I didn’t when I moved my three horses in 1998 and again in 2003 but I checked since that’s been so many years ago.
No, as long as you’re a “not for hire” and you aren’t driving a rig that is so big you would need a CDL anyway:)
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/hours-service/elds/non-business-related-transportation-horses
You are not driving them for commercial reasons therefore you are not required to have a CDL. https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/hours-serv…rtation-horses [INDENT]"The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has provided guidance regarding an exception to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) for non-business related transportation of horses, including transportation to horse shows or other events. To qualify for this exception, there can be no compensation for the transportation, and the driver cannot be engaged in business related to the transportation (i.e., a professional racing operation transporting horses to a race).[/INDENT]
Thank you very much! That’s good info to have, it was something that just popped up in my brain as remembering seeing changes about CDL’s etc. So, if you are transporting your OWN horses without (obviously) compensation, then you are good. That’s good to know :yes:
Florida to Tennessee? If your route has to take you through Atlanta, add a few hours and make sure you have a good GPS and that your SunPass/PeachPass account has adequate funds. You could not pay me enough to go through Atlanta with a horse trailer again. Once was enough.
OMG you couldn’t pay me to trailer through Atlanta. I bought my trailer in South Carolina and had to drive it empty around the bypass / beltway ( whatever you call it) around Atlanta. I tried to stay in the slow lane but it kept turning into a exit lane and NOBODY would let me merge into a middle lane. If I had to drive 5 more miles to the I20 exit I would have had a nervous breakdown. And then there was road construction ( at 9PM) coming out of Atlanta and 4 million cars merged in front of me so I could not move until the truckers shut them off.
Never again!!! And I have driven a horse trailer 50+ years.
Atlanta with a horse trailer is best done after midnight and before 6am. I’ve been known to go the long way through Asheville to 26 to 95 in order to miss it
Wise decision mroades. It is not so much how many hours you are on the road. It is how many other drivers that are going to be on the road with you. And how mean and CRAZY they are!
Sent you a PM regarding a local company from our area that I’ve used several times. 
When we lived in Virginia, I drove the 12 hour trip to Ocala, FL several times to vacation with the horses. It was tedious, but doable. When we moved to Ocala, I used Creech, an Ocala based shipper, for the horses. I was too stressed with the house sale to feel I could drive the horses to Florida. Creech was awesome. The drivers were calm and experienced. They had a big, smooth truck with good sized stalls and lots of good alfalfa. The horses arrived about 13 hours after departing. I was so exhausted after the house closing that we stopped for the night at a motel after only 6 hours of driving, and didn’t get to Florida until the next afternoon. My friend met the Creech van. The horses unloaded easily and seemed unphased by the trip, according to my friend.
I would have the horses shipped and ask someone else to meet them, or at least be your backup if you run out of energy. Moving is a lot of work.
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