Transportation

[Russty]

Okay, so I'm about 9-10 months early, but I (obviously) want to be fully prepared for when I buy my new horse. So, enough with the dash, onto the question. Hypothetically, if you'd been viewing a horse and were fully ready for the go-ahead, would you hire a horsebox, a trailer, or pay for an equine transportation service? I just want to see what my options are, and I'm a little curious if any of the above options would irk anyone?

 

[Shay]

Depends on where the horse is relative to you I think. Some owners like to deliver the horse to the new owner so they can see they yard. Or say goodbye. If the horse is hundreds of miles away or in another country I'd use a service. Otherwise - depends on how confident you are about driving the animal and how far you want to drive. I've collected all ours - and a fair few for friends over the years - bar the first one who was delivered by the previous owner. But we transport the horses most weeks for competition so are no strangers to long drives, towing etc. The only overseas one we have had was imported by someone else so we collected locally.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I wouldn't advise hiring a box/trailer unless you are an experienced driver, towing a horse is very different from driving a car.
You may be able to find someone local who is prepared to hire you a box with driver, which won't cost much for a relatively short distance. If the horse is a long journey away, you would probably be better with a professional transporter who uses a big box to take horse from one end of the country to the other, dropping them off along the way. Or many dealers will provide transport, either as part of the deal or for a small fee. Private owners often want to deliver the horse, so that they know where it has gone to.