I'm getting an 04.5 2500. Vehicle will be for personal use but I may be interested in using it to trailer horses since there are many farms nearby. Not knowing much about this can anyone lend insight into whether this would be profitable or more trouble than it's worth. I don't have a trailer.

Thanks.

 

first off iam goin to say sorry right off the bat


but what kind of horseman are you? have you hauled any form of live stock? just becuaes you have a dodge dont mean your a cowboy what setup are you goin to run and how good is your insurance do you have a trailer would you haul your horses in it and you might want to look in to the F plate ot the T plate for the propper placards of your truck

 

I couldn't agree with DodgeCowboy anymore than I do. Unless you have spent years hauling your own, I wouldn't even think of hauling other peoples unpredictables little darlings. I'v been doing this for some years, and you can't even imagine some of the predicaments that I deal with. More times than not if these people don't want to haul their own or know somebody with a trailer that will do it, there is a good reason for steering clear of that horse. And when you tell your insurance agent about your plans they will run. My agent could care less about a 24ft trailer full of cattle, but he didn't want nothing to do with commercial haul for horses. In the event of an accident everyone out ther is convinced that their $500 pasture ornament is worth thousands, and it will cost you that much to prove them wrong. To sum this up, buy your trailer and a horse for you and the wife and enjoy them. Don't ruin your fun dealing with other peoples problems.

 

this isn't about hauling freight. Any body can do that, What do you know about horses? Do you own horses? What is your experence with horses? I'am just saying its a big responsibilty hauling someone elses animals. Don't even think about it unless you know what your doing.

 

if you are serious about this try hauling your own if you have any around with the new truck and what ever trailer you have just a simple note a trailer is a trailer regardless if you spend 50k on it or a 200 dollars so long as its solid dependable and it has a good floor. my trailer been the 9 wars and show but the structures stong the floors are good. if you do haul horses one thing you need to check just as much as your check your tires is your floor. not just lifting the mats and looking at i mean you check it for any sings of dry rot or any broken pices of wood. i have been hauling horses arond for years and if any thing can happin it will be to a horse there like big accidents waiting to explode. i must and will inist that if you get a goose neck dont go the chepest rout spend the money on a good setup it will be worth it in the long run and less of a headach. and mind you this if you get a bunch of horses in there that dont know each other then your in for a either a pleast ride or you in for a fight. and before i sign off what ever you decide to do please make darn sure you have no stallions in there with mares try to either haul mares only and stallions or geldins another day. and maybe or maybe you dont know this but when your hauling any form of live stock your in no big hurry just run 55-60

 

I agree with all of the above. My hauling has always been personal or for the riding farm where I ride and board my horse. The liability is enormous. One ding on a horse's leg and the owner will blame you. Maybe they don't want or don't have shipping boots, maybe the horse is a bad loader / bad rider, yadda yadda. I unfortunately have seen many different bad behaviors in the trailer and getting on and off. We actually had one pony freak out when we closed the ramp (he'd been standing quietly until then) and launch himself over the breast bar, put his head trough the nose-window, and then get hung up on the breast bar. Fortunately, he did very little damage to his head on the window, and was small so when we were able to calm him, we just lifted him enough to drop the breast bar and get him out. We've had bad riders stomp and scramble and cut the legs of his neighbor; we've had two horses do serious damage to the walls of the big stock trailer by kicking; and we've had three horses that needed to get to the hospital asap that we virtually had to heft onto the trailer (not fun).

I'd keep away from the horse-hauling for hire. That said, I do get paid by the barn to drive either my two-horse/Explorer combo when they have overflow to a show or to drive the farm's big rigs (ahem, F350 duallys ) or to pickup a new border. But I wouldn't do it unless it was directly related to the group that I know well and am completely comfortable with...

 

I agree w/ all comments started here, If you really want to do this, hire on for a trip w/ a pro and get first hand knowledge, the experience can be a real eye opener. We had one I knick named houdini(sp) that on 3 different occasions unhooked himself and all other horses in the trailer. Imagine our surprise when we opened the back door the first time and they all wanted out at the same time. They can be hard to catch, hard to load, hard headed and hard to unload. As mentioned above the $500 pet all of a sudden is worth a fortune. I gave it up after about 18 months of obnoxious owners worried about their plug. How long will he stay in the trailer? When does he get to stretch his legs? When does he get water? It aint worth the hassles!

 

Haul cows.............their owners are not near as picky!

CR

 

While I agree with most of the above, you can make a killing doing this if you know what you're doing.

The trick is to line up several horses at the starting point, and several horses at the finish point to haul on your way back.

I've been toying with the idea of getting into hauling for hire for some time now. First as a part time endeavor and then as full time. I've made no decisions, though.

I know a few guys that have done this for many years and they are very well off.

However, don't go into this not knowing what to expect. I get the impression that the original poster does not have much (or any) horse experience. I could be wrong, but thats just the impression I got. Well, you have no idea how many different personalities you will have to deal with on both the part of the owners and the horses. And forcing an unwilling horse onto a trailer can be a train wreck. They will evade you in ways you never thought possible.

The horse I was riding came into the university last semester very lame. Seems that during transportation he got his foot raised up enough to get it stuck in the feed bag. Now, the owners of the horse were doing the hauling, but imagine if they hired someone out. This horse was off work for weeks. The haulers could be in some serious trouble.

 

If you are not an experienced horse person my advice would be to learn about handling horses. Insurance for commercial hauling is expensive. My gut reaction is don't do it!

Most people that have horses that haul/load well and who are knowledgeable about trailering horses already own their own truck and trailer. Often people who want to hire someone to haul their horses are less experienced in the loading process. Sometimes 'precious' has never been in a trailer EVER and when you pull up that driveway before the big horseshow with not a lot of time
to spare you may be expected to be the experienced horse loader who can teach the pony his very first lesson on trailer loading. Be prepared to be struck at, kicked at, trampled and dragged. Owners may ask you not to use that chain over/under the horses's nose because it is cruel. It can take HOURS to load an unwilling horse, sometimes we have to walk away in defeat--it just aint
going to happen that day. What do you charge then? You quoted a set fee and the dang horse took hours of your time but you were unable to provide the service you quoted for. The natural horsemanship way of loading often goes out the window under pressure and then things get ugly!

Then there are the kids that make you sit and wait while they get ready for the show, they are late and they try and load the horse that is already in a state of anxiety after standing to be braided/polished the parents are no where to be found, you get to be the kid sitter as well. If you are interested in hiring out your services for horseshows be prepared for a long day, often the kids will want to use the trailer as their home base and there's no sitting under a shade tree with a cool beer or two because you are the driver after all. Horse shows can be rather boring (I am an active competitor and I even find things dull at times).

Horses can cause an incredible amount of damage to a trailer if they are anxious. They can dent walls by pawing, try and jump out doors, over partitions and they can kick. After the stress of loading there is nothing like the sound of banging of your new expensive horse trailer wondering what kind of damage is going on never mind the situation you may find opening the door.

I am very fond of my horse but I would not say he is a good traveller, I have worked with him for hours at a time loading and standing in a trailer. He is often sedated for his trailer rides. I have my own trailer so I am able to work with him. Many horse owners do not spend any time training their horse to load and travel, it is boring and time consuming and for some people they simply do not have access to a trailer to train their horse--these will most likely be the type of people that will want to hire a horse hauler. Oh and you might want to get the money up front before you pull out of the driveway.

I know people who truck horses that are very happy to do this job but it's always nice to know what you are in for ahead of time. It's not for everyone!

 

there is a reason i have a 1977 logan stock combo becuase it dont have all the fancy stuff like corner feeders and so forth mine is a striped down version of a horse trailer we used to haul our cattle for over 15yrs and it have never fails due to the fact that we service the axels the floor regualry. one thing i will touch on due to becuaes its not been said is that you said you dont have a trailer i have to ask have you ever driven with a trailer? because of all of the anmials you chose to say you wanted to haul you said a horse there one of two animals that if it could happen it will the other is sheep i once hauled a loaded trailer full of sheep that started to die becuase i got stoped in road construction an it was hot and i could not get water to them all at once because i was in the middle of the intersate i do hope that you chime in on your post because i do want the other side of this story so we know the whole pictore.

if you dont know much about horses your sore nuff not goin to learn it in a few short days its taken years of years to get were most people are at and you darn sure aint goin to lean by a book if you are dead set on doing this then i ask if you do start to take part time in a stable working and being around horses and help out when ever possible they have to haul any horses.

 

Tell THAT to a bullhauler I think m3rd has got the message.

doomgaze- Would you happen to know Mr. B and his son C.R.?

 

Hauling other people's horses is a drag. They are usually skitzo and hard to load and hard to unload.

If you do get into this business then one suggestion "Cam Latches" on the rear doors like the big rigs. I have seen 5 different horses get scared in the trailer and run backward and bend the door and aluminum handle and plate like are on Feather ligts and Sundowners. Down side is an injured horse, bent door and unable to close and lock the door afterward so your stuck! I have a steel frame and inside walls with aluminum skin which mean very strong but easy maintenance. I like my Trailet and a friend has an al 4-star with cam latches and it is solid.

Good luck and don't rush in. Go on a run with someone who does this because it is not always fun....

 

You bet. CRB was one of my instructors last year for my freshman year. That man has more horse knowledge in his pinky than I do in my entire body.

He'll also be instructing us in our junior and senior years.

I've ridden a few of his horses. You want to talk about an animal that makes you look like you know what you're doing... Broke does not describe his horses!

 

Thanks everyone for your comments. Due to the "passionate" responses (esp dodgecowboy83) its seems that it's a lot more trouble than it's worth. That being said I would expect that someone who knows their stuff must be making good money. Never hauled anything live (just cars). I'll try to go to some local shows and talk to the haulers and see if it something I want to pursue. Otherwise I'll look into hauling hay bales and plowing.

Thanks.