Horse transport advice, please

S

Shilasdair

Patting her thylacine
Joined
26 March 2007
Messages
23,686
Location
Daemon from Hades
Visit site
I can't decide whether I ought to buy a 4 x 4 and a trailer, or a lorry so I need your advice.
I have three horses, two around 16hh who will both weigh approx 600kg, one chunkier 16.2hh or more who will weigh around 750kg.
Oh, and my car is in terminal decline...so has to go whatever I do.
Any thoughts?
S :D
 
I would say it really does depend on your budget and how much you have to spend. We had a lorry for a few years - it was the cheaper end - and it cost us 2k a year to keep on the road (plating, service, repairs etc insurance and tax) and there was always something going wrong - usually when we wanted to go somewhere. We sold it and have gone back to a trailer and 4x4. I am lucky enough to have a company car so only use 4x4 for dogs and horses so don't do much mileage. Got a good 2nd hand Trooper which with the trailer servicing costs comes to no more than 1k a year to keep both on the road.:)

I guess what I am trying to say is it is not just the initial outlay it is the ongoing costs which can cripple you with a lorry.:o
 
Martlin - yeah, I've been looking at 4 x 4s and some of them are a bit fuel greedy.
Slinky - can I ask how much you spent on the lorry initially (purchase)? How much do you reckon I would have to spend to get a relatively trouble free lorry?
S :D
 
It was a few years go now but I think it was around 4k - when it was going it was great but every year come plating time the bill was 1k!!:eek:

I don't really know anything about lorries but part of the problem with older lorries is the parts become hard to get hold of - if I was looking now I would be looking to spend between 8 - 10k minimum for one.
 
Also, if you get a lorry you could transport all 3 together, I know it's possible with a trailer too, but only very few 4x4s are capable of towing them and it's tricky to find a 3 horse trailer that is road legal in UK.
 
I miss my Shogun. I actually found the Shogun and Trailer easier than the Horsebox and much more flexible.

Our lorry cost us £4k and we spent £2k getting it up to spec (needed a new fuel tank).

The girls prefer the lorry because it's somewhere to sit and get changed etc at shows.

That helps a lot doesn't it :D
 
martlin said:
Also, if you get a lorry you could transport all 3 together, I know it's possible with a trailer too, but only very few 4x4s are capable of towing them and it's tricky to find a 3 horse trailer that is road legal in UK.
Click to expand...

I think if I tried to transport all three together, the urge to tether at least one of them on a roundabout and drive away may be too strong for me to resist. :p
S :D
 
Shilasdair said:
Stop agreeing and expand!
S :D
Click to expand...

Lol! OK, well I was about to buy some transport before my girl went wrong, so was wondering/looking into very much the same thing as you, as we have 16hh+ horses too.

Considering the initially outlay, there is a limited selection of cars and trailers that could carry 2 large horses. Therefore, that limitation, and assuming you (which I'm sure you will), want both to be very reliable and safe, so relatively newish & high standard, then the outlay of purchasing the two will be pretty similar to purchasing an equally good standard of 6/7.5T lorry - although the trailer and lorry might hold value equally, the 4x4 may not.

In terms of then maintaining them, I think if you have a 4x4, and it's your daily car too, then it can cost you an awful lot in fuel, when you could have an efficient little run around (exactly why my mother and I who both live in town have fiestas) and fuel the lorry as and when you use it for much less in fuel over all. When you consider the tax of a big 4x4, (which is due to rocket even more I believe!) compared to a small lorry and small engined car, you are likely to find the latter cheaper. The same goes for insurance (a rarely used lorry doesn't cost that much in insurance but 4x4s can).

What's more, a lorry is (IMO) much safer for the horses, and I would imagine round my way, much less likely to get stolen than a trailer, but that depends on the individual :)

NB - this might not make complete sense, I am brain dead atm! :p
 
It doesn't make any difference to me which we use because I am terrified of travelling anything and find the whole thing soooo stressful. I am always amazed when we get to our destination with no broken legs! We have both, if you are not wanting to travel all 3 together then I would go for a smaller lorry, there are some quite nifty ones about now. Depending on your budget (and it would have to be big for what I am about to suggest) the equitrek is lovely. We got a transporter to move 3 from the auction for us as out lorry was off the road and I travelled back in it. It was the best journey with horses on board I have ever done. It is low to the ground so they load well, Storm who was 17.2+ fitted in and travelled well but when we next came to load him on our box we found out just how badly he normally travelled when he tried to climb out of the window and kick the side through! I think there are other similar brands that come a bit cheaper. They are nice and compact to drive too.
 
Hmmm
I did think about buying a heftier 4 x 4 and a new trailer...but I don't like any of the 4 x 4's much as a daily car.
Then I thought about buying a smaller 4 x 4 (such as a Freelander) so I can still feed the ungrateful brutes if it snows again this winter, and a two horse lorry such as a Racemaster. But I started worrying about the payload.
Then I thought I may get a car and a larger lorry...but know nothing about mechanical stuff...and have no idea how much it would be for an ok one - would you all agree with the £8 - 10k estimate from Slinks above?
I wish I kept goldfish.
S :D
 
Shils I did a lot of sums when deciding to buy a lorry or 4x4 and trailer.
It actually costs less to buy and run the lorry as my lorry tax is far less than a 4x4, cheaper to run my corsa everyday than a gussling 4x4, a decent 4x4 which is what you would need to be able to pull 2 of yours would cost around the £10k mark when I looked.
Wrote a list of pros and cons and prices and the lorry won hands down. I would say its used between 25 - 35 times a year (only due to physically not being able to get it off the yard in the winter due to ice etc) as we are out most weekends in it. Worth its weight in gold due to having somewhere to store stuff, get changed and ferry tack around.
 
Before I can answer would need to know the following:
What is your annual mileage for non horse transport?
What do you need transport for (# horses, distance travelling, overnight stays, frequency)
 
ihatework said:
Before I can answer would need to know the following:
What is your annual mileage for non horse transport?
What do you need transport for (# horses, distance travelling, overnight stays, frequency)
Click to expand...

I would do about 20k annual mileage in my car.
And I'm not competitive so would only plan on using transport for vet visits, the odd training clinic, and moving them between yards. I'd probably also want to move feed/haylage/shavings in it regularly. I have no intentions of staying overnight in a lorry (my new age travelling days are behind me :p).
S :D
 
Pidgeon said:
Shils I did a lot of sums when deciding to buy a lorry or 4x4 and trailer.
It actually costs less to buy and run the lorry as my lorry tax is far less than a 4x4, cheaper to run my corsa everyday than a gussling 4x4, a decent 4x4 which is what you would need to be able to pull 2 of yours would cost around the £10k mark when I looked.
Wrote a list of pros and cons and prices and the lorry won hands down. I would say its used between 25 - 35 times a year (only due to physically not being able to get it off the yard in the winter due to ice etc) as we are out most weekends in it. Worth its weight in gold due to having somewhere to store stuff, get changed and ferry tack around.
Click to expand...

Thanks Pidge, that's helpful.
I wouldn't use a lorry anywhere near that often though.
Decisions - so hard to make!
S :D
 
Think you may be answering your own question with that last answer.

We're thinking of going for a box but only cos we want to transport 3 or 4 horses at once. We currently have a rig (4X4 and trailer) and are very happy with it. It's big enough to get a 16.3hh shire X TB in it. Last sunday comfortably transported our 17hh TB ad a 15.2hh section D with plenty of room for them. Our 4 X 4 does 35+ to the gallon. A lot less when towing but as you say you wouldn't do all that much. My wife loves the 4 X 4 and uses it every day. She used to have a completely rebuilt MGB GT and a mitsi FTO and won't even look at getting in them anymore. She hates my Audis. What is this miracle setup? that's the catch - it's older and not shiny... We have an L reg 200tdi disco and a 1980 rice beaufort. The 200tdi is the REALLY important bit. Alot of these are harder to get hold of as the landy crowd know about the low fuel consumption compared to the later ones and tend to grab and rebuild them. Somewhere to try if you want to get one is somewhere like Land ranger. Yes ours has power steering and air con so it may be old but you don't have to slum it... If you're going to spend a goodly sum of money you can get a perfect pair of these for a heckuva lot less than a good box.

We've done allsorts to ours to make them spot on and you'd still get change out of 4 grand for both.

Just a thought :)
 
Last edited:
Sleepeeze_dad said:
Think you may be answering your own question with that last answer.

We're thinking of going for a box but only cos we want to transport 3 or 4 horses at once. We currently have a rig (4X4 and trailer) and are very happy with it. It's big enough to get a 16.3hh shire X TB in it. Last sunday comfortably transported our 17hh TB ad a 15.2hh section D with plenty of room for them. Our 4 X 4 does 35+ to the gallon. A lot less when towing but as you say you wouldn't do all that much. My wife loves the 4 X 4 and uses it every day. She used to have a completely rebuilt MGB GT and a mitsi FTO and won't even look at getting in them anymore. She hates my Audis. What is this miracle setup? that's the catch - it's older and not shiny... We have an L reg 200tdi disco and a 1980 rice beaufort. The 200tdi is the REALLY important bit. Alot of these are harder to get hold of as the landy crowd know about the low fuel consumption compared to the later ones and tend to grab and rebuild them. Somewhere to try if you want to get one is somewhere like Land ranger. Yes ours has power steering and air con so it may be old but you don't have to slum it... If you're going to spend a goodly sum of money you can get a perfect pair of these for a heckuva lot less than a good box.

We've done allsorts to ours to make them spot on and you'd still get change out of 4 grand for both.

Just a thought :)
Click to expand...

Thanks Sleepeeze_Dad - I appreciate the time everyone has taken to post their advice to me.
S :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top