Farm transfers, show days and airport runs
Horse Transport in Puerto Rico
Land transport for horses anywhere on the island, from the base at Hacienda Los Ponce in Isabela. Up to three horses at a time, and a price back to you inside a day.
Reliable land transport for horses throughout Puerto Rico, whether that is an airport pickup at SJU or BQN, a farm to farm transfer, or getting to a show. Horses arrive safely and without a fuss, from the northwest coast to San Juan, Ponce and everywhere in between. I can haul up to three horses at a time.
Most jobs fall into one of three buckets, and they are three genuinely different pieces of work with three different booking windows. Each one is priced individually on distance, timing and any special handling the horse needs. Tell me where the horse is, where it is going, what day, and how many, and you get a price in a day or less.
Service 01 · SJU, BQN, MAZ, PSE
Airport horse pickup
The first leg of an imported horse is a flight. The last leg is a trailer, and that second part is local work.
A horse that arrives by air arrives as freight, and freight is not delivered to a barn. Somebody has to be at the cargo building on the day, sign for the animal, and drive it the rest of the way. That is a job I do at all four Puerto Rico airfields cleared for live equine cargo: SJU in San Juan, BQN in Aguadilla, MAZ in Mayagüez and PSE in Ponce. Papers get checked before the horse goes near the ramp, it gets water and a stand after the flight, and then it travels to whatever address you give me.
There is a page for this work on its own, with each airfield, its drive time from Isabela and the full four step handover: airport horse transport.
Service 02 · Book one to two weeks ahead
Event and show transport
Getting a horse to a competition is its own job. It has to arrive early enough to settle, on a day that is fixed months in advance, and it has to come home again the same night or the day after.
Transport to Paso Fino shows, rodeos, fiestas patronales, parades, photoshoots and scheduled trail rides anywhere in Puerto Rico. Local events are handled as same-day round trips. Bigger shows are planned as multi-day logistics with layover care and return-trip coordination, so the horse arrives ready and gets home safe.
Show dates should be booked one to two weeks ahead. They are fixed dates and the trailer can only be in one place at a time, so the earlier you tell me the date, the more likely it is still open. The rodeo photographs on the competitions page are from Lajas on the southwest coast and Aibonito in the central mountains, which is exactly the kind of run this covers from Isabela.
Paso Fino shows and rodeos
Competition dates island-wide, including the classes the herd here competes in.
Fiestas patronales and parades
Town festival dates, where the horse needs to arrive calm and stay calm in a crowd.
Photoshoots
Editorial and client shoots. This is the same trailer run that delivers a horse to an on location photo session.
Trail ride groups
Getting several horses to the same start point on the same morning, up to three at a time.
Service 03 · Most northwest runs inside 90 minutes towing
Farm, ranch and vet transfers
The everyday work. Moving a horse from one place to another across Puerto Rico, with nothing dramatic about it, which is exactly how it should feel.
Local hauling between farms, ranches, veterinary clinics and boarding facilities. Most transfers inside the northwest region finish within 90 minutes with the trailer on. Longer hauls to the metro area, the south or the east coast are scheduled in advance. If you have just bought a horse, this is the run that delivers it to your property.
New purchase delivery
Collecting a horse you have just bought and delivering it to your property, anywhere on the island.
Boarding changes
Moving between stables or boarding facilities, including into and out of training here at Hacienda Los Ponce.
Vet clinic and farrier runs
Appointment runs to the clinic or the farrier, there and back on the same day.
Retirement and rescue moves
Relocations for horses coming out of work, handled at the horse's pace rather than the clock's.
Transport pricing
What affects your quote.
Every job is quoted individually, because distance, timing and the horse itself all matter. There is no single posted price that would be honest for everybody. These are the four things that move it.
Distance and route
Short runs around the northwest, Isabela, Aguadilla, Rincón and Aguada, are the cheapest. Longer hauls to San Juan, Ponce or the east coast involve highway time and are priced accordingly.
Number of horses
Single horse transfers are the standard. Up to three horses travel at a time, and a multi-horse haul to the same destination is quoted at a reduced per-horse rate because the trailer is already on the road.
Timing and urgency
Standard scheduling with a few days of notice gets the best rate. Rush jobs, weekend pickups, or airport cargo that needs retrieving immediately carry a small premium.
Horse-specific needs
First-time travellers, horses that need extra patience to load, and horses with special requirements such as bandaging, shipping boots or medication need additional handling time.
Drive times from Isabela
Hacienda Los Ponce is in Isabela on the northwest coast. These are the drives people ask about most. They are towing times with a horse trailer on the back, not car times, and they are estimates. Anything close to Isabela is usually done inside 90 minutes.
Transport runs to every municipality in Puerto Rico, including Isabela, Aguadilla, Aguada, Rincón, Mayagüez, Quebradillas, San Juan, Ponce, Moca, San Sebastián, Camuy, Hatillo, Añasco. If your town is not listed, send the destination and it gets quoted the same way.
Why horse owners here use it
Loaded calmly, driven smoothly.
Roads here are known rather than looked up. PR-2 and PR-22, the back routes, the times of day worth avoiding.
Local knowledge
Living and working in Isabela means knowing the back roads, the traffic on PR-2 and PR-22, the routes that avoid the midday heat, and the fastest way from the northwest coast to anywhere on the island.
Experienced handling
These are horses I work with every day. Loading calmly, driving smoothly and reading a horse's stress level on the road matter most for a first-time traveller.
Updates on the way
A message at pickup, during the trip and on arrival, by text or WhatsApp. You are never wondering where the horse is.
Flat rate, quoted up front
The quote is the price. No extras added on when the horse arrives, and a quote turnaround of 24 hours or less.
Get a quote
Get a quote for your haul.
Tell me where the horse is, where it needs to be, and when.
Questions
Booking a haul.
How long is the drive from your place?
These are towing times with the trailer on, not car times. Aguadilla 50 minutes. Aguada 1 hour 5. Rincón 1 hour 20. Mayagüez 1 hour 35. San Juan 2 hours 40. Ponce 3 hours. Anything close to Isabela is usually done inside 90 minutes. They are estimates: San Juan in particular moves with the traffic.
How do I get a price for hauling?
Tell me where the horse is, where it is going, what day, and how many. I get you a price in a day or less. Every job is different, so I do not post one price for everybody. Book show dates one to two weeks ahead.
Related
If the horse is coming here rather than going somewhere else, the training program is sixteen sessions over four weeks and the haul in can be part of the same conversation. If you are buying an island horse, the Paso Fino history is worth reading first, and the horses at Hacienda Los Ponce include two that are for sale.
- Paso Finos in Isabela
- Paso Finos in Aguadilla
- Paso Finos in Aguada
- Paso Finos in Rincón
- Paso Finos in Mayagüez
- Paso Finos in San Juan
- Paso Finos in Ponce
Still got a question? Ask it and I will answer it.
Hacienda Los Ponce, Isabela, Puerto Rico. Email barefootridingpr@gmail.com or call and WhatsApp 904.705.2294. I answer within 24 hours.
