Shipping a horse via air, domestically

[Halfpasser11]

Seconding this. I just shipped my OTTB who loads but it’s a bad traveler with Bob Hubbard from Lexington to Las Vegas Area. It was an air ride semi in the first week of July so I was REALLY worried about the heat.

He came off a little thin but was able to gain the water weight back in a few days. He also rolled whenever they stopped to unload a horse along the way which I thought was kinda odd. But, he was in the trailer for 48ish hours and for a 15.3hh horse the stall was pretty big. As they unloaded horses they shifted horses around in the semi to give them as much space as possible without unloading them. The last two horses were going all the way to CA and got to be in box stalls on their last leg because all the other horses were gone. I thought that was a nice thoughtful touch.

So to your point, I get it. But shipping in a semi with a professional team might be the best option. I’m sure they’ve had every type of problem loader but I’ve never seen a horse bulk at getting in to a semi yet.

[StormyDay]

I shipped two horses 8 years ago from Seattle to Miami. I paid for the box stalls for both horses. I was very concerned because one of my horses was a 7 year old very opinionated 17.2h OTTB who thought standing up was the answer to most problems. (Luckily he came out of that phase).
The shipper told me it was no problem. He had loaded 19h 2 year old percherons, crazy racehorses, wild mustangs, warmbloods who like to kick, and much more.
He got a bit of ace for loading (only because I had to load him on the road, the truck was too big for the driveway) and then 5 days later he was in Miami. He looked great. They did a layover for 2 days in Kentucky, but besides that they went straight through. Zero issues loading. They eat hay and have water the whole way.

My paint, on the other hand, who is an excellent loader and very calm, lost about 50 pounds. He refused to eat when the truck was moving. That’s why they did a 2 day layover, they were worried he wasn’t eating enough. But he bounced back quickly and truthfully probably could have stood to loose the 50#

[Amy3996]

I shipped my OTTB from Ocala to NWNY back in December via an air ride rig. He was on one truck from Ocala to Albany (company hub) and then transferred to a smaller truck with another horse for the last leg to our farm. I wouldn’t call him a bad loader necessarily, but ramps do make him a little nervous. He had no trouble getting on, but it took some patience from the handlers to get him off each of the rigs. Little man took baby steps with his legs shaking the whole time, but the handler was right there reassuring him and was willing to wait him out almost 10 minutes letting him sort it out so it wasn’t any more eventful than it needed to be.

Without question, the air ride box stall setup was easier on him than it would have been in a regular trailer. He could move around, even lie down if he chose. It was a nearly 30 hour haul and he arrived no worse for wear.

If your horse is claustrophobic, a plane might be the worst possible set up. US Equestrian has posted a lot of videos on how the Olympic horses were flown to Tokyo - it might be a good watch to see just how small those shipping pallets really are and how little space there is.

[horseshorseshorseshorses]

I also opted for an air ride for my guy when we moved from Oregon to Alabama. He was going through a phase that he did NOT like to load and honestly with everything else I was juggling it was just easier to have him shipped. I went through Bob Hubbard since it was the only big name shipping to my area of Alabama at the time (the first couple of months of lock down).

The controller was great at explaining the route. She told me about the layover in Ca and that he would be on the truck 2-3 days after that. She and the drivers kept me updated on his progress throughout the trip. He arrived hydrated, well fed and a bit like a wound up spring from being on a trailer for so long. I was able to get on a hack him lightly the next day without any issue.

Even with ground shipping you will need to be flexible on pickup and drop off dates. I had a bit of a unique experience since I shipped at the hight of lockdown while the tracks were not running. The controler I worked with had no problem getting him to Ca but there wasn’t a truck heading east when I booked. It took about 2 weeks to get it scheduled and another week until he shipped.

[RMJacobs]

I shipped my 30+ year old pony on an air ride trailer using Brook Ledge four years ago. I swear he thought he was on vacation. I didn’t see him load in Colorado because I wanted to be on the receiving end, but he strutted off the trailer in South Carolina looking around like “that was fun, what are we going to do next?”

I booked him a box stall because of his age, and he took advantage and spent time lying down like he would have at home.

He was only on the trailer 36 hours, and I thought the drivers were very good horse people.

Rebecca

[Bristol_Bay]

My friend recently wrote a blog post about her experience flying her horse to Illinois.

Flying My Horse from CA to the Midwest | Saddle Seeks Horse