Just though of another question: horse shippers. Are they still transporting, or is that shut down, too?
As of their instagram post a couple of days ago, Johnson Horse Transportation is still shipping
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-N9Pp2pX6t/
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johnsonhorsetransportation
Yes we are shipping horses !! We are also taking every precautionary safety measure we possibly can to ensure the safety and health of our drivers, clients, horses, and everyone in between!! Gloves and face masks are available as needed or wanted! We have provided disinfectant spray and wipes along with hand sanitizer to each team of drivers and or trucks ! Here at Johnson health and safety are our number one priority we are doing our best to flatten the curve and still provide reliable horse transportation to those who need it !! #horsehauler @nationalhorsecarriersassoc #nationalhorsecarriersassociation
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Thanks Mango20. Interesting. I expected everyone to say that shippers were all shut down since they are not essential businesses.
According to Brookledge, they are an essential business. Who knew that horse businesses were essential? :yes:
Yes, we are still moving horses. We are an essential business and do not take the Covid-19 pandemic lightly. We’ve been supplying our drivers with sanitizing items to keep themselves, their driving partners, and those they come in contact with safe. Our drivers are the absolute foundation of our business. They ARE the supply chain—so when we come out on the other side of this together, let’s all thank the wonderful truck drivers of our nation for keeping our shelves stocked (and animals moved) during this crisis.
#BrookLedge #proud #staysafe #biosecurity #familybusiness #truckersmaketheworldgoround
https://www.facebook.com/BrookLedgeHorseTransportation/
If the big guys are still running, I hope there is still some business left over to keep the little guys afloat.
Thanks Mango20. Interesting. I expected to hear back that shippers were shut down because I would not think that they are essential businessness.
According to Brook Ledge, they are essential business. Who would have thought that horse businesses are essential? Seriously though, what exactly qualifies horse shippers as being essental businesses? There is minimal human contact in their business, but I do not see how that makes them essential.
Yes, we are still moving horses. We are an essential business and do not take the Covid-19 pandemic lightly. We’ve been supplying our drivers with sanitizing items to keep themselves, their driving partners, and those they come in contact with safe. Our drivers are the absolute foundation of our business. They ARE the supply chain—so when we come out on the other side of this together, let’s all thank the wonderful truck drivers of our nation for keeping our shelves stocked (and animals moved) during this crisis.
#BrookLedge #proud #staysafe #biosecurity #familybusiness #truckersmaketheworldgoround
https://www.facebook dot com/BrookLedgeHorseTransportation/
If the big guys are running, I hope there is enough business left over to keep all the little guys afloat.
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From personal perspective LOTS of horses are coming out of Florida since the winter show season was cut short by the virus. And my friend’s training barn is caravanning out of there today. Last week Aprile Horse Transportation brought my new dog home from FL since the airline I booked kept cancelling. There is no restriction on moving livestock at this time.
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If the drivers get sick, they obviously cannot haul horses. Keep the drivers safe. Wear a mask and gloves and keep unnecessary people away. The drivers have to come in contact with a lot of people every day. Keep their exposure to a minimum.
Horses are livestock. Livestock is an essential business. How else would cattle/sheep/pig/chicken haulers get them to the slaughter houses to keep the grocery stores stocked with meat?
Just cuz they’re ‘riding in style’ in a fancy horse transport doesn’t make them not livestock.
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Racing industry is moving some horses around as tracks close and, of course, it’s the height of breeding season with live cover only. So, yes, some horses have to travel to places that are still accepting them. But good luck trying to book a single off the beaten track.
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Horses are luxury items. They are recreational or sport livestock, not meat livestock. Horses should not be lumped into the same category as meat livestock. It is not acceptable to eat horse meat in this country. I am not talking about slaughter plant hauling of horses. I am talking about luxury van line and boutique horse haulers hauling horses to their destination for someone’s pleasure, expensive hobby, or foundation for a form of gambling (horse racing).
And just cuz they’re ‘riding in style’ in a fancy horse transport does not make them an essential part of food chain livestock and does not negate them from being non-essential luxury items.
What do you mean?
A single horse to be picked up off the normal route for horse shippers.
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Livestock is livestock. You need to edit your post to say that eating horse meat is unacceptable to you, not everyone in the US. I am sure there are ethnic groups in the US that would happily purchase and consume horse meat if given the option.
If truckers can haul livestock then horses are/ should be included. We can’t ruin everyone’s livelihood out of panic.
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They are legally considered as livestock in most states.
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Indeed, you do not want horses to be legally turned into “pets”. Livestock is a much safer place for them to be, legally speaking. PETA and that ilk would love it if horses were pets…
Of course shippers are still hauling horses! Famers are still farming. Chickens are laying. Crops are being planted. Cows are being milked. Horses are being bred. Foals are being born. Barns are still turning horses in and out and feeding them and cleaning up after them. Just like humans need food and to move from place to place, animals need the same. The world hasn’t stopped. Wash your hands. Cover your coughs/sneezes. Stay home unless you can’t. But let the essential workers safely do their jobs of keeping the supply chain safely working.
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Horses are livestock, however, pet care is also considered essential. Commercial haulers do plenty of local hauling and often transport to and from vet clinics, breeding facilities, etc. With show facilities closed and tracks suspending races, there are plenty of horses that need to find their way back to farms.
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The interesting thing about “essential” is that the grocery stores are essential, but they are not prohibited from selling “non-essential” things like beer, booze, most of the items in the bakery department,…
Horses are indeed livestock and while some consider them a useless luxury item, they are living sentient beings. The governor of Maine’s recent proclamations for COVID-19 included specific guidelines for essential services. The AG Dept released guidelines specifically stating “equine” and specifically including boarding at a location not your home. Owners can be designated as caregivers for their own horses, among other things. Unfortunately barns, including mine, have closed down because of the “stay at home” rules. They did not have to because they are designated as essential services. BO says she herself is “not essential” despite the fact that she owns a farm and provides board for livestock. That is “agriculture” and is essential. She doesn’t want to be open to the “public” which is what she called the boarders. So now my 25 y.o. gelding is being attended to by several high school girls.
I could go on forever. There are two proclamations by Governor Mills of Maine, along with a couple of press releases and Guidelines issued by the agriculture department on the governor’s website. I think she is the only one who got it right. Most of the BOs slammed the door shut and they don’t know that they didn’t have to. I think they may have assumed some liability by taking over 100% of a horse’s care in lieu of the owner, especially in larger barns with insufficient staff. There is still a contract in place.
Do what all know we should do. The 6 foot separation is what is turning out to be most effective. Tomorrow I’m going to get some auto repairs (essential services) but I can’t go visit my horse, let alone care for him where he is boarded (essential service).
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In my state liquor stores are considered essential.
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This makes perfect sense. I see that you are a New Yorker. I was in college in the late 60s at the Connecticut-New York border. Drinking age was 21, but it was 18 in New York. Needless to say we regularly commuted to a couple of bars over the line. I guess it’s a tradition in NY.
The drinking age here as not been 18 in a very long time. :winkgrin:
I admit I was shocked when I heard the liquor stores were still open.
This thread is obviously about domestic shipping, but here is an interesting article on the international situation:
