Wreckless

25/08/2024

This keeps popping up on various pages, not only is it a scam (note the Indiana plate), but it brings up a valid point for those shopping for used trailers.
In this ad it states it's a 1985; think about this for a second ... this trailer is 40 years old. It should be enjoying a lovely retirement as a matched set of patio furniture, not being dragged down the road.
Grossly outdated wheels, axles, braking system, wiring ... the list goes on. Even after replacing major components, you're still looking at a structure that was constructed 40 years ago; metal fatigue & stress fractures are almost assured.

I've noticed numerous older trailers being offered (three today that i found which are even older than this one), & have reached out to a few of the sellers asking valid questions about service intervals, inspections & the like. Most of them block me just for asking. If you're serious about considering an older unit, please invest the few bucks it would need to have the trailer taken into a reputable shop for a complete inspection. If the seller won't cooperate in this effort, walk away.

I've written articles on this topic, here's one that has appeared in Canadian Horse Journals a few times:
https://www.horsejournals.com/acreages-stables/transport-equipment/buying-pre-owned-horse-trailer

If you'd like some in-depth advice on this & many other important aspects of trailering, consider joining us at SRC in January for the next Trailering clinic:
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10160168061020796&set=a.476893600795

24/08/2024

Very excited to announce that Southlands Riding Club is hosting our first Trailering Clinic of 2025!

Members will receive a discount, but the clinic is open to everyone!
Please read the following carefully!
SRC Members: $120 per person, or $200 for a couple
Non-Members: $180 per person, or $300 for a couple
(“Couple” is loosely defined! Spouses, siblings, barn buddies, whatever!)
As always when a club or group hosts one of our clinics, a significant portion of the attendance fee will be donated back to the club.

A very brief summary of the content:
The classroom portion begins at 9am sharp, after lunch we head outside for the practical session, then typically wrap up around 4pm.
Overview of trailering safety
Vehicle ratings, capacities & specifications
Insight; private, business & commercial animal transport
Safety & maintenance, licensing
Driving tips, trip preparations, emergency preparedness
Loading & Unloading, specific situations
Pre-Trip demo
“Show & Tell” of safety issues & hazard avoidance
Coupling & Uncoupling
Loading & Unloading
Challenging situations & specific issues
Q&A afterwards

The session will revolve primarily around trailering horses, but is applicable to anyone wishing to improve their general trailering skills & knowledge. The clinic will also offer insight into situations regarding professional &/or business applications of the law and how they would affect stable/barn owners, trainers/coaches & other industry service providers. In addition, there will be plenty of tips & explanations offered on how & why the pros do things!
Attendees will also receive a free digital copy of my book, "Tow Like A Pro, by Learning From One"; nearly 200 pages of detailed information, explanations & insight on horse transport
(Also available here: https://payhip.com/b/KR4yv )

09/08/2024

The most profound aspect of rescue is when your first touch gently finds the edges of their scars, and all you feel is the magnificence of their survival.

26/03/2024

Commercial Horse Transport - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

I’ve been approached about presenting carrier assessment with brevity, so let’s see how few words i can use to help you make good choices ... if you’re in the market for horse transport, or know someone who is, this is a “MUST READ”. Not now, but right now.

Good commercial carriers are far outnumbered by those operating illegally, those operating on the edge, & the ones who are just out to scam you. Clients drive the process & evolution of each of these groups! The good ones stay in business because their clients understand the value of quality service, safety & responsibility. The borderline ones persist because there will always be clients who just want to save a buck. The scammers manage to gouge simply due to their prey not doing or being able to verify the scammer’s identity & worthiness.

I just need to interject this; good carriers encourage & welcome competition! None of us can be all places at all times, nor can we provide every type or level of service imaginable; it is in our collective best interests to work together ... however, we will only do so with other carriers who share our standards & levels of responsibility. I am happy to endorse other carriers, but first they have to make me feel ok with handing them the leadrope to one of my own horses.

Whenever someone transports anything that does not belong to them, and they do so in exchange for compensation, that’s “commercial transport”; the movement of goods for hire. Virtually every jurisdiction in the civilised world has clearly defined regulations surrounding commercial transport; in Canada this includes:
Carriers having a National Safety Code (NSC) account, in good standing
Vehicles licensed & insured for commercial use (most expensive bracket, ever)
Vehicles regularly submit to inspections, & bear evidence thereof (CVI decal)
Vehicles will be clearly marked with the carrier’s name, relevant carrier number(s) & licensed weight limit (2 highly specific exceptions to this, very few carriers qualify for this exemption)
Drivers who are licensed for the class of vehicle they are driving
Drivers are responsible for performing daily pre-trip inspections of their vehicle(s)
Driving more than 160km away from their home base also requires daily trip logs
Minimum insurance coverage (Motor Truck Cargo)
In the US (& for Canadian carriers operating there), this will include:
US DoT & Motor Carrier Commission registration, with accompanying carrier numbers

The above are the BARE MINIMUM required by law to legally transport your horse (I dunno about you, but my horses are worth more than my minimum efforts, or those of others)

Responsible horse transporters will also have:
A Commercial General Liability (CGL) policy, that they will share with you on request
Equipment designed for, or at least modified for commercial use (not “off the lot” trailers)
Detailed contracts outlining what they do, what you do & what happens if something goes awry.
Easily confirmed reputation

Insurance - if someone says, “I’m insured” & they show their Motor Truck Cargo policy, they’re not covered for live animals! Cargo insurance only pays out to maximum of $2.20 per kilo, & only if the horse dies as a result of the carrier’s actions or inaction. CGL policies will at least have specific coverage based on value of the horse(s), circumstance (in transit, while at layover, etc). The longer a carrier has been in business, without significant claims, the more detailed this coverage will become, eventually including alternate transport, vet bills & more. This doesn’t come easily, & it ain’t cheap! IMPORTANT NOTE: if someone is not licensed or insured legally, if they’re involved in a accident, any coverage that might be in place is immediately null & void, even if the incident was not the driver’s fault. Your only course of action would be to sue them to recover your damages &/or expenses (unless they walked the moral high ground & offer to pay all that out of their own pocket).
Equipment - commercial grade trucks & trailers specifically designed &/or modified for safe & efficient horse transport are not easily obtained, & they ain’t cheap! New cost for a properly spec’d 1-ton & 4-horse trailer can reach $300,000; for a class 8 (semi truck & highway trailer), that figure will swell to over half a mil$$. Operating overhead (insurance, licensing, fuel, maintenance, repairs, administrative costs, depreciation, et al) typically inhales over 75% of the gross revenue from a commercial vehicle, then the driver needs to make a living (even if it’s their own rig, they still need to pay themselves a living wage, otherwise they can’t financially survive, which means they won’t be around when you need them). Anything that might be left over is known as “profit”, & that is often the smallest number in the entire column of figures.
Rates - I’ll be the first one to admit that i sure couldn’t afford me! Looking at the overheads outlined above show that we can’t really afford to get into the “rate game”. It costs what it costs, & those who offer cheaper rates are either cutting corners somewhere, undercutting rates just to get more horses on board, offering “backhaul rates” or just operating illegally. Experienced, responsible carriers know it costs just as much to drive one way as it does to drive back ... “backhaul” rates are just an excuse to try & attract those for whom price is king. That said, i will often make concessions for groups going from & to the same places, certain round trip options, or in the case of a charter trip if i manage to get someone else on board i will always make a dent in the charter rate.
Deposits - This is a sticky one for me. I don’t demand deposits unless i have to pay out money from my own pocket in order to plan a trip (brokerage, outside vendors, reservations that must be paid in advance, etc). In those rare cases, i will tender a full contract detailing the entire itinerary & include a breakdown of all projected costs (always with a caveat on unexpected expenses & who’s responsible for what in those cases). There are some reputable carriers who ask for deposits, but they should also offer receipts & contracts that completely describe the transaction.
References - Check ‘em out! It should be easy to collect reviews on established carriers! If you’re struggling to find anything on someone who’s offering to haul your horse, the safe step would be to walk away. If they’re good, people will know about them & someone will have already made a noise about that experience. If they’re really good, there should be ample reports available to you. If they’re really good & have been for a really long time, those references will originate from substantially more reliable/prestigious & easily verifiable sources. Good leaves a trail, bad leaves a shadow ...

16/03/2024

My second most pirated (stolen) image & quote ...
If artists received credit & remuneration for the the stolen/pirated copies of their work, none of them would have to work so hard ...
This one is now plastered with watermarks, in the desperate hope that it can be shared in its original form.

23/02/2024

Seeing In Spite of the Darkness

We hear so much about “positive reinforcement” for ourselves, affording ourselves essential pick-me-ups & “personal days”, while avoiding the demonic tentacles of negativity. Good & evil are stablemates; good & bad are both essential, for balance. Avoiding negativity is like living in an enclosed biosphere; problem with that is that when something we haven’t developed an immunity to comes along, & we’re toast. Just ask the millions of indigenous peoples who died because of smallpox & tuberculosis just because some friends came to visit ...
To maintain emotional health we need the whole spiritual enchilada; but, there are boundaries ...
So, how does all this resonate with our horses?
We understand all about how to ensure our own mental health, but dipping the emotional litmus paper into our horse’s minds might provide a bit of an awakening. It can also broaden our own understanding, of not only our horses, but ourselves as well.
I’ve spouted off endlessly about the importance of ensuring your horse has a seat at the table when it comes to choices, & we don’t get to define how they make them; our job as responsible sentient beings is to listen without judgement or expectation. That’s a tough one for most folks, because most of us listen with the intent to reply, instead of listening with the intent to understand (hint: the first one isn’t really listening ...). Once you’ve mastered the art of listening properly, then you’ve earned the opportunity to step into the arena of understanding that we don’t get to hog the market on mental health. Our horses have their own ideas of what that represents to them, and if we respect them, we must be at least willing to look at their emotional standards from their perspectives.
Here’s a hint to get you started; drop the idea that your horse is arguing with you. Your horse is not “giving” you a hard time, they’re “having” a hard time. Soon as you switch from thinking in terms of discipline & into the mindset of helping them through the challenges (that you imposed, by the way; because if it weren’t for you, they’d just be off being a horse), the entire spectrum changes. Once you realise they’re not arguing with you, they’re expressing their needs ... once you really get that, you’d be amazed at how the dynamic between you & your horse shifts into the “positive”. If the people around us thought we were arguing every time we tried to express ourselves, wouldn’t take long for us to either ditch that crowd or slip into a state of learned helplessness; the latter is where we find many of our horses resorting to ... the old term of “breaking” a horse was just that, to break any semblance of their nature so we could do what we wanted with or to them. Yet despite libraries of memoirs from folks like Ray Hunt & the Dorrance brothers, that “breaking” mindset still slips insidiously in through that crack under the door (proof of this is painfully obvious in the multitude of mush pumped out in the name of “natural” horsemanship).
We think we’ve left that horrible practice behind, but many of us still think in terms of a horse resisting as opposed to them struggling with a challenge they may not be equipped to deal with on their own. Big deal breaker comin’ up! If i’m struggling with being in the dark & you turn the light off to teach me a lesson, i will never trust you again; more importantly, i will never allow myself to be put into a position that you have control of the light switch (true story; my adoptive family did that to me when i was 5; absolutely flipped me right over the edge. I was beaten for responding to their emotional terrorism by crying. Took me the rest of my life to find solution paths, & over 60 years later i still struggle with nyctophobia). Big deal clincher comin’ up! If your horse is struggling with a challenge & you break it down into bite-sized pieces for them to digest more easily (even if that takes five times longer than “conventional” methods) the next time they are called upon to process a challenge, they’ll be more inclined to call on you for support. Just like if you sat with that 5 year old child & helped them discover how to see in spite of the darkness; now you’ve made a friend for life.

I’m gonna say it one more time, for those in the back:
Your horse is not giving you a hard time, they’re having a hard time.
Your horse doesn’t “need” a leader, s/he wants to know that their well being means more to you than your agendas.
Making a horse move any part of their body doesn’t make you the boss; only bullies think that way.
Very old, very wise saying; “You have reached the full potential of your reins, when you no longer need them”. ANYTHING that you do to physically direct, redirect, control or steer a horse is force. Leg pressure, reins, flapping plastic bags & sticks; are all force.
No piece of tack or tool can connect you to a horse as solidly as energy. (AND, you are wholly responsible for the energy that you bring into their space.)
Here’s the biggie ... it’s never the horse’s fault for not understanding what you want, or not being equipped to deal with a situation that you created. Lemme shorten that one for those who like digests;
It’s never the horse’s fault. Period.

You decide if you want to close the gap between you, or wedge it open so far that neither of you will ever be able to bridge it.

---------------------------
Please feel free to share from the original post by using the "Share" function.
Copyright: Kevan Garecki
No part of the forgoing text or accompanying image may be used or copied without express written permission.

15/02/2024

*RANT WARNING*

A friend reached out to me recently for advice ... seems a student of hers, who was brand new to trailering, was unsure of best practices, so they turned to my friend to school them in some of finer points of shoving a living being into a tin box & hurtling down the highway with said life form's entire survival nestled in their lap.
What came as a surprise was how adamantly this person refused to follow my friend's advice. It was good advice, populated with common sense, experience & knowhow. What i find astonishing is how powerful the Dunning-Kruger Effect can affect people's cognitive abilities. In this case, we unleashed someone who decided they'd learned all they needed to learn, & summarily slam the door at the point which they (unknown to them) most desperately needed to shut the f**k up & listen.
For those unfamiliar with the D-K Effect, in simple terms it proves that you don't know what you don't know, and you never know as much as you think you know. I have a further collary for this phenomenon; the more you know, the less you realise that you actually understand. Unfortunately, most people never make it far enough to reach this point, because they've gone on to do something colossally stupid.
Over half a century around horses has solidly proven to me that i must always keep my eyes & ears open, be receptive to new ideas & accept that to have experienced every possible situation & scenario, i'd hafta be 300 guys, all them over 1,000 years old. Alas, i am in fact neither 1,000 guys nor 300 years old (despite what outward appearances may hint at). Therefore, i humbly embrace learning; at every moment, every turn, every opportunity.
So, my hand is out to my friend's former client; you have a free pass to any of my trailering clinics. Yup, absolutely no charge. On one condition; you have to show up with my friend ...

Image & text are protected by copyright - Kevan Garecki

24/01/2024

Exciting News!
We've been invited to do a trailering at KRC in Kelowna!
Details in the poster!

19/01/2024

It's not about "if", it's "when" ... & that is "now"

“Can we train with current practices in the middle of Central Park in New York City and defend your actions?” new USEF Chief of Sport David O’Connor asked a room full of horsepeople attending the U.S. Equestrian Federation’s Annual Meeting. “If not, those practices cannot happen.”

01/01/2024

I keep seeing this pop up, no idea where it was copied from, but just to clarify; while i completely agree with it, it's sadly not true everywhere. Horse's DO NOT have legal Right of Way anywhere in BC.

The government of BC regards everyone as "road users"; that's motor vehicles, bicycles, horses & little red mice riding unicycles ...
British Columbia Motor Vehicle Act
(Part 3), Section 120:
"A person riding an animal or driving an animal driven vehicle on a highway has the rights and is subject to the duties of the driver of a vehicle.”

Each "user" has their own set of responsibilities, with one commonality between them all; the responsibility to maintain adequate control of their "vehicle". This in itself places a degree of responsibility on the rider (& quite likely their trainer/coaches as well) to ensure that horse is capable of handling common traffic issues.

I'm not defending BC's position on this, i think it's utter nonsense. It is, however, the "only game in town" as it were. So, if ya wanna play, ya gotta play by their rules.

I also checked GVRD Parks' bylaws, & no such RoW exists within their infrastructure either. The only mention of horses in the GVRDP bylaws are:
"8.8 An owner shall immediately leash a dog when the dog is within the vicinity of a horse."
"8.10 No person shall ride or walk a horse, or use or operate a horse-drawn vehicle, except in an area designated by posted notice as allowing horses."
That said, there are "suggestions" posted in numerous areas within GVRD parks that include equestrian use. These signs indicate courtesy & safety suggestions, but they are not enforceable as the bylaws lack express inclusion thereof.

So, back to common sense; if you ride on the road, act like your life depends on it, because it just may.

(Oh, & please stop sharing stuff until you verify that it's relevant, or even true ... )

03/02/2023

New venue for the eBook; "Tow Like A Pro"!

The definitive volume on horse trailering, penned by a 50-year veteran in commercial horse transport!

26/01/2023

Dates are out for the Spring Trailering Clinics!

Fraser Valley dates are:
March 25th, 2023
April 29, 2023

Attendance is limited, early booking is advised! Attendees also receive a free digital copy of my book, "Tow Like A Pro"!

17/01/2023

Local contract & charter transport; Fraser Valley, Lower Mainland, Sunshine Coast & Sea-to-Sky regions.

24/7 Emergency Response: Veterinary Emergencies, incidents involving equines & other large animals, Recovery & transport

Over 50 years' claims-free commercial transport experience
* Full box stalls * Video Monitored *

Transport / Trailering clinics
Private Lessons
Consultations

29/06/2022

The horse is always my client, not their human

You might be paying me, but my contract is with your horse.

He starts talking to me as soon as I lay my eyes on him. It's not that I hear his voice or see pictures projected to me. His body speaks to me. I notice the placement of his feet beneath his body, the angles and symmetry of his hooves. I take in the rhythm of his breath, the motion of his ears, the wrinkle over his eye.

As you begin to tell me his story, my eyes continue scanning over the contours of his body. The hollows and creases explain a history of imbalance in his muscles. I make a mental note to look at your saddle.

I know he travels on the forehand well before you mention that he leans on the bit. The thickened throat-latch and hypertrophied under-neck muscles have been shouting at me since I arrived. That he spooks randomly at nothing comes as no surprise to me either.

Tensegrity will absorb many physical problems as they arise, allowing bodies to do an amazing job of compensating for physical trauma, but like us, as horses get older, trauma accumulates and creates dysfunctional posture and movement patterns.

And it's not just physical damage suffered through knocks, falls and micro-tears that takes a toll. There's emotional trauma from being weaned, trapped in yards, deprived of sufficient forage, transported, “broken-in”, separated from herdmates and so on…

Chronic emotional trauma can manifest as fascial restrictions. Dehydrated fascia becomes rigid, creating a strangle hold around muscles, nerves, tendons and even organs, limiting range of motion and sending pain signals to the brain. A vicious circle is created. The body braces as if to form a protective armour against unseen threats and the nervous system remains ever ready to flee, fight or freeze.

So once you have told me his story, it is my duty that I tell you what his body said to me. Be assured - these are my observations, not accusations. He’s always been like that, you say? Well how about today we start to do something about it? Not after the show next weekend, not after the trail ride, or after the $150 jumping lesson with the coach from out of town. For the sake of your horse, it needs to be now.

I've made a promise to your horse that I will
See him
Hear him
Honor and respect him.

I promised to do all in my power to help him feel safe so he is free to become the magnificent creature I know he can be.

So before I take your money - are you with me?

18/06/2022

The first day all we did was introduce ourselves, feel, reach out ... i thought we did ok on that
The second day was chaotic, & i felt badly because we didn’t get to end on a good note
The third day we laid some groundwork, but really didn’t get anywhere.
The fourth day started out like the second day, then started to resemble the third day, so we decided that’s as far as we would go. Then something happened ...
We realised that the first day was important, because that time we took to introduce ourselves paid off as our energies began to mesh. That third day made up for the second day, because of what we did on the first day.
On the fourth day, things began to make sense, to us & the horse; as a result, the horse followed our leads, & was calmer about doing so. The thing is, we didn’t do anything differently on any of those days. We just put it out there for the horse to digest, & waited ...
This is working without an agenda, but keeping the goal in mind. When i step up to a horse, i leave the agendas at the gate, because they can read that as fractured energy. To a horse, pure energy is born of basic goals; find food, find shelter, find companionship, breed when necessary. Anything else is splinters of refracted energy to them. They don’t give rat’s ass about who’s wearing what, jumping how high or who’s beating whom to the finish line ... those are all human perversions. What the horse does know is intent; just like the zebra knows when it’s safe or not to walk past a lion. When our agendas become more important to us than the conversation between us & that horse, the horse reads that as refracted energy, & they know we’re just not there for them, we’re only there to exact what we can out of them.
When you change that up, allow the horse to be an active participant in a dynamic conversation, you reach a level of understanding that cannot be reached any other way.
If every time you & i spoke & i dominated that conversation, how long would it take for you to just not wanna talk to me anymore? Oh, i might overpower you by being louder, or talking longer, but eventually you would reach a place in which you’d just wish i’d shut the hell up.
The fourth day was amazingly quiet, simple & absolutely amazing, because of what we did the three days before that. It’s a progression, not an itinerary, mutual conversations are seldom linear; they jump around, don’t make any sense at all, ebb & flow towards uncertain levels ... but they also leave cornerstones behind.
Three things to leave at the gate; your watch, your agendas & your expectations. That’s not to say you can’t have goals, just don’t inject your own timeline to them. Days one through 4 may muddle along until day 23, but as long as your impetus is developing that mutual conversation, then every minute you spend together is meaningful.
And remember; the best way to thank a horse is to leave them to digest their feelings & experiences to themselves.
Praise every effort, but don’t overdo it
Recognizing when they’ve had enough can be that precious “sweet spot” to call it a day
Your conversation doesn’t end when you put them away for the night; it has to continue afterwards, help that horse understand that they’re in your thoughts.
Your horse isn’t giving you a hard time, s/he’s having a hard time.

29/05/2022

"I don't wanna
I don't gotta
I ain't gonna
& you can't make me!"
- pretty much every horse, at least once ...

06/04/2022

Next stage in the dream ... Equine Emergency Response unit. Many of my friends & clients are already familiar with this li'l rig, so let me bring you up to speed on what's been updated & changed:
All new uprights, collectively capable of withstanding several thousand pounds of vertical weight (more on this later!)
Unique hideaway ramp system (my own design)
Wrap-around interior lighting
Sound deadening & R15 insulation throughout
Cushioned interior walls
Full video coverage, inside the unit & behind
Glass-particle decaling, virtually every surface is retro-reflective
Emergency response LED strobe lighting

The next step is fitting the trailer with a telescopic jib that, in conjunction with the Becker Sling System, will allow for close-quarters lifting & transport of non-ambulatory large animals (hence those extra heavy duty uprights) of up to 1,600 kilos (3,500 pounds)

(We've already done a few local moves with the signage on the back door; NO ONE tailgates us; especially at night!!)

Huge bow to the superlative team at The Trailerman in Abbotsford for their critical part in making this project happen!
These guys make the impossible look easy ...

Thanks to Pal at Real Canadian One Stop & Copy & Print Centre in Abbotsford for his ingenious work on the signs & decals!

07/03/2022

SPECIAL CLINIC OFFER:
FOR CLUBS & ORGANIZATIONS!!

I have prepared several trailering clinics for clubs & various organizations that also act as fundraisers! These events can be tailored to specific needs & represent a modest income while catering to the needs of the club.

Please call me directly for details!
(Currently limited to locations within BC)

778-858-7301

13/02/2022

Excerpts from my latest article ... very timely, very important. these are only excerpts, there is much more.

Horse Transport; The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Trailer configuration should speak “professional”; the pros know what works & why, they also know what horses need to travel in the least stressful environment possible. By far the least stressful accommodation is for the horse to be transported loose in a full box stall, so s/he can move around freely. The next step is in what’s referred to as a “stall & a half”, or “California stall”; this is essentially a standing stall that provides ample room for the horse to shift their weight without coming in contact with a wall or divider. The smallest space is a single standing stall, which as its name implies, provides the horse with only enough room to stand in one spot. Professional trailers have the ability to be re-configured to accommodate any of the above spaces.

Proper licensing is crucial to every commercial carrier; without it the rigs are not covered, the horses are not covered & others in the ownership chain (such as dealerships, in the case of a leased vehicle) are not protected in the event of damages.
Licensing Tips:
The truck must be commercially licensed, the hint to this is the registration decal will be on the FRONT plate, not the back plate.
The trailer will be commercially licensed; it will bear a full-size commercial plate, NOT the smaller utility trailer plate.
Both truck & trailer will bear a valid inspection sticker; trailers will often have it at or near the right-front, trucks will have it somewhere on the right windshield or possibly on the right hand door or window.

Every commercial carrier must hold at least $32,000 in cargo insurance coverage. Cargo policies don't cover live animals! A cargo policy would only pay out if an animal died in transit, and then only to a maximum of $2.12 a kilo! So if someone boasts about having cargo insurance, they’ve just admitted they don’t have enough coverage. A CGL (Commercial General Liability) policy that specifically speaks to horses & the environments/issues that accompany them is essential. This coverage is summarized in what’s known as a “binder”; a single or double page document that outlines the type(s) of coverage the carrier has in place. You are entitled to see this document before placing your horse onto their trailer! Most carriers will have versions that have identifying info removed or blacked out, & they will share this with you. The CGL will at the very least have a maximum coverage amount per instance, a “per horse” ceiling & what’s called an “umbrella”, which is an aggregate coverage if an incident involves several aspects, animals or other convoluted situation.
Insurance Tips:
If the carrier refuses to share their binder with you, walk away. That’s all you’re legally allowed to see, but it’s enough to distinguish a reputable carrier from an illegitimate hauler.

An increasingly common scenario is that in which a “hauler” connects with someone needing their horse(s) moved, claims to be able to fulfill that need, & requires a deposit to be paid up front. This is NOT an accepted practice among reputable carriers!

Canadian carriers will have an NSC number, US carriers & Canadian carriers operating in the US will have US DoT & MCC numbers. They will gladly share these with you. If they don’t, walk away!

Combined Insurance/Licensing/Authority Caveat:
If a truck, trailer, or driver are not all properly licensed for the type of transport they are involved in, whatever insurance is in place will be null & void in the event of an accident. This even applies to a transport rider you may have in place on your own horse, as is often required in cases of exceptional value, or if the value of your horse exceeds the per-horse limit of the carrier’s CGL.
If a carrier is not registered as such with their relevant base countries, all insurance is null & void in the event of an accident.
If the inspection decal(s) on either the truck or trailer are not valid, those vehicles can be detained or even impounded by a CVSE (Commercial Vehicle Safety Enforcement) or police officer. This also negates the current validity of the vehicle’s insurance coverage; that’s why an officer cannot legally allow that vehicle to proceed.
If someone claims that your provincial or state horse club/association insurance coverage is all you need, walk away! This is utterly untrue. Personal coverage that you take out on your horse is NOT valid during commercial transport.

If you’re not familiar with a carrier, try to find someone who does know them. Reputable carriers got that way by providing substantial levels of service, & that leaves a trail. It shouldn’t be difficult to find out who’s done a good job.

The old saying, “Quality doesn’t cost, it pays” was never more true than right here. Quotes that fall far out of the norm are almost always either from fly-by-night outfits, illegitimate haulers or indication of a potential scam. While rate alone is not conclusive, it should at least combine with other attributes to give an overall view of prospective carriers.

If a rate is too good to be true, it’s too good to be true.

More to come ...