Equine Transport Policy Guide

This NobleQuest Farms Transport Policy Guide is developed in response to frequently asked questions regarding our Show and Performance Horse Transport Services program.

Paperwork required for interstate horse transport:

For interstate equine transport, the following documentation is required:

Current Negative Coggins Test documentation (generally within one year [California - 6 mos.]) Check with equine veterinarian within state of destination.
A health certificate less than 30 days old which will not expire prior to delivery of your horse.

Use of shipping boots/wraps and blankets during transport:

Shipping boots/wraps ... When transporting horses, the use of protective leg covers is recommended. For longer trips involving layovers, NobleQuest personnel , as a courtesy, will supply professional grade shipping boots, removing the boots each night, and reinstalling the boots each morning. (While provision of boots or leg wraps remain the responsibility of each horse owner, NobleQuest Farms is pleased to offer this service as a courtesy).
Blankets ... While traveling, blankets are not employed except during night time layovers in cold or inclement weather. (Provision of blankets remain each owner's responsibility).
Oiling or giving drugs prior to shipping ... NobleQuest personnel will not administer drugs or "cocktails" to a horse prior to loading. NobleQuest personnel do not administer injections. In the event your horse becomes unruly during transport whereby it requires drugs to calm it for prevention of injuries to itself or others, or from damaging the trailer, NobleQuest will consult with you, the owner, prior to contacting an equine veterinarian in the respective locality. (Continuously kicking to the point of damaging the trailer or incurring injury, or a horse swinging its head into stall dividers, hard pawing sufficient to do damage, or attempting to get out of its stall etc., are examples of when veterinarian assistance may be required).

Difficult Loaders:

At NobleQuest Farms we try to make each experience of your horse pleasant while loading, traveling in, and unloading from a 'horse friendly' trailer environment. While some horses may require firmness, experience tells us more often than not, calmly collecting a horse and bonding with it prior to loading achieves best results.

Food and Water:

For longer trips, owners should provide sufficient hay for each horse at time of pick-up which will be commensurate with the length of travel. Grain is not fed during transport (unless horses need grain or a mash as part of a medication delivery system, or if a horse has a digestive disorder). NobleQuest Farms personnel accommodate special feeding instructions on a courtesy basis.
Additionally, horses are encouraged to drink all they want during their trip. If for some reason a horse stops drinking, the horse's feed intake will be restricted until water consumption resumes, which usually occurs when frozen apple juice is mixed with water. Horse owners, should supply a few gallons of water from the water supply available at the point of departure to allow horses to transition between water obtained at various places along the route of travel and at final destination. (We also carry a quantity of bottled spring water as an additional option for finicky drinkers, but have never found refusal of water to be a problem).

Floor Shavings:

NobleQuest Farms personnel clean trailer interiors and floors nightly, and provide fresh floor shavings on a courtesy basis as needed.

Night layovers:

For trips lasting longer that 12 hours of travel time, NobleQuest Farms personnel schedule a layover each night to allow horses to exercise and relax prior to the next period of travel. Layover periods also provide NobleQuest Farms personnel an opportunity to check the general condition and demeanor of each horse prior to the next segment of travel. This may include charting the temperature of a horse periodically at time of loading, of unloading for night time lay-ups, and 30 minutes after nightly feeding should the horse's demeanor require closer scrutiny.

Continuous Contact:

NobleQuest Farms personnel remain available at all times to talk with horse owners/shippers, both prior to shipping a horse, and during transit. Should you have question while your horse is in transit, NobleQuest personnel accompanying your horse are only as far away as your telephone. In otherwords, you remain in contact with the personnel accompanying your horse so you can check travel progress at any time.