horse transportation review

[Texas1]

Hi,
I am relocating from England to Scotland later this year and have been recommended the following horse transporter. Please could you let me know if you have used this service - good/bad reviews. Many thanks
Eric Gillie based in Kelso

 

[The Trooper]

Absolutely fantastic, I wouldn't use anyone else.

 

[tda]

Yes have used a few times, all first class no bother.
Don't forget they are large boxes so good access needed

 

[EventingMum]

Excellent transporters, any time I've used them they have been great.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Have used them since the 80s, my current 3 Fuzzies all came down from Scotland with them, newest one one arrived back a year ago. V happy to recco ?

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Yes have used a few times, all first class no bother.
Don't forget they are large boxes so good access needed

They can arrange the final leg if a small box is needed. For example, they have a lairage 2 miles down the road from me, if the last bit is too tight for the big trucks, they arrange a pro with a 3.5 to do the final drop off.

 

[JenTaz]

I have personally never used them but only heard good things, main reason i never used them was because of the lack of horses stuff they could take with them and the number of drop offs on route, i always wanted my horse to be on a box for the shortest possible time as he was travelling between Aberytstwyth (mid west wales) and edinburgh 2x a year as i was at uni, so I used roland holmes equine transport every time, who would take the majority of my horses stuff and he'd travel in a maximum load of 3 horses. it probably worked out a bit more expensive but i valued the fact that my horse wouldn't be stopping off at multiple places on route, aberystwyth to edinburgh was often done in one day sometimes over 2, depending if he was picked up the night before or not.

 

[bonny]

They are the best in my opinion

 

[gallopingby]

Gillies now have a couple of smaller lorries as well as the big ones. I’ve used them for years, always reliable and will take tack etc. If you’ve a lot of stuff to go it would be worth asking what they had space for.

 

[Britestar]

Another worth considering is Seth Douglas. Smaller lorries and a very positive service.

 

[Illtellyoulater]

Gillies for me every time

 

[MrsMozart]

Gillies!

I've moved my lot up and down and around. When it's been a long one or I wanted them to all go at the same time then I've used Gillies.

They will do a 'only your horses' trip but it will cost more.

Everyone is friendly and professional.

 

[Snoozy]

Another thumbs up for Eric Gillie ?

 

[TPO]

Used EG four times and never again.

The drivers are lovely and so was Eric but the woman (Jane Gillie?) in the office was incredibly rude every time I spoke with her.

I'm so mad at myself for continuing to use them but unfortunately they had availability when others didnt so I kept going back ? Never again.

I last used them in 2014 and up until that point they also didnt travel with any forage; another big negative to me. I dont know if that has now changed.

Roland Holmes would be my choice now.

 

[Xtra]

Definitely Roland Holmes much more individual approach and is reliable and good with the horses. He has transported most of mine at some point including a nervous older TB mare.

I have used EG and they were good but agree you have to fit in with their routes and that the woman in the office is very rude.

Last time i got quotes they were pretty similar but I went with Annette Dean (?) Aberdeenshire as availability suited better. They were also very good

 

[McFluff]

I used EG to bring my horse from Yorkshire to the Lothians just last year. They did a great job, and wouldn't hesitate to use again if I needed to.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

I last used them in 2014 and up until that point they also didnt travel with any forage; another big negative to me. I dont know if that has now changed.

That's odd, this century I've used them twice for pick ups just north of Aberdeen in 2011 and again in 2014, as well as 3 round trips from Thurso in 2018 &19 (all to me in Surrey, would have taken me 13 hrs non stop each way from the last one), each time there was forage for mine. I'd not entertain that length of travel, even the last leg of 6 hrs without it. All have stepped off in v good shape, even the v young foal in 2018

 

[TPO]

That's odd, this century I've used them twice for pick ups just north of Aberdeen in 2011 and again in 2014, as well as 3 round trips from Thurso in 2018 &19 (all to me in Surrey, would have taken me 13 hrs non stop each way from the last one), each time there was forage for mine. I'd not entertain that length of travel, even the last leg of 6 hrs without it. All have stepped off in v good shape, even the v young foal in 2018

I used them twice in 2008, once in 2010 and the last time was 2014. No forage at all, despite me asking for it, and it was clearly stated on their website in 2014 that they would not travel with any due to the risk of respiratory issues but I don't know if that's still the case.

I brought one up from Merseyside, one from the south of the Wales/England border, sent one south (near Surrey) and one up from Wales. They all had overnight stays and were given forage then but none were travelled with any. I don't think that was on the website initially but I can't be 100% although it was definitely there latterly. I've no idea if it's still on the site or if it's something they only answer when asked specifically.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

I suppose everyone can get a different experience, I have ensured I confirmed each time for forage which was given. There was no way the mare (and foal) could have done such a long trip without it as they left me Tues eve and were home Thursday eve.

 

[TPO]

I suppose everyone can get a different experience, I have ensured I confirmed each time for forage which was given. There was no way the mare (and foal) could have done such a long trip without it as they left me Tues eve and were home Thursday eve.

<shrugs> I asked for it and was told they never travel with forage but that horses get adlib hay and haylage when stables overnight. There used to be a statement on the website but no idea if it remains.

Jane even phoned to have a go at me about the condition of a horse they collected without a passport. I explained that was on them; if the seller in wales didnt produce the passport what could I do about it and they legally should not have loaded the horse. She went on about the disgustingly poor condition the horse was in and that he wouldnt have made the journey without the stop for hay. I asked again then for hay while he travelled (the photos I bought him from were of a 2yr old in good condition) and was (rudely of course) refused.

My horses also travelled the same duration as yours with overnight stays. Perhaps yours wasnt a shared load and the smaller boxes are different but I'm pretty sure that there are no tie or haynet rings in any of the compartments.

Despite my horrible experiences with Jane (2 out of 4 times I dealt with her, the other two were different people and they couldnt have been nicer) the drivers have all been outstanding. When delivering the 2yr old the driver could not have been better or more reassuring. The service in that respect couldnt have been faulted.

The easy solution is for any potential customer to phone and ask, they may have changed their policy but that's what they were operating 2007 (I got my date wrong, 2007 was the first time I used them) to June 2014.

 

[Tiddlypom]

On the Eric Gillies website.

WE ALLOW ALL HORSE/PONIES TO HAVE HAY/HAYLAGE WHILST ON BOARD, FOR BIO SECURITY REASONS ALL HAY/HAYLAGE INC NETS MUST BE SUPPLIED BY THE CUSTOMER FOR THE JOURNEY IF THEY WISH ,Please speak to a member of staff in the office re this option.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

TPO, all I can say is blimey! Poor you having bad experiences with them
My mini ponies had hay on the floor, B Fuzzy had nets tied up, they all travelled loose (obs seperate times) in own section in one of the big trucks.
Even back in the 80s when I had ponies shipped down regularly from Cumbria, they had hay.

 

[MrsMozart]

Mine had hay.

They also rearranged what and how they did things so they could travel Grey Mare as I said she had to travel (herringbone, she doesn't do straight).

They called me to say how they were on arrival at the overnight point as I was wittering about Grey Mare, and Little Cob sweats up silly amount when travelling.

 

[gallopingby]

<shrugs> I asked for it and was told they never travel with forage but that horses get adlib hay and haylage when stables overnight. There used to be a statement on the website but no idea if it remains.

Jane even phoned to have a go at me about the condition of a horse they collected without a passport. I explained that was on them; if the seller in wales didnt produce the passport what could I do about it and they legally should not have loaded the horse. She went on about the disgustingly poor condition the horse was in and that he wouldnt have made the journey without the stop for hay. I asked again then for hay while he travelled (the photos I bought him from were of a 2yr old in good condition) and was (rudely of course) refused.

My horses also travelled the same duration as yours with overnight stays. Perhaps yours wasnt a shared load and the smaller boxes are different but I'm pretty sure that there are no tie or haynet rings in any of the compartments.

Despite my horrible experiences with Jane (2 out of 4 times I dealt with her, the other two were different people and they couldnt have been nicer) the drivers have all been outstanding. When delivering the 2yr old the driver could not have been better or more reassuring. The service in that respect couldnt have been faulted.

The easy solution is for any potential customer to phone and ask, they may have changed their policy but that's what they were operating 2007 (I got my date wrong, 2007 was the first time I used them) to June 2014.

 

[gallopingby]

I agree it’s best to phone and ask if you want to know something! However l would suggest that in any business things probably would have changed during a 13 year period and best to be upfront! If l was asking for recommendations l would only be interested in recent activity. Staff change, policies change and no point in dredging up niggles from such a long time ago, personal grudges really don’t help.

 

[TPO]

I agree it’s best to phone and ask if you want to know something! However l would suggest that in any business things probably would have changed during a 13 year period and best to be upfront! If l was asking for recommendations l would only be interested in recent activity. Staff change, policies change and no point in dredging up niggles from such a long time ago, personal grudges really don’t help.

OP didnt put a time restraint on their request for experiences from previous customers

"I am relocating from England to Scotland later this year and have been recommended the following horse transporter. Please could you let me know if you have used this service - good/bad reviews. Many thanks
Eric Gillie based in Kelso"

It's not a "personal grudge", it's my experiences using this company. Those experiences have led me to the conclusion that I wouldn't use them again or recommend them.

It's not "dredging up niggles" it is fully sharing what I experienced with someone who explicitly asked for people to share their experiences if they had used this service; something that your reply did not ?

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

The racehorses always go via Gillies when we book. If they are coming from elsewhere then sometimes we get C&C turn up at the yard.

I had a guy called Rolland something take a pony up to Aberdeen docks for me and he waited with her for the hour before she got on the boat to Shetland. He didn't need to, she was perfectly happy in her crate and the weather was fine but he wanted to make sure she left safely incase he had to take her somewhere for the night if the weather turned. She was the only pony on the truck and he deliberately didn't book in another job for 3 hours after her so he knew she was safe. Now that's service!

Annette Dean is always going up and down with a 2stall but she can be quite unreliable in replying or giving you an actual date for pick up.