Anyone here haul horses?

I have not, but my Aunt has her show horses hauled all over the country. And, they travel in a trailer that rivals the nicest RVs. Also, she’s had the same driver for probably 30-40 years.

Never say never, but from what I know of her operation, I’d say you have about as much chance breaking into that biz as you would trying to be a NASCAR hauler.

 

I've seen a few ads in Florida for drivers to haul horses. I'd imagine an 0/0 would need outlandish insurance.

 

You're right. It's like anything else worthwhile, it takes time to move up. Some friends of mine haul race horses. They've been at it for about thirty years and the last ten years or so they finally started really making the big money. It took them a long time to gain the trust of the horse owners. They live in Kentucky but during racing season they're on the road constantly. They said that most of the time a groom or a trainer travels with them and they seldom handle the horses themselves.
LOL...now they'd like to retire but the money coming in is a powerful incentive to stay working.


EDIT TO ADD One of the reasons for their success was that they have their own farm with lay-up facilities for the horses. They have people who exercise and groom the horses and trainers use the place also. Kind of a "full service" deal. High class, too.

 

I see ads in central kentucky for Sallee and Brooklidge. It helps to have horse experience

 

I've heard the animals are the least of your hassles. The owners are a freaking nightmare. Imagine a car freak with the highest outrageous expectations plus a spoiling parent with even higher expectations combined.

I doubt that job is available to more than 30 drivers in a year.

 

According to my friends that haul race horses most of the owners are pretty laid back and mellow. Having zillions of dollars affect some people that way.
The trainers, on the other hand, are described mostly in very unflattering four letter words. They have a turnover rate similar to NFL coaches and for the same reasons...too many losses. It makes them a little insecure and they tend to scream a lot. No matter if the horse is a clumsy clunk that should be pulling a milk wagon in the local Fourth of July parade, the owners paid good money for it and they expect a certain level of results. Reality has nothing to do with it. Those zillions of dollars I mentioned also insulate people from bothersome little details of reality.
The horses are a little flighty but the grooms handle them most of the time. The drivers drive. They stop overnight fairly often to get the horse out of the trailer and let it rest. Hauling is stressful to some horses. My friends have contacts all over the US of quality places to rest a horse overnight. It's part of the service.

 

My son worked for one of the prominent thoroughbred farms in Lexington. He has ridden in the trailer with the horses to Florida and New York from Kentucky.

 

Working at one of the big companies that just move horses. I'm not adding up the total number of ranchers etc that move horses at least once per year. I mean number of drivers who JUST move horses all year. I don't think horses are raised like cattle where there are thousands of drivers hauling cattle. My "30 drivers" comment was guessing how many experienced new-hire drivers are hired by those dedicated horse movers, It's just my first impression.

I don't know your background, but your question reminded me of the newbies or prospective drivers that pop on hear and say something like "I like (speed boats, sail boats, motorcycles, muscle cars, carnival rides, etc) and I would like someone to point me toward a job where that's all I do with my truck. New drivers aren't getting those jobs and people with those cool toys aren't just putting their toy out on the open market in case some newbie wants to play with it. That's the position from which I was answering the question.