Shipping: What stall size to choose???

[eosinophil]

I have another question for you collectively for my upcoming move. I am getting quotes to ship my four horses and two donkeys over about 1800 miles. One of my quotes is broken down into shipping in a stall and a half versus a box stall for each. Is a stall and a half sufficient? none of them are bad travelers, they are mostly older but healthy / no issues. The horses are decent sized - 16 to 17 hands, but I’ve hauled the tallest in my not very big slant load for a similar distance without any issues.

The price is about 1000 more each for box stalls, so a pretty significant price difference.

The quotes I’ve gotten so far are from Bob hubbard (broken down as above), equine express and brookledge. Equine express was similar to the hubbard stall and a half quote and brookledge was similar to the hubbard box stall quote but I don’t remember which stall size I asked for on those so I will clarify.

Any other suggestions for me?

Thanks! I really appreciate all the suggestions from the folks here for my upcoming move!

[Simkie]

1800 miles? I’d really want box stalls. Can the donkeys share one?

[dmacaramel]

Box stalls and let the donkeys share if they can.

[BUSY]

Box stalls selected so your horses and donkeys can see / hear each other … common walls if visual is not possible …
Box stalls worth the price due to the distance …IMHO
JINGLES for smooth move for all !

[BUSY]

Box stalls selected so your horses and donkeys can see / hear each other … common walls if visual is not possible …
Box stalls worth the price due to the distance …and if there are any unforseen delays - IMHO
JINGLES for smooth move for all !

[sassy45]

Yep box stalls for 1800 mile trip.

[joiedevie99]

Box stalls will allow them to have water for the whole ride, and to put their heads down to clear their nasal passages as necessary.

The only horses I prefer to put 1.5 stalls are the ones that are both fragile and a bit crazy, i.e. a horse with a recently healed suspensory tear doesn’t need to be whipping around in circles in a small box to spook at things out both sides of the trailer.

FYI: My preferred companies both use mesh tops on their boxes unless you specifically request full stallion walls ahead of time.

[eosinophil]

wow, I’ve never seen such consensus on COTH!

Thank you all for your insight - I really didn’t think the box stalls were worth it but it is clear that COTH agrees that is the better choice for my rotten old ponies. Their health and happiness is my responsibility so I’m planning to go ahead with that. Brookledge has said they will ship them direct without a layover so I’m leaning towards using them (plus, I’m originally from PA and have always wanted to ship my horses with Brookledge!).

That being said, it would be nice if the sum value of the horses/donkeys exceeded the sum value of shipping them, but shhhh. Just don’t tell my husband!

[cllane1]

Not a dissenting voice here, but a slightly different experience: I used Bob Hubbard to ship my horses from Salt Lake City to Montgomery, AL (1700+ miles) and they did fine in a stall and a half. As the shipper dropped off more horses and the trailer got emptier, they ended up giving my horses a full box stall by the end of the trip. Horses all arrived fine. IIRC, they did have one layover at a facility along the way, so the horses did get to stretch and relax.

[dani0303]

When I shipped my 16.2 aged WB from SC to CO I opted for the box stall. He arrived in great shape and IMO it was worth the extra $1000.

[FatDinah]

I did the stall and a half or my 23 yr old 16 h from TN to Utah with Brookledge and he did fine. He had a 2 day layover in KY, then straight to Utah.
Brookledge drivers were great, kept in touch all the way.

[danacat]

I agree: Box stalls for horses…donkeys could share one. In a box stall your horses can turn around and ride/stand backwards or forwards–which ever way they prefer and they will be able to put their heads all the way down-- stretch their necks, etc. Being able to stretch is important on long trips-- no stiff neck, etc.

Also, when you take up more room in a van it limits the amount of horses they can ship–thus less stops to load/unload other horses.

[piedmontfields]

[QUOTE=danacat;8555786]
Also, when you take up more room in a van it limits the amount of horses they can ship–thus less stops to load/unload other horses.[/QUOTE]

That is a really good point!

[showidaho]

You have enough critters going and they are going long enough…why not ask about just renting the entire semi? I did that when I moved from Connecticut to Montana - every horse got a box stall and they took a bunch of my stuff too! (I shipped five horses and a ton of equipment). It was great because the trip was for ONLY mine so no extra time wasted stopping for other people’s horses to get on and off - and the route was direct. I put them on the trailer, got on a plane and met them when they arrived. I believe it was $10K to do this but I’m telling you it was TOTALLY worth it for the horses. Brookledge did it and I would recommend them. I’ve also dealt with Equine Express and they were equally good.