Moving horse + all equipment cross country

[MHM]

I think the idea of the vacuum bags to save space on anything soft is a really good idea to open up more room in the tack trunks.

Depending on the airline and the cost of checking bags, just keep an eye on the weight of the duffel. Some of the airlines really hit you hard for an overweight piece of luggage, so it might be more strategic to have two smaller ones. Especially if you could carry one on and check the other.

So sorry about your house and all your other things. That would totally stink.

[Indy]

Definitely look at boxes via USPS or UPS, after you cram as much as you can into your trunks and then downsize as much as possible. When my mom moved from FL to MD, she packed as much stuff as she could in her car and then shipped the rest of her stuff by mail. It wasn’t super cheap, but it was way less expensive than it would have been to ship by movers and it was way easier than for us to drive everything up in a UHaul. Even with her packing like a drunken monkey (seriously there was no rhyme nor reason to how that woman packed her boxes and she did not carefully wrap anything breakable), everything got to us in tact.

[TheJenners]

Well I feel like a jerk, I’m sorry I didn’t even think of that. My bad.

[LilDunFilly]

I actually just went through this myself, moving my horse from back east to the west coast. Not sure what hauler you’re using, as the one I went with took both trunks free (I asked in advance) and always allow one trunk/saddle/big item to go free.

I had two husky trunks like this. I had a small closet’s worth of stuff and most of it fit in these boxes.

First, figure out what stuff you NEED. Old saddle pads, polos, gross grooming supplies, bottles of goop you will not use, etc., toss it. Blankets are great but make sure the ones you take are one’s you will use. For example, my horse didn’t need a heavy in CA so I was fine leaving it behind if it didn’t fit. Next, are you yourself still packing boxes in AR? You can always stick some stuff in your luggage and take that with you on a plane/drive. That’s good for lots of little light items (saddle pads, strapped goods, wraps, etc).

Realistically, a lot of horse stuff is bulk and/or heavy so shipping is… expensive. For what you’d pay to ship a lot of it, you could just buy new. If you’re limited to just those trunks, I’d probably have the actual horse blankets mailed separately (depending on how many and how packed they are. Those take up a lot of space in trunks that could fit other things, and are a lot lighter than some harder to replace items.

[Tini_Sea_Soldier1]

Hi there… person who moved cross country a few years ago.
So your best bets are U-Haul’s “UBox” solution. Essentially they drop the UBox off… give you like 48-72 hours to pack it, then they come pick it up and drop it off at a loc. You may not get it right away, as they sometimes can take up to 2 weeks to arrive depending on how many they get going that direction, but MUCH cheaper than PackRat or Pods… and a lot less stress than trying to drive a UHaul through wintery New England conditions. You could fit all of it in 1 U-Box. It’s approx the size of a big closet or a small room.
The other option, which is kind of wild, but also works and is relatively inexpensive… you can ship it on Amtrak. Legit is a thing you can do and you drop off at train station and check it in… and then pick it up at a nearby larger station that services Amtrak (ie Boston Back Bay or South Street… or Providence/Hartford depending on where you are in the state).

[trubandloki]

Saddle pads are not heavy, just bulky. What does it cost to bring an extra piece of luggage on your return flight? Pack lightly going down, either using a far bigger than needed suitcase or bring a second empty suitcase (or buy a second empty suitcase at a second hand store down there), fill all the empty space with the saddle pads and other such easy to pack stuff.

That will leave your tack trunk space for the heavier more horse scented stuff.

Edit to add, I realize airlines are grumpy about over weight luggage, but I believe that if you arrange ahead of time to have an oversized/overweight/extra bag and pay for it, they are OK with it.

[vxf111]

How much stuff are we talking about? And how quickly do you need it?

There are people you can hire to drive a car cross country. Those same people might be willing to also take some pre-packaged stuff assuming it’s not wildly heavy and not a huge amount of stuff. So you could pack and ship the tack trunks with the trailer bringing the horse and then have one of these people bring the remaining lighter stuff in garbage bags or boxes.

Reliable Auto Transport Company and Car Transport Services

Depending on timing, you also might find a college kid who needs to come East for the holiday break who might be willing to be paid to transport stuff and/or drive a uhaul. Maybe not the whole way, but part of the way and could could meet the kid.

Honestly, if this stuff isn’t sentimental, highly valuable, irreplaceable, or necessary I would donate/sell it and buy new stuff in MA. The hassle of shlepping fungible saddle pads and brushes and stuff like that just isn’t worth it.

[findeight]

Donate it to a 4H or PonyClub chapter in your area, they will love you for it and no packing is involved.

[endlessclimb]

They will always let it on if you just keep waving a credit card at them. I traveled extensively for work and my safety gear was HEAVY. Twice they threw a pretty big fit about the weight, but I just kept sliding the credit card at them and saying “what will it cost? Whatever it takes” and it ended up on the plane. That bag was probably 85 lbs.

They were so confused as to why I wouldn’t shift the weight into my other lighter bags - well, safety stuff had been in the guts of many refineries and I didn’t want it in with my clothes lol

[phoenixrises]

What about one of those small u-haul containers that they bring to you. It might cost as much as renting a truck BUT you wouldn’t miss the day wof work?

[Aussie_2020]

I truly understand the feeling of not wanting to let anything go because you’ve lost so much already. That is very tough. Realistically though, you have the main thing, your horse, and a couple tack boxes of stuff so “releasing” the lesser items could be good. No need to spend money and time packing and shipping pieces of gear that you can replace.

Just let it go and enjoy the feeling of moving on. And when your horse arrives think of how wonderful it is to smell and touch him (her?). Buy a couple new brushes to start your new life.

[outerbanks77]

I often see posts on FB for people heading this way or that with a horse trailer. I’m sure many of them would be happy to transport gear. Even if it’s not the perfect route, it might get it to a location close enough that you could go grab it with your truck on a weekend.

Another idea - if you can get someone to ship it using a corporate UPS or FedEx account, it is way cheaper. I have two large Pelican trunks of training equipment I ship around for work, and via FedEx it is only $100 per trunk for 2-day service (Idaho to Arizona last time). I can’t imagine how much these would be to ship if I just walked into a FedEx store as a random person and tried to ship them.