usual I am not trusting of these professional haulers, I have heard some horror stories and at the distance you are needing, those are the ones that horror stories are made of. The horrors include weeks of transport with the horse arriving in poor condition. There are reputable ones, but they can still take weeks to arrive to your place and, girl, I'm just not ok with that myself. So I would haul my own animal that distance if I physically could. If I needed a hauler, as a last resort I would do it. You do what you have to, but one I have heard bad things of is Ziegler transport, so just give you a heads up on that one. Good luck and hope everything goes smoothly in your move.
10. I would haul myself!!!!! You can stop at horse campgrounds or over night stays. Here is a link that has them for all states. Then you can plan your trip to where you should stop for your horse. I agree with Mule! I would do it myself!!! I go from WY to CA to NV & back again, a few times a year. But if you don't think you could safely then I would hire someone. Good Luck!!!! http://www.horseandmuletrails.com/
11. I would hire a company like Creech Horse Transportation. They have large air ride trailers. Their drivers are experienced at hauling and handling horses. They make frequent stops to check them, feed and water them. I have heard good things about them. A horse would be much more comfortable in one of their trailers than a standard horse trailer and would handle the trip better. Here is the link: http://www.creechhorsetransportation.com/
12. *If you can afford it...Yes *I am not sure about your state laws.But here the horse has to be unloaded and walked regularly about every four hours.And off loaded and rested every 12,so if you have similiar through the areas you have to travel it will fairly time consuming. *As for going quickly you have to drive as though you have a glass of wine on the dash board... *After a trip like the one you talking about I would really watch for travel fever,it is due to the horses having their heads tied up and not being able to clear their sinuses
13. Hire a professional. We moved from california to oregon and then back again (it didnt work out) and we used a professional. He was really great. He had a huge trailer. Basically, all the horses have their own little stall with water and food to keep them busy. He did stop during the night, but he checked on her every so often. If you want to e-mail me, i can give you his name and number. He does transportation in the U.S. only.
14. i would look into getting a professional do it if you can afford it. The safety of the horse would be better as they have experience over long distances. Good luck on what you decide.
15. If you have hauled a lot then fine do it yourself. If you have never pulled a trailer much then hire a pro if you can afford it. Hauling trailers means that it takes longer to stop, longer to get through intersections, wider turns, harder to back and park, easier roll over, etc. I have hauled a lot of trailers (worked for a lawn service for years and pulled trailers way to big for the vehicle) and it is one thing to do this for a short distance. But to keep up the concentration for long distances is very hard. It will take several days to get there the way it is. One slip up and you or someone else and even the horse could wind up dead. I recommend learning such things on short trips not long ones. It is relatively easy to be careful when you are not overly tired from long drives. Now if you have pulled a lot then yes rest every few hours but do not take the horses out at rest stops etc. You do not want a loose horse in those areas. It sounds horrible but I am not sure if I would get the horses out along the trip. If they get tired of being in the trailer (I assume they have not been trailered this long before) you may not be able to get them back in. They may balk. It just depends on your horse. Of course if you stop in places that deal with horses like horse campgrounds suggested before there will probably be someone there to help if you can't get one back in. Heads up. Little or no grain right before or during transport. You want hay (preferably grass) This decreases the chance of colic in a nervous horse.
16. I have been involved with shipping for lots of horses over great distances. For the horse's health and safety, you need to go with a professional for a trip this long. 2500 miles is a very, very long distance. Phil with Pride of the Fleet is super good. You can find him on the internet (he has a website). He is especially skilled at transporting blind horses and special needs horses but most of the horses he transports are healthy. I have never heard anything but praise for him and the professional and caring way he treats the horses. Good luck to you and your horse!! : )
17. If you should decide to haul them your self, you can go on line and find suitable places to stop. There are hotel/motel's with stables or corrals available all across the country and in Canada too. If you find that there is no places to stay with a horse in some areas, locate the cattle sale barns and see if you can make arrangements with them to keep your horse there. (A corral is always safer than being tied to the trailer).That way you can plan your trip ahead of time and have all the necessary facility's located in advance. Be sure you horses are vaccinated for every possible disease. Also, find out what kind of hay is available in the areas you will be stopping and needing more so you don't have to change your horses hay type abruptly and end up with a horse with colic. Hope this was helpful.
18. I say, if you know what your doing, as far as pulling a horse trailer, and first aid for your horse just in case. Do it yourself. no one knows your horse like you do, and no one will care like you do about your animal. If you are used to hauling horses locally, then just think ahead. How often does your horse need to rest? Is your horse used to being in a trailer? And what condition is your horse in? An older or out of shape horse should be rested more often, even if you cant unload. You can park the truck, offer water, then go get a meal or something just so that your horse gets a rest from the rumble of the road. Hurrying is not good advise, when you hurry you are more likely to be in an accident. Take your time, be safe, and do what you think is best for your horse. When I run long trips with horses, I start them on electrolites in their water a week or so before leaving. Some electrolites will flavor their water, thats what you want. Then while on the road, you can make any water taste like their own. I had a mare that would not drink away from home, that is how I learned that trick. Try to find somewhere to safely walk your horse for a little while along the way if you can. But its generally not necessary to unload every couple hours. Wrapping their legs is a matter of personal preferance, do you think your horse needs the extra support on the trip? If you intend to wrap, like some else said, learn to do it right. If you dont know how, dont do it. Make sure you get whatever vet certificates you need for travel. Agricultural stations usually make you go through with livestock, but I have never seen a scale that wants pick ups and trailers coming through ( I am a truck driver ). But, I have not been everywhere! LOL With the trips I made, all I needed was a coggins test on each horse, but they never asked for the papers. But, had I not had the papers, they would have wanted it! LOL I had a hauler take my horse from southern california, to northern california one time. Bad experience, never again. I do all my own hauling no matter how far it is now. I hauled my 2 horses to Louisianna from California and back. Then my husband and I hauled 3 horses from california to eastern New Mexico for a friend. I have also done many trips with horses from southern to northern california and back over the years. Many county's have fairgrounds, most have corrals or barns there that they will let you keep a horse in overnight if you just contact the fair manager. I know our fairgrounds does that. Then you can go to a nearby hotel, or camp out at the fairgrounds, most have camping areas too. and that would be cheap! Good luck whatever you decide.
19. You can hire a professional, because otherwise it will be an extremely long ride for you. You have to find a place to stop every three to four hours and let the horse stretch, you should also supply him with some hay for the ride.
20. goodness...you people or your parents must be made of money. I drive a 1988 F150 pick-up and my horse trailer is older than Moses, but in good condition,...and I am going to be hauling my horses almost 1500 miles. We plan on making 500 miles a day. Our horses will be making the trip just fine without the air-ride van...lol.
21. I guess I've been doing it wrong for years but here is what we do. we leave Fl. every spring and go to Shepherd Mt. for the branding and we haul our horses in a cimmiron 4 horse trailer we put shavings about 8" deep to cushion the ride we also stop every 4 hours for about 30 min and walk our steeds around then we stop every night and turn our horses out we sometimes stay at friends places and sometimes at the local sale barn of the town we stop in. I bet this will start some good discussion but we have done the many, many times and I've taken the same 3 hd for the last 9 yrs and never had one stock up our get hurt or even be sore when we got there