horse transport

[Hovis_and_SidsMum]

IF (and its a big IF) the new boy passes his vetting tomorrow (and i could do with lots and lots of HHO good vibes cos i swear i will give up if another fails) I'm going to need to transport him from Chesterfield to Lincoln.

Neither Hubby nor I have driven a horse box/ lorry before but Hubby has got his HGV courtesy of the TA.
Should we go for Hire and Self drive or full horse "taxi"?
Anyone know of any good companies that do either?
Any idea of cost? It was about 100 miles each way (ish)

 

[jumpthemoon]

I'd go for a defra registered transporter. You hear of so many incidents where the trailer/lorry isn't up to standard and the horses get injured, I don't think it's worth it for a one off. East Midlands Equine are very good - nice lorry, good driving (V. important - you don't want to put the horse off travelling). I think it would cost you IRO £150 - £200, but that's just a guess.

 

[bex1984]

I second the above recommendation for East Midlands Equine, and I think it'll cost you about £200 with them. They're really good, they transported my horse from Manchester to Leicester when I bought him - it was worth the money to know he was in safe hands.

 

[*hic*]

FWIW I hired a 3.5 tonne brand new Theault-converted van from Atacanter to transport our new girl from York to Cambridge. It was big enough for her (she's a biggish 16.2) and all her gear (right down to stable mats) and drove like a car. It was surprisingly economical on diesel and I think the job from start to finish cost me in the region of £200.