Transporting horses

[moongirl]

Hi,

It looks like we might have finally sold the house

We will be moving from Tipperary to Scotland and will need to get the 2 ponies over. Its quite a long journey especially with a horse trailer ( probably about 8 hours this side, about 3 hours on the ferry and about 3 hours the other side. I do have a double trailer that we are taking with us but :

Is that too much of a long journey for the ponies in a small trailer ? They are not used to long journeys.

What if the ferry crossing is rough - is that a bit dodgy in a trailer ?

Has anyone any experience with taking / bringing horses over on the ferry themselves ? How did you get on ?

I don't know whether to just book them in on a proper big lorry with a horse transport company, or am I just worrying too much - will they be fine in the trailer ?

Also has anyone any idea how much it is to get a horse transport company to do it ? And any recommendations ?

I would really appreciate your comments if you have any

Thanks, Michelle

[mandy]

Hi Moongirl. The tighter the ponies are together the better, if they have too much room and one lies down the other can stand on them. In a lorry the partitions are higher which supports them up. The motion of the sea seems to encourage them into eating the others mane and tails so higher partition stops that also. If you travel yourself your only allowed down to them once and you must pre-arrange it. When they go in lorries if its rough they don't travel. Emerald blood stock or Brian Saunders in Antrim (might be cheaper than Emerald, more experienced with ponies and Scotland apparently). I have no experience of this personally but my brother in law has to bring horses to the sales in UK every year. I would be worried too if it were me... if you know the road well when you get there you would probably be ok once they didn't have too much room in the trailer to move around and you covered them in crib bite! I wish you well on your adventure.
Mandy

[Donal]

Hi Michelle
For my sins I had to earn my living for many a year transporting horses to and from the UK.
So I’ll try and relieve your fears

"probably about 8 hours this side, about 3 hours on the ferry and about 3 hours the other side"

There are many laws regarding horse transport, one of which is the amount of time they are permitted to be on the road, This is roughly the same as HGV drivers are aloud to drive (not exactly but good rule of thumb) 12hrs thu most trans porter try n keep this to 8-10 before they must be rested for at least 8hrs.. good news thu is it should only take about 5hrs this side and assuming your not going to rally all the way it wont be a prob for the ponies.(allow time for vet inspection etc if you are going through Larne!)

"What if the ferry crossing is rough - is that a bit dodgy in a trailer ?2

If the sea is rough they simply wont let you on the ferry! (keep a pan B!) Apart from that the sea crossing is likely to be the easiest bit for the ponies, think about it.. the movement is all regular n easy to predict unlike the driving, braking, corners, roundabouts etc.

Has anyone any experience with taking / bringing horses over on the ferry themselves ? How did you get on ?

I have transported literally hundreds of horses on the ferry and NEVER had an issue on board!

I don't know whether to just book them in on a proper big lorry with a horse transport company, or am I just worrying too much - will they be fine in the trailer ?

If you are a confident driver and are bringing the trailer anyway it makes sense to put the ponies in it, at least they will be going direct to their destination and not going on a grand tour with loads of other horses! They’ll be fine!

Also has anyone any idea how much it is to get a horse transport company to do it ?

I haven’t been doing any transport for a while but I would expect to pay around 300-400 each for the trip in a transporters lorry.

Couple of other points:
UK law says (even if most people don’t bother) all journeys by horses over 5mls must be accompanied by a journey plan, detailing journey start times, place,... rest breaks planned and taken, proposed route, arrival time and destination etc (see BHS website for details) and that animals should be accompanied by their passports etc.

When travelling give them as much room as possible!!! Never ever try to prop them up with a partition!! Horses are naturally “into pressure” animals and being too tight is actually more likely to make them fall. If they do fall in a confined space it becomes much more difficult for them to get back up and that’s when the real damage is done! Horses will naturally attempt to stand at 45 degrees to the direction of travel so whilst ensuring they cant turn in a box leave them the room to move their head and maintain their balance.
When on the boat the percer used to give me the code to the car deck doors and were quite happy for us to check the horses at any time. So I don’t think it would be an issue at any time if you wanted to go down for a look, but my advise is DON’T go near them simply because there will be absolutely nothing you can do without putting yourself at risk if there is a major problem and besides if there is the crew wont be long in finding you.
The reason for eating manes or crib biting is simple boredom or frustration from being far to long or tied up to tight on a trailer!
If you plan your trip well and are well prepared with water etc it’ll be a breeze
Hope this helps
Safe journey
Donal

[mariab]

How cool is that description.

I sent my horse with a horse transporter to SToneleigh in Coventry and back in june from North Cork. He had never done a trip like that but he got on with no hesitation and arrived in fine form without a scratch or a hair missing chilled and relaxed same on way home.

Was considering transporting them myself first but had a mini nervous breakdown the closer we got so opted for the transporter, so I think Donals description is brilliant, would love to be able to take them next time myself

[Elaine]

And this is how they do it in Limerick....

Sept 8, 2009 15:25:13 GMT drifter6 said:

Well i know how many of you out there have had problems in loading and transporting your equine partners and being the smart ass that i am i thought i might help some of you smarter asses , now i am extremely busy and don't have the time to type an on line instruction course on how to do this , but as they say in all good cooking t.v. shows here is one i made earlier

www.youtube.com/watch?v=teHfyby_veU

I do hope that this helps . best wishes from Up Over Horsemans***e.

[moongirl]

Thanks so much for the replies guys. It must have taken you ages to write all that Donal

I think we will probably use the trailer - at least they will be my responsibility and I can keep an eye on them. I hate the thought of them being away from me, and not knowing how they are - especially as Mani is not always good at loading. They are like my little babies !

Michelle

PS - Patches is soooo cute

[mandy]

I was reflecting on that partition thing... they are at 45 degree angle in the lorries... also he sends foals and yearlings so that would attribute to the mane and tails chewing which they do out in the field anyway! I wouldn't like to have to put crib bite on my horse!! It is really good to hear that there are rules in place re: travel times and journey plans. Best of luck Moongirl

[amanda1066]

Ours came over from N. Yorks to near Carrick on Shannon took 12 hours almost to the minute door to door. They were with a transporter in a lorry and travelled absolutely fine.
Yes the lorry ours travelled in had herringbone partitions and they were tight and high. The big horses travelled singly but the Shetlands went in together loose.

Good luck with your move.