Horse transportation costs

[PonyRiderMom]

I’m trying to get a general idea in order to start budgeting. I know there are lots of different factors here, but if anyone could tell me how much they have paid recently for long-distance (over 1,000 miles) horse transport in the US, I would appreciate it. Could you tell me how much you paid, how many miles (approx., or just tell me the two end points) the trip was, and what sort of stall set up you had? And anything else you might think appropriate? I know I could call transport companies to get estimates, but I’m not really at that stage yet. I’m still trying to figure out what things cost, in general.

Thank you

[clanter]

sure will help if there is an approximate starting and end point as a thousand miles across the the south is different than a thousand miles that starts in North Dakota to end up on the eastern shores of Long Island

[Bluey]

@PonyRiderMom

I’m trying to get a general idea in order to start budgeting. I know there are lots of different factors here, but if anyone could tell me how much they have paid recently for long-distance (over 1,000 miles) horse transport in the US, I would appreciate it. Could you tell me how much you paid, how many miles (approx., or just tell me the two end points) the trip was, and what sort of stall set up you had? And anything else you might think appropriate? I know I could call transport companies to get estimates, but I’m not really at that stage yet. I’m still trying to figure out what things cost, in general.

Thank you

Commercial horse transport companies give prices all the time, ask them.

If you are in one of their weekly or twice weekly runs across country and they don’t have to get too far out of the way to pick or drop your horse and if you can wait until they have an open spot, that will change the price considerably.

If you figure which company travels regularly where you need to go, they probably can give you the better price.

What others have paid may not even come close to what you will be quoted, that can be considerably higher or lower, depending on your specific needs.

[Simkie]

$1-2 a loaded mile is a good ballpark for long distance hauling. Exact figure depends on carrier and stall configuration.

[clanter]

@Simkie

$1-2 a loaded mile is a good ballpark for long distance hauling. Exact figure depends on carrier and stall configuration.

so it still them same as it was forty years ago when $1 per mile was commonly used? Really makes one want to go out to spend $150,000 for a rig to dump diesel fuel in then earn about three cents an hour

[Lunabear1988]

For a full load I’ve usually paid $1 a mile.

[clint]

As mentioned, it can be more difficult to find a haul in some locations. In my experience, hauls in the northern US are harder to find, ie, upstate NY to Oregon or similar. I recently had a mare shipped from Austin, TX to No. CA via Equine Express, with a stall and one half. That is about 1700 miles, and the cost was $1800. That is a ballpark figure for most of the shipping I have done over the last decade, so figure about $1/mile.

[mmeqcenter]

2016: I paid $1500 each (two horses) for box stalls for a 959 mile trip (straight door to door) from Columbus, Ohio to Ocala, Florida. Brook Ledge has a base in Kentucky and Ocala they stop at, so I don’t know what their actual driving mileage was.

They quoted $800 for a standard stall+half, but my retired gelding requires a box stall and I decided to just do it for my mare since they don’t untie them at all in the smaller stall, even when stopping for breaks.

I believe the Midwest to Florida is a pretty regular trip for many commercial companies. East to west hauls seem to be harder to find.

[crosscreeksh]

We’ve got a move coming up…hopefully soon…1,000 miles…interstate west to east…for a full 12-15 semi, horse trailer. I wonder if I need to take meds before getting a quote!!

[Edre]

Highly dependent on locations in question. The eastern seaboard, for example, is easy to find preexisting routes for. The closer you are to any of the “horse meccas” (Wellington, tryon, Ocala, etc) the easier and generally less expensive it will be.

I paid $1300 recently for a box stall for what was a 600mi trip. I wasn’t completely out of the way for the shipper (there was another horse on the route that got delivered past where mine was) but there were not many companies that were available for the route I was requesting because it simply isn’t a popular one.

Pick up was close to Toronto, drop off was near Chicago. I did subtract all fees associated with the border crossing in the price I shared above - but if relevant, it was about $250 for the brokerage and inspection fees paid to the shipping company.

[PonyRiderMom]

Thanks everyone. I didn’t realize that price and even availability could be dependant on what the route was. Glad to be learning this now instead of later. It would be Austin to Seattle. Not exactly Seattle, but close enough. I feel like box stalls would be nicer for them but I’m not sure if I could afford it (I have three horses). I was wondering if it might make more sense for me to put the money into buying a nice three-horse trailer and just hauling them myself, and that’s why I’m trying to just get a general idea.

[Lizrd]

@PonyRiderMom

I was wondering if it might make more sense for me to put the money into buying a nice three-horse trailer and just hauling them myself, and that’s why I’m trying to just get a general idea.

I just hauled a small pony from Chicago to Kansas City and was shocked that I got 9 MPG with a 1500 truck and 2 horse trailer. When I divided my fuel costs it came out to approximately $1/mile. That was with one pony. I am sure if I had two full size horses in my rig it would have been even lower than 9 MPG. That does not include wear and tear on my truck and trailer (brakes, tires, etc.) so the true cost would only go up from there. That was with gas at about $3/gallon. You can likely do the math and see what is more economical. I will also let you know that it was very tiring to do that trip, more so than I predicted. If it were up to me next time and the pro was offering it for $1/mile, I’d take them up on it.

[J-Lu]

@PonyRiderMom

Thanks everyone. I didn’t realize that price and even availability could be dependant on what the route was. Glad to be learning this now instead of later. It would be Austin to Seattle. Not exactly Seattle, but close enough. I feel like box stalls would be nicer for them but I’m not sure if I could afford it (I have three horses). I was wondering if it might make more sense for me to put the money into buying a nice three-horse trailer and just hauling them myself, and that’s why I’m trying to just get a general idea.

Yes, the route matters. Different companies have different hubs. Austin to Seattle, I’d consider Equine Express (I’ve used them multiple times, know people who use them regularly) because they have a hub in TX. When I shipped from NM to Pittsburgh, I went with Blue Chip because they have a hub in upstate NY - they did that trip more frequently. Box stalls are best but I’ve gone with straight stalls to save money when I had to. It is not uncommon for a shipper to give your horse a box stall if there are very few horses on a particular part of the run. I’d go for a box stall if possible.

Commercial vehicles use air-ride trailers for the longest parts of the haul, and that is much better on the horse’s legs than a standard trailer. Austin to Seattle? I’d go for an air-ride trailer.

[soloudinhere]

This past winter I was quoted $2000 for the 1,250 mile trip Northern CT to Wellington, box stall. Paid $1200 to go South Dakota to Northern CT twice last year in a stall and a half.

[clanter]

because of the timing and route there was not any commercial hauler who would even give us a quote to bring a yearling to us from North Dakota to Fort Worth … so I sent my wife (well she and daughter really wanted to go, I wanted to wait until early June) …cost was less than the $1/mile but the 2200 mile polar expedition to get there and back before the next blizzard was demanding

OP should not have an issue with their route as there just as many people moving form Seattle to Austin as who are moving from Austin to Seattle… both are IT strong holds

[Guilherme]

@crosscreeksh

We’ve got a move coming up…hopefully soon…1,000 miles…interstate west to east…for a full 12-15 semi, horse trailer. I wonder if I need to take meds before getting a quote!!

Last time I shipped multiple horses (three yearlings to Canada, 5 years back) the per head cost dropped significantly as I was taking up 20% of the trailer (the other 80% was full or booked). About 10 years ago I sent 5 to CA with a private shipper and I was the only customer. It was about 75% of the lowest “commercial” shipper I contacted. If you’re going to take the whole van you’ve got some negotiating position but can’t do much about the shipper’s expenses (diesel, wages, taxes, fees, etc.).

Get multiple quotes, though, for sure!!!

G.

[RMJacobs]

I paid Brook Ledge $2900 to ship my elderly pony in a box stall from Colorado to South Carolina. There was only one other horse on the trailer, so they both got lots of attention. My pony was only on the trailer for about 36 hours, which I really appreciated. It was expensive but worth it–he came off the trailer looking happy and calm.

There was no way I was going to make him stand for all that time at his age (30+).

Rebecca

[PonyRiderMom]

Very interesting. I also didn’t think I would get any sort of volume discount. I’m so glad I asked this question.

[mmeqcenter]

@crosscreeksh

We’ve got a move coming up…hopefully soon…1,000 miles…interstate west to east…for a full 12-15 semi, horse trailer. I wonder if I need to take meds before getting a quote!!

A couple shots of vodka, at least

[crosscreeksh]

@mmeqcenter

A couple shots of vodka, at least

Thanks…but I prefer Southern Comfort if I’m going to go that route!!