Anyone know of any good horse shippers? And what is the going rate for shipping costs? I’ve never bought sight unseen, but there’s a breeder I’ve been following on Facebook for a long time now. I like what she has, but she’s 10 hours away. She is more than willing to send videos/pictures. I’m reasonably certain I would be happy with a horse from her, but I would definitely need some help with transportation.
I went the Bob Hubbard when I shipped across the country (CA to KY) a few months ago. I believe it was roughly 2,300 miles; I paid a bit under $2k, so cost per mile was under a dollar. Also used Hubbard when I bought this horse (early 2020). It was only a 7 hour haul but they did an overnight layover; cost was roughly the same I believe. Since then I’ve been lucky to “know someone” with a trailer who was willing to move my horse for the cost of gas + food.
If you don’t know anyone local, I would suggest asking the breeder who they recommend. There are also local Facebook pages where haulers advertise.
Whereabouts in each state?
I’ve shipped a couple times from SE LA to Wellington and back during season, but I usually needed specific dates, so it was difficult. Most will only give a window of like 2 weeks. Over the years, I have used Equine Express, Brook Ledge, Sallee, Creech, and once a small shipper who happened to be coming this way and needed to fill out a trailer.
When the Fairgrounds is running (usually starts around Thanksgiving), it’s usually easier to get trucks to/from Louisiana since they’ll be hauling Thoroughbreds.
Leslie Bean is based in Ocala and brought my personal horse from Louisiana to Kentucky and was AMAZING!! Very reasonable as well
I’ve shipped cross country multiple times. You seem to be smack in Equine Expresses territory, I and my former barn have used then extensively without problem. Except, they’ll lose your quality hay,.
