How to go about bringing a new horse home??

mandwhy

mandwhy

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Hello all!

I am going to see a horse that is three hours away this week, I did a post before about the logistics of it, will probably visit twice making the viewings as extensive as possible and get a 5 stage vetting. I was thinking I would get some professional company to transport him down here but the owners are not sure how he will be travelling as they have never taken him anywhere in a box or anything. So now I am wondering about things like:

Would a big horsebox be better or a trailer?

Do professional companies usually pick up a bunch of horses at multi-stops?

Will time be a big issue if he won't load and holds things up?

Alternatively I could probably convince my dad to drive a hired vehicle of some kind (he has the license to drive quite big vehicles as passed before a certain date but not sure what the actual weight limit or type of vehicle is? He has driven removal van type vehicles which look to be the same dimensions) however neither of us really knows anything about actually driving a horse somewhere, what would we do/how would we know if he acted up during transit?

Do you have breaks during the journey i.e. stop at a service station and check on him? Would sedation be an option if we speak to the vet or would it make him unsteady on his feet?

The horse is a good price so I am not too bothered about how much it costs to do it :-)
 
As you are fairly new to transporting horses I would recommend a professional company. I've been driving a 6.5 ton lorry for 20 odd years now, but I said when I was looking that I would get a transporter if I found a horse more than a couple of hours away. It may be slightly different with a horse you know, but it's a big responsibility for your Dad if he isn't used to driving horses around.

Professional transporters will be used to dealing with all sorts including horses that have never travelled before, and will probably have more than one horse on board which may make him feel a bit happier.

Good luck. Hope the horse is what you are looking for. :) xx
 
just book a professional firm to transport. There will be no problems and as long as the old owners are there to help load him in, there will be no hitch. Pro transport is air condinioned and cctv. Usually they try and coordinate one or two other drops at once to save cost.

If you are concerned about this and the time then you can state to just transport yours only. Be prepared for hefty price though for sole travel. The transporter will be fully insured and unlikely to do a stop if just 3 hr journey....legal break for driver is 4 hrs so will just crack on I expect.

Hassle free for you, all you need to do is be there to meet transport when it arrives.:)
 
I would definitely opt for a transporter myself, I had mine from Scotland - S Wales and it removed all the worry and bother from the trip.
I know I'd have made things worse! New horse = nerves!!!
 
Depends where its coming from :D I have a big love for hiring a transporter and letting them do all the hard work and collecting it from the bottom of the ramp. Last horse was in a load of 16.
The professional drivers are usually excellent at getting horses to load without to much fuss, but I do tend to avoid horses that are bad loaders in general.

If its not too far and in this country, we could collect. In which case we would stop periodically to check on the horse, and have a camera in the trailer anyway.

Preference would be to use a transporter though if its 3 hours away.
 
I'd go for a pro with a box. He'll have company, experts on hand & the bigger boxes are more inviting. I'd bet a lot of money that there are few horses that the gillies couldn't load, Infact I've never heard of it happening. Definitely a pro to do it if he's never travelled before & its a long way.
The ones I've used, gillies, boothroyden & blue rose ( if they're still around) will pick up either single or groups. And do stop offs on the way. I sold a project that they picked up & dropped an hour away as it was on the same route as a longer journey, so 3hrs they should be able to squeeze you in.
 
A vote for Boothroyden here, they have always transported for me and I've always had horses travel very happilly both on THAT journey and subsequent journeys - which suggests a good experience :)
 
Brilliant thanks everyone! Yes professional definitely sounds better, I was just thinking if they couldn't get him to load then what would we do, but you're right they are pros and I'm sure one of those huge lorries with other horses in would be much better for him.

I didn't realise they had CCTV but it makes a lot of sense!

Another thing, the sellers have been (I think) pretty honest about him, they said that when they bought him he may have been doped as he seemed much more 'old' (he is 9 now, they have only had him a year) and when they got him back he was quite frightened and acting like a just backed youngster (maybe just new home nerves), then when they put him in a stable he had to be treated for a haematoma on his leg as he kicked something. Just wondering if any of this alarms any of you?! I think he is just more highly strung than they thought for happy hacker/pony club (he is a 16.1 welsh D!).

For me I think well at least they are being honest about things and a haematoma is not something that would affect him in future? Maybe I can arrange with the livery owner to have him put out in a field first if he is wound up. I am probably going to go with an american barn livery so maybe he will get less stressed if he has other horses in sight?

Apparently he is good to handle and good out hacking on roads etc although can get nervous elsewhere and needs reassurance and pushing on, this sounds like most horses I have dealt with really so hope he's going to be a goodun! Have seen videos and spoken to the owners a lot.
 
There are certainly a few things that ring some alarm bells for me, but without knowing exactly how much experience you have and what you want to do it's difficult to say. One thing I would say is that there are loads of horses in the country for sale, and I wouldn't buy one that already had a problem. Are you used to dealing with Welshies because they can be very opinionated.
 
I would take a couple of steps back, you have not even seen the horse yet you are planning its arrival, it may not be the one for you, I know it is exciting to be looking but take a deep breath and take your time to find the right one.

When you go and see the horse try it in every situation you can, make sure you feel really happy on him, there are plenty of others out there, although when you are looking not as many as it first appears, if something does not feel right walk away and keep looking the right one will be somewhere.
 
Nervous Welsh? Not unexpected but not easy to deal with but at 14.2ish not too disastrous. Nervous 16.1 Welsh:eek:
 
Thanks guys :-)

I am trying to stay objective but you know how it is! Just this is the first one that has really stood out to me for a while, mainly because I love section Ds and all their character but I will try and keep my sensible head on (i am quite sensible when it comes to committing!) and see if this one is the right one.

To be honest I would much rather not have the faff with the transport but have not seen many locally that interest me so will probably have to go down that route for any horse I buy!

Definitely going to view some others and won't be buying any after one viewing, so fingers crossed either way!

You know sometimes you just get something in your head and you have to investigate either way?!
 
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