Agree, what suits her best and will help you deal with the silly’s if they show up.
No concern about a frame/putting together or any of that right now.
l like Mark Choper’s outfit, but they mostly go up and down the east coast. The website says they do all 48 continental states though, so you could ask.
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I have a (Morgan 
) mare coming to me in Vermont from Wisconsin this Wednesday. None of the big shippers could make this route work without a significant detour and lots of extra time waiting at a hub. So I’m going with an independent regional hauler recommended by my new mare’s breeder, who has used him before. He does upper midwest to New England about every week. I can report back on Thursday how she arrives if you’d like!
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That would be useful, thanks.
ETA: lucky you, another Morgan mare!
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Will do!
And thanks, I am excited about her
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This sounds like a good decision. And who knows? As it warms up, maybe you’ll find that she calms down. It’s very frustrating to be paying full board on a horse you cannot ride.
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@quietann, reporting back that the shipper I used worked out very well. My mare arrived in excellent condition. Bright eyed, happy with the hay that was always in front of her, well hydrated, and not a drop of sweat on her. I got updates (pictures, time estimates) regularly along the way and paid via Venmo when they unloaded. They gave me updates 2 hrs, 1 hr, and 20 minutes away, and they showed up exactly when they said they would (and happily, at 6pm, not in the middle of the night!). It was a long trip, but I’m actually glad they went straight through without a layover (they have two drivers on the truck so they only stop for rest breaks).
There was a cute yearling on the truck as well headed to MA as his final destination. He also looked to be in good shape.
Here’s the info if you want to have a conversation with them and see if they’d meet your needs:
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We need a picture of the new mare too!
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Hopped on the old lady today to take an ears photo. Like literally lined her up next to a big log, got up on it, swung up on her, took a photo, and swung off the other side. Hadn’t been on her since early July 2022. Reminded me of all the good times and how lucky I was to find her.
Her response? “More cookies, please!”
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Always a nostalgic pleasure. However brief, it feels like coming home doesn’t it?
Grey
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It really does. And she’s very comfy bareback.
Just to be clear, though, she is not and was not the Perfect Horse for me.
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Thank you – I am booking with them for sometime in April.
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Glad it worked out for you!
So Lola is sound except for a little stiffness on the right lead canter - but she hasn’t been ridden at the canter in over 2 months, she’s a little fatter and out of shape. But she looked good.
She may be leaving as early as next Saturday, the 30th… Can’t go into why just yet, but it would be great for her social life. All her over the fence and nearby buddies were in the barn when I arrived, and she was outside having a meltdown about it. I brought her up to the barn and she calmed down instantly. Still wiggly on the crossties and wanting her nose in everything but that’s her.
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So here’s the amazing coincidence update: Lola’s breeder is coming to Massachusetts next week to pick up another mare she bred, whose owner has a terminal illness. That mare is Lola’s aunt, and she lives 1 hour west of Lola’s barn. After a certain amount of texting back and forth, Anne agreed that it would be good to transport the 2 mares together. I was starting to arrange commercial shipping for Lola, but now it looks like I won’t have to. I just have to get Lola to the other barn on Friday (I think I have that worked out) and Anne will load the two mares up early Saturday morning… Which happens to be Lola’s 9th birthday!
So I’m sad and relieved at the same time. It’s likely that I’ll lose my job - be fired actually - in mid-May, and having Lola in a good place before then is important. I don’t know what the future holds, but I’m much less worried now.
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That’s certainly a “good news/bad news” update. That’s great about Lola; it will be nice for her to take the trip with her aunt.
And, I’m sorry to hear about your job. I hope that you find something else that you like as well soon.
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That sounds like it will work out perfectly for you - I’m so glad you’ll be relieved of that strain while you navigate the rest of your life. Good luck!
Grey
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I’m sorry that you’re going through this but it must be a relief to have Lola’s breeder picking her up.
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