transporting a fallabella in my car

[YasandCrystal]

Frankly a true falabella is not that small - they should be around 30" or larger unless it's a foal. Minis are smaller. I am blowed if any sane individual would contemplate transporting a 30" pony in a car. You have all heard about the stories of the impact a small child or dog would make in an accident.
It is not so much the pony's welfare I am thinking of here but the driver and any passenger also, that is if you are serious........................

 

[YasandCrystal]

OMG I haven't laughed this hard whilst reading a thread in ages!

Why not just carry her if she is that small. You could always try a baby carrier or stick her in a backpack?

Please post pictures!

lol infact why not keep her in your house?

 

[JFTDWS]

True JTFD re the dog guard, but then you have the issue of fixing it safely. I actually have such a thing, but the fixings are basically big bolt things with hooks on the end that go round the headrests, leaving these big fixings sticking out on the boot side. They are also not all that secure, leaving gaps around the edge (I don't use mine now because my dog kept getting his head through the gap and getting stuck) Of course an equine would most likely panic in that situation... not ideal in a moving vehicle. And they cost a good £70 from Halfords when I last checked - so not that much less than hiring a trailer! You can get made to measure ones, but these cost even more.

Can't you just get it to ride a bigger horse...

I've never had one so I was speculating, really. Interesting that you say that, though - sounds like they aren't very safe for dogs either!

Since you have all the answers (I'm serious, you have the common sense I lack on a Monday ) what is the best way to transport a very small horse? Do you just put hay bales into a normal horse trailer, or can you get converted trailers for minis?

(I have normal sized horses. They would happily carry the op's mini for a few miles if she were near me )

 

[Sambo]

This is not a joke, and I will definately take a picture for you all.

I will put an old rug/sheet on the floor should she do any poo/wee on the way!!

I don't have a tow bar unfortunately, otherwise we would hire a trailer.

 

[jodie3]

I walked my mini to a horse agility training day - 6 mile round trip and about three hours of agility in total. I wouldn't say he was particularly fit but he coped absolutely fine, tried to trot most of they way there and back! On the other hand I was knackered!!!

He is about 33" and I would worry about him in a standard trailer as he would just go straight under breeching/breast bars. He is on loan and his owner had a special partition made for him so he could travel safely in her lorry with the 'real' horses.

 

[Spudlet]

Who me? I don't have all the answers at all I just know a car is right out as far as safety goes!

If it were me, I'd consider a trailer with full length to the floor partitions, possibly putting straw at the front to stop the pony going under the breeching bar - but it would have to be well secured or my worry would be that the straw could fall on the pony and squash it

Best bet I think would be to ring round some decent transporters and get their advice. I would also ring some mini-horse studs and see how they do things.

And no, those dog guards are not at all ideal, I now use a travel crate and it is so much better for me and the dog - he's safe, and I don't have to worry about him garrotting himself

 

[JFTDWS]

Who me? I don't have all the answers at all I just know a car is right out as far as safety goes!

LOL, but a lot of people were saying that without backing it up in any way - you were the one with the specifics! (I didn't think it was a particularly sensible idea, but couldn't see where it necessarily became illegal or dangerous...) If I had a mini I would ring transporters, but I shan't bother them now as I don't have one and don't plan on getting one. I'm just curious. I may have a little google stalk though...

Crates are a better solution - it's always nice to arrive at your destination and find your dog has avoided garrotting himself

 

[YasandCrystal]

why not offer to pay a farmer with a sheep trailer or small cattle trailer to move her? I doubt a local farmer would charge you £100 and at least those are safe trailers for small livestock and legal!

 

[Gluttonforpunishment]

OK, putting aside the utter insanity of travelling a pony in the boot of a car for just one minute.....

have you checked with your vehicle insurer that you won't invalid the policy by this act of lunacy?

 

[DragonSlayer]

I've seen farmers chucking sheep into the back of pick-ups like mine (L200) and no-one ever seems to say anything.

Where do you draw the line....are people getting upset because it's a pony?

What about the poor sheep?

 

[jendie]

Not sure if there is a law against it but I wouldn't risk it. Just imagine what would happen if you had to do an emergency stop, she could come flying through the car and break your neck as well as hers. And can you imagine the effect seeing her would have on other drivers. I'm pretty sure the police would stop you if they spotted you, I remember a man was prosecuted for driving his car with a loose parrot in the back so a loose pony must be thrice as bad!!

 

[Spudlet]

I can't imagine it's legal for sheep either, but the question was about a pony.

 

[YasandCrystal]

People transport horses in the back of pickups in the states, but then their speed limits and licensing laws are very different to ours.
An animal loose inside anyone's actual car is very dangerous indeed, whether it be dog, horse or child or sheep - and more so the heavier it is. Dogs are not a flight animal like horses so they are not going to get 'spooked;' and cause mayhem like a pony could.

 

[DragonSlayer]

I can't imagine it's legal for sheep either, but the question was about a pony.

Might well have been, but I still worry about the sheep.

 

[hayinamanger]

I once sat on the back seat of my L200 with a friend's Shetland ewe and OH half drove about 5 miles, we got some astonished looks from the car behind but she was better behaved than my terriers

 

[martlin]

I've seen farmers chucking sheep into the back of pick-ups like mine (L200) and no-one ever seems to say anything.

Where do you draw the line....are people getting upset because it's a pony?

What about the poor sheep?

That is technically legal as long as the pick up has a canopy and a non-slip floor in the boot part, as the tailgate is considered a loading ramp.
Would I do it? It depends on the size of the pony, I would certainly transport sheep like that, so see no reason why a suitably sized pony would be any different.

 

[skydancer]

is this a joke - not a very funny one

 

[YasandCrystal]

 

[skydancer]

http://s1091.photobucket.com/albums/i386/Yasmin_Ticquet/pony in car/

oh my god - ive seen it all now

 

[flyingfeet]

I can't imagine it's legal for sheep either, but the question was about a pony.

Hmm so do you think Adam Henson transporting sheep he has to lift in and out of a truckman is legal?

No ramps, but the difference is that they couldn't hurt the driver / passengers

I actually would think a Fallabella in a boot with a dog guard, would be no more dangerous then a St Bernard in the back.

 

[leflynn]

I've seen this done, like mini went all of a mile up and down a hill in the boot of a people carrier. He was a rescue and too weak to walk in the vile weather when the horsebox broke down. He got picked up and plonked in and will now travel in anything happily!

*I am not giving any opinion before someone flames me just passing on an observation*

 

[Spudlet]

Who on earth is Adam Henson?

I don't know about sheep, I said I didn't think it would be legal, it might be, it might not be, but frankly I don't care. The question was, is it legal to stick a pony in a carboot, and my answer is that in my opinion it is not. Sheep were not involved

 

[flyingfeet]

Who on earth is Adam Henson?

OMG where have you been? Its Adam's farm on Countryfile on Sunday evenings

He is often seen putting various livestock in the back of his L200 and travelling over the countryside (he was picking up goats from Devon in one episode and travelling them in said pickup back to Gloucestershire!)

Whether its sensible is a question, but I cannot see how a small pony differs from a similar sized dog and believe either should be travelled in a secure manner, but could be in a car.

 

[frozzy]

Friend of a friend had to transport a week old foal to Leahurst when it had impacted colic. He sedated it, laid it on the back seat covered with a rug and said GO!!! It came back after colic surgery (successful) the conventional way.
We sold a car about thirty years ago to a nutter that was caught coming back from Penrith market with two calves in the back! He was up in court and the car seized and scrapped, so yes it is illegal.
Personally I think this post is just a wind up as no sane person would attempt to put a pony in the back of a modern car.
And if the OP tries it I sincerely hope she is caught and prosecuted.

 

[Carefreegirl]

I'd be more worried about driving a lada in the daylight than having a pony in the back

I know of 2 ponies that came home in the back of 4 x 4's many years ago but I'm pretty sure the owners would still do the same today.

OP - where do you keep your pony that it only costs you £10 a month coz I'm moving in ? How about letting us know where you are as maybe someone on here will take pity on you both and give you a lift in 'proper' transport.

Have you considered piggy-back ? You giving the ponio the piggy-back that is !

 

[Ibblebibble]

altho it sounds absurd and possibly is illegal i can't actually see that it is any different safety wise to when i carry my bullmastiff in the back of my car !! at 8 months old he was over 7 stone so gawd only knows what he weighs now at a year old! he can't jump in and out the boot (frontera) so i have to lift him
And how about all the farmers who have their collies in the back of an open back pickup?!

 

[flyingfeet]

Sheep, L200 and Henson for Spudlet:

 

[natalia]

We have several times travelled a mini in the back of a disco. No harm done. I thought it was if anything safer than a conventional horse box as he had less room to fly round and the back seats made a very sturdy partition for him. Straw on the back of the boot and off we went, I wouldn't discount it.

 

[JFTDWS]

Whether its sensible is a question, but I cannot see how a small pony differs from a similar sized dog and believe either should be travelled in a secure manner, but could be in a car.

This is / was my inclination, but Spudlet's point about non-slip flooring is (I think) significant in terms of "normal" cars (rather than things like land rovers), as well as the issues with dog guards (getting hooves stuck etc). Also, there isn't anything secure to tie the pony to in the back of a car, which may or may not be of legal significance, but is certainly a factor in the "is it sensible" debate...

 

[Tinkerbee]

Right the whole transport issue aside, how fat must the poor bugger be if it wouldn't make it to the end of the lane?!