No Horsing Around: Tips on How to Move a Horse

Moving with any pet presents challenges, but when you own a horse, arranging transportation to your new home isn’t as simple as loading him on a trailer and turning him loose in the pasture when he arrives. In addition to a pre-trip visit by a veterinarian, you may need to make travel arrangements months in advance and purchase insurance. You’ll then have to monitor your horse for stress and illness for the first few days after arrival and give him time to adjust.

If transporting your horse to your new home sounds overwhelming, don’t worry. We’ve broken the process, so you can plan ahead and make the move as easy as possible.

Before you move

Unless you plan to board, your new home should have a paddock and pasture with safe, well-maintained fencing. If the fencing needs tending, do so before you ship your horse, says Horseracingsense.com.

The same goes for the stalls. Each stall should provide enough room for your horse to lay down comfortably and move around when standing. (Most standard stalls are 12 feet by 12 feet.) Also, consider ceiling height, doorway widths, windows, natural lighting, water and electricity. If your stalls and facilities need an update, now is the time to do it.

You’ll also want to schedule a visit with your horse’s veterinarians before you move. Ask about overall health, vaccinations and a Coggins test. The Coggins test checks for equine infectious anemia (EIA), a test the horse will need before exposure to other horses. The company you use to transport your horse may have additional health requirements. Be sure to check with them before the exam.

Finally, you’ll probably want to purchase insurance for your horse in case of an accident during transport. Equine insurance typically costs $400 to $1,000 but varies based on the extent of coverage and your horse’s value. After you meet the deductible, insurance can cover major medical and surgeries, and in some cases, it can reimburse you for the value of your horse should anything happen to your horse during the move.

Things to consider when you transport a horse

As a horse owner, you already know they are prey animals that can spook easily and are susceptible to diseases and medical conditions like colic. The stress can lower their immunity and make these conditions even more likely. If necessary, work with your horse in the weeks (preferably months) leading up to the move to reduce his stress during the transport. Make sure he can calmly enter and exit a trailer and is comfortable wearing leg guards.

Additionally, since horses nap in short spurts instead of sleeping in one chunk of time like humans, sleep patterns can impact transportation, as can their inability to throw up if they get motion sickness. These attributes, along with where you are moving to, should factor into deciding which way is the best to get your horse from your current home to your new one.

How to transport your horse

Generally speaking, there are two ways to move your horse: air and trailer. If you have a trailer and aren’t moving far, you can move your horse on your own. However, hiring someone to transport your horse for you is a safer choice if your move is long distance. The breakdown below includes the advantages and disadvantages of each method.

Air

Flying your horse to your new home has two major advantages over a trailer. First, it takes less time to fly than drive or ship. Second, because flights usually are smooth, a horse can fall asleep. However, air transportation isn’t cheap, and flight schedules can be limited. Expect to pay between $2,000 to $10,000 for a domestic one-way flight, depending on the destination and level of care. An international flight can range from $10,000 to $20,000.

Oddly enough, cost is determined by class. Your horse can fly first class in his own stall, second class in a stall with one other horse or third class in a stall with two other horses. The stall can either be built into the aircraft or built on top of a pallet loaded at ground level and moved by hydraulic lift into the plane. Legally, at least one designated person must travel with the horse. This could be you or a person designated by the transport company. (If you go, you will need to bring your own drinks, food and entertainment.)

Several companies offer equine air transportation, including Apollo Equine, which relies on FedEx to ship its horses domestically. On the other hand, Tex Sutton Equine Air Transportation flies its own planes with limited routes. For example, a Tex Sutton flight connecting Los Angles to Houston may occur once every few months (and often depends on local horse events and races).

Trailer

Transporting your horse by trailer costs considerably less than air—on average $2.55 per mile for less than 100 miles and $1.10 per mile for less than 1,000 miles, according to uShip—but it has a significant drawback. As the trailer stops, starts, turns and changes speeds, your horse needs to continually regain balance, preventing him from falling asleep. To compensate, you need to make frequent stops that give him enough time to rest.

Because travel is so slow, it’s better to leave it to an experienced transport company. These companies typically pick your horse up at your current house and drop off and pick up other horses on the way to your new home. Choose an experienced company that specializes in horses, like Equine Express or American Horse Transportation, over a new company or one that broadly transports “pets.”

You can also find reputable equine transporters through uShip, but you will have to spend time vetting them. Again, read reviews, and watch for red flags like not requiring a health certificate for your horse or asking you to pay them through Western Union, Venmo or Zelle.

Ship

Unless you are moving overseas, shipping your horse by ship isn’t an option. And, even so, you’ll be hard-pressed to find maritime shipping companies that transport horses, for good reason. First, horses can get seasick, and unfortunately, there’s no pharmaceutical you can give them to prevent nausea. Also, since they can’t vomit, they can suffer colic.

If that weren’t reason enough to look for another method of transport, sea travel takes longer, and your horse will have to remain in his stall for the entire trip. So for your horse’s sake, spend the extra money and book air transportation.

Acclimating your horse

Turn your horse loose in the paddock when your horse arrives and watch him move. Call a veterinarian right away if he shows any sign of lameness, injury, or distress. Stress may manifest itself in a loss of appetite. Keep an eye out for disinterest at mealtime or weight loss, and have him examined by a veterinarian if you notice either.

Additionally, your horse may stop drinking water if he doesn’t like the taste of the water at your new home. Finally, watch for signs of dehydration, including a lack of energy, red mucous membranes, skin tenting, excessive sweating, high heart rate and dark urine, and again, call a veterinarian if you notice any of them. In the meantime, you can try adding flavored electrolyte powder to the water to entice him to drink.

For most horses, the moving process goes smoothly and they acclimate to their new home without much trouble. Still, it takes a lot of planning to transport your horse to your new home and time to make sure he adjusts once there. And, that’s on top of packing and moving your own belongings.

Consider making a serious dent in your moving to-do list by hiring professional movers if you own a horse. A moving company can pack your belongings, transport them to your new home and unload them off the truck. And, with Moving.com, finding a licensed and bonded moving company has never been easier. Moving.com has an extensive network of reputable and reliable movers you can rely on throughout the moving process, allowing you to focus on getting your horse to your new home.