Taking horses UK/ Ireland ferries....

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travelmad

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Anyone done it?

Is it scary? I'm rather nervous and dont have to decide what I'm doing for a few weeks but options are

a) drive myself in jeep and trailer (b&E license) but very nervous towing in general

b) pay someone (I know a transporter) to drive them in said jeep and trailer and for him to fly back

c) put horses on a lorry transporter in case they dont travel well in ferry on trailer, and drive over the empty trailer and jeep which I would be a little less panicky about, but is that just unnecessary expense?

do horses freak out on the ferry when in a trailer? Horse in question is generally an ok traveler, ex-racer so prefers lorry to trailer, but he loads and travels ok normally, but is the ferry completely different? Would he need to travel with a sedative?

Routes I'm considering are Holyhead - Dublin (this is the most likely route) or Pembroke to Rosslare. Any info appreciated as I'm a bit lost!! thanks
 
Holyhead = Dublin is your best bet - they put horses on the slow one, but it's only 2+ hours. They are very good about travelling horses, generally put you on and off first, but won't let you travel if it's too rough, so worth having a contingency plan in place in case you get stuck in Wales overnight!

I think they generally travel better in a lorry, so would be tempted to send them with a transporter and then pack the trailer with all your horsey paraphernalia and take that over yourself.

When we did it, we had a convoy! OH in his van (with a dog, a rabbit and cat), a mate of mine with a lowloader complete with all the farm stuff, tractor, machinery etc etc, another mate (also a horse transporter) who brought my lorry and four horses plus parrots, followed by me, friend and baby in the car with another 2 dogs. The house removal lorry was ahead of us but arrived a day after us :)

Have everything planned, plus contingencies, and you'll be fine.
 
If you've got a good traveller and a calm crossing it's no more stressful than driving through a long tunnel on the motorway:D

I've done it and my lad was unsettled but I was unlucky that particular day as I was sharing the cargo hold with a biking club who spent forever revving and shouting while parking their harley davidsons. So even though you're not allowed to stay in the hold i did to help him settle and just sat out the crossing with him. Boring. After 10min he settled and ate his haynet while i read a book. but it made me feel better, if i had been upstairs i would have spent the journey fretting.

Normally the staff are very good about letting you go down to check but really it's not allowed to stay in the cargo hold and offically is a very very bad thing to do;)
 
We used a transport company and left it up to them after we loaded them, they also had CCTV. We took the fast ferry to get there before them, as we set off later. Much less stressful than doing it yourself and I personally wouldn't like to use a trailer but then ours wouldn't all fit in a trailer either. lol We had the lorry to ourselves, all tack and stuff went in the lorry too.
Holyhead- Dublin was the route.
 
Have gone both routes regularly, with trailer and lorry. If your horse travels well you won't have a worry in the world, the horses don't mind in the least as long as the crossing is smooth, and they won't let you travel with livestock if it's rough. Much smoother than a road journey after all.You will have to travel as freight, which is on the lowest deck and thus much the most stable ride for the horse. Make sure he's got a big haynet and has had the opportunity to have a drink before you leave him (DO NOT attempt to stay with the horse - naughty previous poster). If you are likely to stress about travelling yourself, send him with a transporter - it's cheaper, but then you'll have to pay to bring the trailer over anyway, eh.
 
Have done both. We had no idea how the first two would travel as they were babies, hadn't travelled in a trailer and didn't know each other. It was also a marathon 17hr trek by the time we had allowed for checking in and loading. We had a Hells Angel chapter next to us revving their engines but neither batted an eyelid and strolled calmly off the other end without a hair out of place or having broken into a sweat. Next time round we paid a transporter and that was only stressful because I booked a dodgy one!
 
Meant to say that it wouldn't necessarily be much more exepnsive to book a tarnsporter & take your trailer over with your stuff in it, because it is a different rate if you are travelling livestock and have to go as freight, as opposed to a car with a trailer on the back that could go in with the caravans etc
 
Thank you so much everyone for the pm's (will respond to you all) and the messages. Really helps to have advise from people who know. Holyhead route it is!

If the horses are unlikely to go crazy then I could just get my brother in law to drive as he is used to towing, though he doesn't know a lot about horses so I could go with him. That way I wouldnt have a pay for transporter, and I need to bring the car back anyway too, and the moving van... It's all complicated!

Now if the horses did get upset/ freak out/ etc what happens if they are in trailer? I know transporters often carry sedatives.
 
I have transported my horse over the years on Holyhead - Dublin route with both Irsh Ferries and Stena Line. I too felt a bit worried and scared the first time because I didnt want Thunder (who was only 2 years at the time) to get a panick attack or feel distressed. I must admitt the journey being only a couple of hours really does help and they are very good with the boarding on and off, they know how to handle live stock and they both have plenty of years of experience behind them as ferry companies. The only thing I can say if you are making a ferry booking with a trailer,make sure you get the length and height right as my last journey got complicated when I entered the details being too small. It was Chritstmas time and the ferry was packed and they had no extra space for a parking allocation with a larger trailer. So I ended up amending for the day later and pay extra amendment fees and trailer size change. Next time got to be more careful!
 
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