Setting up a horse transport business- Advice please!

[DonkeyClub]

Have looked extensively online but I can't find any clear cut ways on how to go about setting this up. I would want to do it with a 10 ton 4/5 horse lorry and do both long and short distances.

what sort of paperwork would I need? What courses do I need to do? What sort of start up costs will I be looking at? How much is insurance going to be? What would I be charging per mile/per trip?

And finally is there profit to be made from this? I do believe that the demand is there in my area.

Any advice/ info would be great thank you

 

[TheMule]

Yikes, you're brave!!
I'd do some research with the companies- I'm sure they'd be happy to chat to you about how everything works as I think it's a bit of an insurance/ regulation minefield
I think it probably works best if you can have a big lorry and a small one as you dont want to be driving the HGV if you only have 1 or 2 to travel and in the early days shared loads may not be easy to build up frequently enough

 

[rlhnlk]

I would say to speak to VOSA and DEFRA about what legal requirements you would need to meet and what paperwork. Start up costs will basically be buying the vehicle, your fuel and insurance and any marketing costs. Most banks will offer free business banking to start with and you can take payment by cash or bank transfer to start with before you look at taking card payments etc. You could probably get some insurance quotes if you call up some of the companies to give you an idea of those costs. For what you charge your customers have a look at other horse transporters, you'll need to factor in your own costs and time then have enough to make a bit of profit, remember its not just your petrol, you'll have your servicing/plating/MOT costs aswell as any repairs etc. You could try speaking to some existing companies but they might not be keen to help competition setting up.

On the reality check/negative side I think you will have to work very hard, and be very good with your marketing before you start to see any profit, also take into account that any fuel duty added on by the government will have a big impact on you.

If you do go for it though then best of luck and I hope it goes well for you.

 

[VRIN]

I think you would also need to have the skills to load and handle horses well.

 

[foraday]

Yes you are brave starting up in this market but on the other hand the tinpot 2 box brigade next year WILL have to have an operators licence!

You will need an operators licence (current costs on VOSA website)

To get your operators licence you will need a decent sized yard away from houses as when you advertise that you are setting up a business (compulsory advert) they will moan and groan and then you will get restrictions

You will also need a contract with a vosa approved HGV mechanics as you will need to send in for safety check every 6 weeks costing around £1000 even if your vehicle has not moved.

You will need to show financial good standing and for 2 vehicles you will need £7,500 clear in the bank

You will also need to employ a transport manager to oversee all your day to day transport needs including hours, fleet working, safety checks etc

It takes about 3 months for the Operators Licence to be granted so you cannot transport before then.

mean while you need to apply to defra at the avhla office for a transporters authorisation

You should go for a type 2 which will allow you to go everywhere in the uk and over 8 hours, once you apply this will last 5 years only.

Your lorry will need to be inspected by one of the DEFRA approved companies who will grant the 5 year authorisation for the lorry

You should also go to one of the racing colleges and do your ACET (Advanced Certificate in Equine Transport)

Do your homework and know WHO your competitors are

your prices will only be dictated by YOUR costs of

Hire and Reward Insurance
Public Liability
Employers liability (unless you refuse to carry ANY passengers)
Care custody and control
The salary of your Transport Manager
The cost of your lorry and the keep of it if having to pay rent for a yard
The costs of getting your lorry up to DEFRA WADT 2006 specs
Your op licence
Your driver costs
How much you get your diesel for
What the average costs of your safety checks will be (you won't know this for a while but it will play a major factor)
Water and disinfection costs (vircon is around £100 for 5kgs)

Hope that helps

Good luck

 

[mutley75]

Faraday. Your pretty spott on other that now it's £8,200 for the first vehicle and £6,200 for every one after that. Must be available at all times!

 

[TarrSteps]

Which explains why there are so few short haul transporters in this country! Yikes

 

[Mike007]

Spot on except where you are miles out!Safety inspections are typicaly every 6 weeks but they certainly dont cost £1000. It is even possible to book voluntary tests with vosa every 6 weeks.The safety inspection is basicly an MOT and that doesnt cost £1000. Maintenance is another matter entirely,and tends to depend on the mileage covered. As for a transport manager, go and do your CPC . Do a course such as the one offered by EP training and not only will you be qualified to be your own transport manager ,you will learn a huge amount about running a haulage business.

 

[asset2004]

Good luck, foraday and mike have raised many valid points. Are you sure there is demand? Friend had a HGV horse transport business but recently downgraded to a 2 stall as there was more demand for that

 

[DonkeyClub]

Thanks everyone!!
Mike007, how much do the safety inspections cost, typically?

 

[mutley75]

Mine is £120 + vat. With a local garage. What you must remember is even though it is only an inspection if they find something majorly unsafe they can not relise the vehicle! Another thing to consider is you will charge by the mile/km. in the uk with road works and road closures you will struggle to cover the amount of miles you can cover abroad!

 

[Mike007]

What you say about a profesional garage not releasing an unsafe vehicle back onto the road is true ,and so it should be. However if you are having regular safety checks ,and servicing,and carrying out your daily checks ,then the likelyhood of this happening is very low.

 

[mutley75]

Mike, it's very low but it happens! Fortunately not to me! My biggest issue is main dealer who seem to think that I have 14 spare trucks when the wrong part gets dispatched despite me sending the old one in for them to look at. The point I am trying to make is it is a struggle to have the vehicle here every 6 th Monday for inspection and if your inspection flags up an issue and you have a vet job on tues morning before you can say boo you are the most unreliable transporter on the face of the earth because you let someone down!

 

[Mike007]

You make a good point .It is essential to contract the inspections and maintenance to a good helpfull garage that realises the problems and is prepared to go the exstra mile to get the vehicle back on the road quick. Road haulage has never been an easy game.

 

[mutley75]

To prove how hard the job is, one day the fiasco that was stobart entering horse transport will come out! To the point their trucks were turned away at Portsmouth to unload horses as not fit for purpose. 6 weeks later and much training and refurbing of trucks down the line, one trip home from Spain and contract lost because drivers parked up as out of hours with horses still loaded! Google is your friend on this one! If you are really desperate to do it, be prepared to say goodby to your weekends and any holidays you ever wanted! The only way to keep every one happy if you are doing distance transport is to load at night, travel all night and deliver in yard time! Living the dream I remind myself every day!!

 

[Mike007]

, be prepared to say goodby to your weekends and any holidays you ever wanted! The only way to keep every one happy if you are doing distance transport is to load at night, travel all night and deliver in yard time! Living the dream I remind myself every day!!

Sound like you specialise in transporting night mares

 

[mutley75]

With foals at foot and mummies watching!!!