Howdie

If I could offer you one word of advice - that would be to ALWAYS carry a comprehensive 1st aid kit for horses with you. It should contain amoungst other things tranqualizers. You need to know how to use them and Always get the owner to sign an imdemnity and also permission to administer the trank... this is just in case. As said above some horses travel well, others dont...and you need to be prepared to deal with a stressed or "freak out" horse while on the road. I do not like to give tranqualizers, but sometimes it is needed - so that the other horses in your trailer do not also get injured.

I have done 1000's or miles hauling other peoples horses, most of which went without a hitch - but just be prepared for the unexpected.

I live in SA - so cant offer any advice on insurance etc.

Good luck with your venture - it sure is a great way to see the Country....

Cheers for now ----Nick

My advice is don't do it!  First of all, you can't make money from it.  By the time you deduct your expenses and something for your time, the customers will normally not pay.  Don't forget to calculate wear and tear and maintenance on your rig.  Don't haul anything anywhere without checking with DOT regarding regulations, licensing and insurance.  You also have to have all the permits etc for all the states you drive through! 

We, actually, have been hauling professionally for about 15 yrs.  The economy has hit our business very hard as well and people are getting horses for cheap or free and just don't get why they have to pay more for the haul from CA to NY than they paid for the horse!  We have basically quit hauling except for some very close customers that know our worth.  It is not worth taking the chance on the roads (especially in winter) if you can't make money from it.    

I know a lot of people do this work illegally - no license, not proper insurance, but if you ever have a problem and something happens to a horse, you could lose everything.  It's really not worth the chance. 

Buffy has a point, but there certainly will always be a market for the out of the way trips. Trips that the commercial haulers do not normally do. But I would be very carefull whatever you decide.

One other thing that I did is fit a camera in the trailer - just so you can monitor the horses back in the trailer.

I once had 4 horses in my trailer - one of them was a youngster. We left home at 4am on a 1000km journey and 3 hours in I noticed that the youngster was haveing a moment... I never felt a thing - so if I never had the camera I would not have known... well the young colt - in its panic - sliped and fell down, with its legs between the other horses legs and couldnt get up... was quite a scary senario... but fortunately I saw it as it happened and was able stop and help the youngster to its feet... we were very lucky to not have any serious injuries....

As they say - prevention is better than cure.

Good luck anyways.

I have had customers (trailer business) that have been from small to large commercial haulers.  Most of them have gotten out of the business; and have told me that "whatever problems you thought you had before, aren't nothing compared to what you have in the horse hauling business"!  You will get the blame for "ANYTHING" that happens to your customers horse while enroute.  You will basically wear out your equipment, and have nothing to show for it, but repair bills.  My advice is to find something else to do with your time; as it just  isn't worth the headaches. 

The worst story, was a large commercial hauling customer that was pulling an 8 horse rig during the midnight hour, and came over an overpass on an interstate and there in front of him was a rental truck STOPPED in his lane with no lights on.  He could not get over in time; and rearended the rental truck at full speed.  Totaled his truck, injured him for life; but because the trailer was a high quality trailer; it stayed intact, with minimum damage to the GN.  You just never think it will happen to YOU.

What people don't consider is that ANYONE that hauls a horse for someone else and gets paid (money, supper, gas money, etc) IS a commercial hauler!   Once you accept any compensation for hauling, you need all the licenses and insurances and etc. etc. etc!

Best advice? Listen to the experiences of others, and don't do it. Many problems will be involved: driving requirements and legalities, state and interstate rules, wear and tear of equipment, proper and expensive insurance, possible litigation involving dissatisfied customers, non payments etc.

My wife and I bought all the necessary equipment to start a wedding carriage business. When we were ready to start, I called my insurance agent for the proper coverage. Fortunately he was knowledgeable about what was entailed, and for the next twenty minutes, gave me a detailed accounting of the costs and pitfalls. We abandoned the project before a single event was scheduled.

Imagine the spectacle of a bride, on the most important day of her life, trying to recover from a large Belgian shod hoof standing across her foot. Lawyers salivate at the thought of prosecuting that lawsuit.

Don't set yourself up for a fall.

Gard

US Rider does NOT cover commercial operations...http://www.usrider.org/faq.html#faq23

You know how you make a small fortune in the horse hauling business???

Start with a large one...

YOU ARE RIGHT!  Start with a large one and watch it get smaller and smaller!

LOL  So obviously you didn't really want advice, you wanted a pat on the back and some free advertising!  You have not heard one word any of us said.  It doesn't matter if you do 3 states or 33 states .....  the same crap applies!

First of all......good luck in your endeavor. Second of all.......get legal, because when Mr. DOT stops you it won't be very pleasant. You are a commercial business regardless of truck/trailer combination and all federal/state laws apply.

The insurance is a big hurdle (costly) and getting everything else legal is just a matter of doing it.

I've been in the trucking business before and enjoyed it, but I always made sure everything was squared away and didn't have to "explain" anything to the DOT.

Good luck and do your homework.

So obviously you didn't really want advice, you wanted a pat on the back and some free advertising

If I wanted free advertising, I would have gone ahead with the specifics.  There always has to be a nasty person with their nasty comments.  I did want advice; I think people have taken it that I wanted to do long hauling, which I clarified.  I don't need pats on the back.  I got laid off from my job 2 weeks ago and I am now switching careers.  I merely wanted to point out that I have more things that I can do besides haul horses.  Didn't need the negativity!  Keep it for yourself, I don't need it!

If I'm reading correctly you are finishing your Equine Massage Therapy class.  You will want to start working and getting customers.  I think this might work since you are hauling horses to work on them.  This is still commercial work but you just have to be careful.  I would start just around KY - then go to other states.  Do your homework!  We know there are farriers and dentist that travel all over.  Good Luck! 

Several things are obvious from this dialog: 1) You haven't checked with your motor vehicle department about your status of driving for payment. 2) You haven't checked with your insurance carrier about coverage for the same criteria. 3) You haven't checked with an attorney about the same specifics.

In today's litigious society, bad things happen to nice people. You don't have to be in the wrong to loose a lot of money. Defending yourself successfully can drain your bank account; attorneys expect payment whether they win or loose.

An infraction of motor vehicle laws can result in fines, an injury to yourself or others can be life altering, damage to your equipment can be expensive.

Yes, these are negative statements, and they are all true and based on  personal encounters. Some of us have had experiences, that with some knowledge, others would not have to repeat. No one "needs" or wants bad things to happen, but the facts are they do so, and often.

We are offering you our best advice and information, and only ask for your respect of considering what was offered. We can lead you to water, the rest is up to you.

Gard

  Hook up, Load up, and hit the road.... Sit around and worry about license, lawyers, and a bunch of rules and you'll end up in the soup line!! Remember this.....  "Learning To Do, Doing To Learn, Earning To Live, Living To Serve"  This is what I would do if I were out of work, I would haul with what I got until I could see further..... You got a price per mile set in your mind yet? I used to do pretty good years ago hauling to day shows with a "STEEL STOCK TRAILER". Every one was from the same barn. I'd haul 5 horses, .50 a mile round trip. I would be gone for 12-14 hours, $250.00 for a 100 mile round trip, that won't bad in 1980!! I would pack them in there and they would all pay the same price and the folks would feed me three or two times that day too!! We kept our boarding barn full all the time because folks without a trailer and well behaved horses knew they could get a ride to the show. No kickers, no cribbers, no stallions and they had to be healthy unless it was a run to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital .. It beat sitting around the house being miserable!!  Good luck with your new venture!!

  I myself, don't haul anymore, folks want to complain about the price... I guess they don't realize what a truck and trailer cost to operate and maintain these days.

You can't do for $1.00 now days.... But there's one that will haul them for less than $1.12 per loaded mile!!  http://www.uship.com/community/stories/uShip/47463/Thanks-to-UShip-my-horse-is-here/

I don't think I would do it now days for $5.00 per loaded mile.... Big list of folks hauling, http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/HorseTransport.html   I travel I-95 alot and this time of year and in the spring you won't go five minutes and not see a commercial hauler..... They'll be backed up 12 trailers deep at the Ag. inspection station at Jacksonville, Fl.

I was just using that 1.00 per mile figure just to show her in even numbers that it would not be worth it.

I would not do it for 5.00 per mile either! Unless it was someone I knew and a 1 TIME DEAL, with every thing related to liability issues signed by me, them and anybody else standing around.  Too many things can go wrong!  And if I remember right the ol' saying is, "if it can go wrong, it will go wrong"!

personally, i don't want to be a pessimist since there is a horse hauling industry ( small yes) someone is making money at it. It can be done but I'd want to have my home work done before I jumped in. I'd want to know about insurance,DOT laws and other regualtions even if i wanted to haul local routes. I'd want to know how much my expenses would be per mile and how much of demand there was. I'd talk to other small time haulers, pick their brains and get as many ideas that i could.

Unmet demands is where the money is. if you think you can do it, then go for it.

If you are going to do any kind of business, horse hauling included, you had better have insurance.  If you have an accident, if a horse is injured, or if your customer is just being a hard-a**, you can be sued and you can lose more than just the value of the animal.  Juries just love to award damages based on pain and suffering or  emotional distress  Here in NM it used to be the norm for the Navajo Indians to cut the fences along interstate 40 and herd their sheep, goats, or horses onto the roadway.  Every time an animal was killed, the Navajo owner was paid many times what the animal was worth, regardless of the injuries or deaths caused by their animals.  If there is a dollar to be made, you can bet someone has figured out how to make it and to heck with the harm it causes others. I own a cowboy cooking school, and I have to carry a large insurance policy just in case someone gets hurt, even though they sign a waiver when they register for the class.

Marla

You are right except if you are sued by a customer and the authorities find out you are hauling for compensation, you can lose your truck and trailer!  Actually, if you are pulled over and found out, you can lose your truck and trailer.