>>> I decided to try again. Except that the hauler has now more than doubled her price to $1200 per horse from British Columbia. Ouch.
Rachel, that rings a warning bell that may be nothing. First, I'm in NC, and if you can't get horses brought to KY from BC for $1200, that is not an "ouch." That's not unreasonable with current gas prices. Second, and this is the BIG one, there aren't a huge number of haulers who like to cross the Canadian border, and there aren't THAT many woman haulers. So, please contact me off-list. In 2004, I had a horrible experience with a hauler who was supposed to bring two horses from BC to NC. It was supposed to take her about a week, and it ended up taking seven weeks. And she charged us for virtually the full trip - we had to pay her essentially blackmail to get her to give them up. It was horribly scary, an experience I wouldn't wish on anyone. My advice is NEVER make a decision on hauling based on price. It's not worth it. For 2-3 weeks, it looked like we'd never see the horses again. Had it not been one piece of luck that she happened to live in Southern California, and she was keeping them at home, just a few miles from Judy, I doubt we would have ever gotten them. When Judy heard about it, she dropped what she was doing and became "Judy Ryder, Pet Detective" and located them within a day or two. I ended up having to pay a second hauler to bring them from California after we (with Judy's help) negotiated their release. I didn't pick that hauler on price alone, and I did check a few references. I will not go with a hauler now that I don't personally have experience, or if I can't find people I know and trust who personally have experience with. There are a lot of bad hauler stories, but there are a few really good ones. Also, be aware that April-May are the busiest months of the years, as show season and race seasons gear up. Ask LOTS of questions about any hauler. Are you buying the horses sight unseen, from someone you don't know? I'll be at work today, but can check e-mail later this afternoon or tonight. Karen Thomas, NC -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 268.18.7/710 - Release Date: 3/4/2007 1:58 PM
