Do you have experience with any of these haulers?

(Cross-posting)

I have been getting quotes for hauling a horse from Ohio to Florida. Quoted prices are all within a reasonable range. I know there are some scammers out there, but I believe I’ve ignored anything from them. Now I want to know if you’ve had experience, good or bad, with any of these haulers. PM me if you feel more comfortable not posting publicly.

Nat’l Bloodstock Transport
MWS Horse Transport
Caring Transports
9 Iron Equine Transport
Erika Ashley
Melanie Strohbehn

TIA for any help you can give me.

I don’t have personal experience with any of them, but join the group Horse Transport review on Facebook. It’s a great resource. Also, make sure they’re all legal and insured. There are so many illegal haulers out there, they are usually cheaper but not usually worth the risk. Check DOT/MC numbers.

Thank you, that’s a big help! There’s a FB page for everything, isn’t there? :rofl:

I have not, but I will suggest a question that I wish I had asked the last time I had a horse shipped: Exactly what route are you following and how many other deliveries/pickups/layovers are you making between when you pick my horse up and drop him off at his final destination?

I was given the impression (but not explicitly told) that the truck was going straight from (a midwestern state) to Florida and my horse would be dropped off at my location (in between the starting and ending point) on the way to Florida. What should have been an 18 hour trip at most ended up taking 3.5 days while the hauler apparently took the Grand Circle Tour of the midwestern US, picking up and dropping off other horses. The starting point was northwest of me and when they finally called to tell me what time they were arriving, the farm they called from is about 2.5 hours drive southeast of me. And as best I could tell, my horse was on the trailer for the whole time and bedding was never cleaned or replenished.

If I had known that was going to happen, I would have used another shipper. It was a good lesson for me, although a little rough on the aged equine. And this was a shipper that had good reviews and references.

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Wow, thanks for the advice. I will be sure to ask about it.