Shipping Safety and Health Certificates

Trailering and Transport Tips

The horse should have a good leather halter and be confined to a stall area for pickup.

Check with your hauler ahead of time to determine whether they will allow other items to be shipped with the horse.

Advise your hauler on the safest and best entry point for pick-up and determine ahead of time what size rig will be used for the pickup and whether they are being transferred to a larger rig at a central staging point.

Let your shipper know if the horse has any health problems that may affect the horse and/or the drivers/handlers  (examples:  striking or kicking out, colic history, extreme age, soundness problems)

Check with your hauler to see if they want you to furnish hay, how much they will need for the length of the trip.  Also advise if there are special feeding requirements and have it bagged and ready for the length of the trip.  This eliminates some of the stress of shipping for the horse  so you are not changing his feed routine.

Horses should not be fed grain one feeding before pickup, or feeding after delivery.  It is always a good idea to add electrolytes to the feed several days before any long haul shipping and sometimes in the summer prior to a show.

Bandage type leg-wear is definitely not recommended.  And shipping boots only if the horse is accustomed to wearing them routinely

Time spent preparing your horse is sometimes advantageous, especially if the horse is used to being outside all of the time.  If they have been routinely hauled to shows and other weekend events and have lived in a stall it is not as stressful for them.  Keep in mind the health and safety of both the horse and the handlers. 

Health Certificates are Required when crossing statelines

Horses will need a Coggins  (EIA)test that is less than one year old – or if going to or from California it will need to be less than 6 months old and a health certificate that is less than thirty (30) days old from a licensed veterinarian.  This paperwork must be the originals and not copies if traveling to or through Arizona, California or Florida.  Copies work for other locations, but will not get you through the checkpoints in these states.  This paperwork must accompany the horse every place that it is transported to or through – no exceptions – so don’t be caught without them.

It is always a good idea to check with your local veterinarian for any shipping requirements in your state.  Also there are special requirements for FEI level competitions and if you intend to show at those levels you and your veterinarian should be familiar with those requirements, in addition to the forbidden substance list for competition horses.