Tony Lepore - PDQ Horse Transport, This person shipped my pregnet horse. when she got here we called the vet$2000.00 to get here healthy again Auburn Maine

Heather, I can only assume that your math skills are the equivalent of your spelling skills and that you just decided to add an extra zero to your "Vet bill". I find your story very unlikely.

I am a horse business owner and on average, have 4 transporters come to the farm monthly to pick up horses that have been sold. I haven't had any horror stories, but Im rarely impressed with the driver and trailer condition. Today I met Tony Lepore of PDQ Horse Transport. He was picking up a horse to transport to Maine. For the first time in over 10 years of doing this, I was overly impressed. He was on time and friendly. Trailer was immaculate. He had hay and water for the horse. The horse being loaded was a young Arabian and Tony was kind and patient with him. This is exactly how a horse transporter should be, but rarely is. I will use Tony in the future for transporting and would highly recommend him.

I have to say that I have used Tony numerous times over the years for transporting my horses and foals and I have never had a problem with his treatment of my horses and they have always been well cared for in his care. I will continue to use him for my transporting needs. It is nice to have a true horseman handle my horses!

I have known Tony Lepore for several years and he is one of the finest people -- not just horsemen -- that I know.  In fact, he is ALWAYS the first person I call when I have a transport need.  

Tony transported an older Arab gelding for me from NC to NH.  I bought this horse sight unseen, via the internet, but had multiple videos, photos and conversations with the owner.  Tony called me as soon as he was on the road to tell me "what a nice horse" I had purchased.  He called every few hours to let me know where he was and where his rest stops were.  My horse arrived in great shape, and I too, had shipped in winter weather. 

Another time I asked him if he could take my motorcycle from MA to FL.  I assumed he would say no, but I thought if he was traveling empty to pick up other horses, perhaps he could help me.  He made 2 attempts, even going so far as to construct a special ramp for the bike.  He was very worried about a custom paint job I had so told me how he would cover the bike to protect it.  When all was said and done, the bike just would not fit and we gave up.

If he would go through that kind of trouble over a motorcycle, imagine how he must care for a living, breathing animal.  I don't know what went wrong with Heather's transport, but I do know I believe Tony's side.  I currently have a new transport need and when I'm done writing this, I will be calling Tony for his rate and availability.

I have used PDQ Horse Transport numerous times for transport of show horses and horses being hauled for the first time. I have found the service to be very good and have always been pleased with the attention and care given to my horses. Recently I shipped two horses to Kentucky to a professional training facility and the feedback was that they were amazed at the good condition the horses where in after such a long ride. I also recently used this service to transport a rescue horse that was very nervous and I was equally impressed with how this boy came off the trailer.

Unfortunately, shipping fever/cough is a risk of trailering a horse. Being involved with show horses I have often seen horses getting off a trailer with a cough/cold, much more often than indicated by the vet in the intitial comments. I know of a at least two shipping fever cases that have occurred with some of the most reputable transport services in the business. There are many factors not in the shippers control. A horse that is not used to being shipped or handled and is very stressed, agitated or sweaty is probably more prone to illness. In addition, if a horse is agitated and frightened by the ordeal, a shipper is limited in what he or she can or cannot safely do with that horse. Sometimes horses refuse to eat or drink while on a trailer. I have seen calm and experienced horses throw themselves on the trailer floor, flip over backwards, or try to go out over the barrier between stalls. In many cases if a horse were untied, or taken off the trailer, it would be dangerous to the horse (and possibly others). In my experience with PDQ, the horses have been given regular rest breaks, food, water and allowed their heads. I would understand, however; that this might not always be appropriate or in the best interest of the horse. How a horse behaves at home, and how it behaves when being transported can be completely different.

It is unfortunate that your mare got sick, however; it is not highly uncommon and is a risk you take whenever you transport a horse (there is always a risk of injury or illness), particularly with a horse that is not used to traveling distances. In my personal experience, and what I know from others who use PDQ and are picking horse people, I doubt that the circumstances of your mare getting ill are soley the result of action or lack of by the shipper.

Heather, I'm sorry to say but it doesn't sound to me like you are a very educated horse person. If your vet stated that one in only 500 horses come off a long haul sick, that is grossly understated. I don't know you or the other party involved, but have been around horses and have hauled horses myself long distance (not as a business, just my own). I have known SEVERAL people who have had horses hauled cross country and ended up with a fever, cough, or other sickness. Nothing being the fault of the shipper. Anytime you get horses in close quarters with each other, just like when school starts and you send your kids off to school, they start getting sick from each other's germs. Just out of curiosity, did you have a health certificate done before shipping? Who's to say that the horse wasn't already getting sick? Even with a health certificate that (here in FL) is good for 30 days, you can only be assured that the horse was not showing signs of getting sick(fever, etc.) at THAT VERY MOMENT the vet saw the horse. A day later the horse could be coming down with something.

Hauling a horse which has had very limited handling and is probably not use to being hauled even for short distances, can stress a horse out, compromising her immune system leading the horse to succum to any foreign bacteria or virus. Stress would DEFINITELY cause the horse to lose the foal. Why didn't you tell him she was bred? From the shipper's response, the horse wasn't eating or drinking which definitely means she was stressed. I don't know when she was bred, but if it were only recently, the horse would just absorb the embryo back into it's system.

Anyways, I wouldn't blame the shipper.

I will deal in the facts in regards to transporting Heather's mare.
FACT: When I arrived at the farm in WI to pick up the mare, it took an hour for the wrangler to catch her.
FACT: The mare was in a large herd of horses. FACT: When the wrangler head tied this mare to the wall to groom her for transport, she became agitated and upset.
FACT: This mare had never been on a trailer for interstate transport. Any fair minded person would recognize that this mare was herd bound and had little human contact. These conditions can lead to stress in a horse.
FACT: I required from the farm a sufficient amount of hay to go with the mare as I do with every horse.
FACT: Once the mare was safely in the trailer, I untied her and put loose hay on the floor in front of her.
FACT: The wrangler was present when I did this. FACT: I have been a full time professional horseman for near 20 years.
FACT: I transport horses safely year round in an enclosed, insulated 2006 4 horse slant load trailer.
FACT: I do not jepordize the safely of horses in dangerous winter conditions. Many clients can attest to this.
FACT: I stop for 8 hours each day, hay and water horses for the overnight and stop every 4 hours in transit to check horses, hay and water.
FACT: I did not off load this horse at my place. I live in the middle of a city.
FACT: This mare did not eat hay or drink water while in transit. More evidence that this horse was under stress.
FACT: Heather nor anyone else ever advised me that this mare was bred. A responsible owner would have.
FACT: When I arrived to deliver the mare, I dropped down the window in front of the mare, removed the water bucket from the head tie and hooked the horse. Hooking a horse before unloading is a safety issue particularly with an untrained horse.
FACT: I lead this horse to a paddock. This woman's husband appeared to have no horse handling skills. If he had been watching, he would have seen me remove the water bucket and hook the mare. He would have also seen hay on the floor in her stall when I took her off the trailer.
FACT: The paddock was 40'x40' in area with fiberglass poles and wire for fencing in knee high snow with a crusted over round bale of hay, no bucket or tank for water and no shelter (a violation of State of Maine law).
FACT: There were no other horses on the property. Any real horseman would understand that for a herd bound horse having no other horses around is very stressful.
FACT: When I off loaded this mare , I explaing to Bill the husband that this mare had had a lot of stress, was herd bound, had little human contact, not been in a trailer before, and had not eaten or drunk in transit. Any real horseman would quickly recognize that this horse was stressed and stressed horses like humans get sick when under stress.

This sour and vindictive self proclaimed horsewoman is looking to place the responsiblity of her poor horse choice on a reliable and responsible professional horseman. Her own vet in her statement said that 1 in 500 gets sick in transit. Hers got sick from stress. Any of you self proclaimed horsemen want-to-be types who know everything and believe this woman's crap, do me a favor and don't call me. Anyone who wants safe reliable horse transport from someone who has transported everything from Olympic dressage horses to stallions to mares with foals at side to aged horses across America and who has many many references and testimonials from across the U.S., give me a call. I would be honored to work for you.

Tony Lepore
PDQ Horse Transport, LLC
Auburn, ME
207-314-2310