Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Lemonade, dammit, lemonade!

Looks like we're going to move to Ohio. Specifically, east or southeast suburbs of Columbus. It'll be an adventure for sure!

Longer term, lawyerly, I should be able to just take the one-day Ohio essay exams and get admitted to their bar. And it's a much bigger market, I should be able to find work.

Short term - oh shit! Lots of logistics. Where will I board the horse(s)? Where will we live? Will I bring up just Dixie at first, or will it be cheaper/more sensible to bring up both Champ and Dixie? (I'm pretty sure I'm going to leave Silky retired in Mississippi.)

Things I need to figure out:

What do I need to move a horse to Ohio? Coggins, obviously, but what kind of health cert will keep me out of trouble as I travel between states and settle in to Ohio?

How am I going to move the horses? Pro shipping company, borrow a trailer from a friend, or bribe a friend into hauling for me?

What's the best location for us? Ideally, I'd have field board with a run-in and hay, some type of arena access, an on-site trainer as good for me as Hardy, and ride-to trails. I'll settle for field board with no shelter and residential/country roads to ride on.

On top of those questions, I'll need to rent a trailer, pack, shove three cats and a dog in two vehicles, and move. Oh and there's that fucking ministorage unit that STILL has half of our furniture - I need to Do Something with the antiques in it, sell or move the books in it, and toss or move the other junk.

Anyway, I welcome suggestions / advice from yall.

12 comments:

  1. I am bummed you are not moving closer to me, but coming from someone who just moved across country, you will be fine.

    For the horses, you will need a health certificate, and they are only good for a short amount of time, so plan it for the week before you leave (because you won't have much going on at that time, right? :) )

    Moving is very cleansing, and it would be great for your to actually, you know, practice law.

    Plus, I am not sure if you are looking to buy a home, but now's a good time, if you have 20% down, that is.

    And, uh, if you need someplace to store some nice antiques, I know a half empty farmhouse on a little parcel of 5 acres in NH. :)

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  2. Hey, this is the lemonade post - I am moving closer to you!

    I think it'll be a three-stage move. Graham will go up with his car full of stuff and get an apt, then I'll come up with the rest of the stuff and cats, then I'll come back down for the horse and dog. Getting last-minute health certs shouldn't be a problem.

    How often do I stop to let the horses rest? Is it every four hours?

    Now is a great time to buy a place, but we are in the debt elimination phase of our lives, rather than the down payment accumulation phase. Also my poor husband is way more upset about the moving thing than I am. Stuff is just stuff; it's not what's important in life. :D

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  3. You might want to take a quick trip there first and check out the barns and boarding facilities in the area before you commit to one. Then come back and just throw out what you don't use or sell it. If it were me I'd get a professional mover for the horses, it would be safer and easier. Good luck.

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  4. Here's more lemonade - on your way to NH you'll stop by Delaware. ;)

    I've used a pro horse hauler before (to send my loaner horse back to his owner) and it was crazy expensive for a 3-hour trip. But, it was a huge trailer, with a camera that fed into the cab, and they knew what they were doing.

    I've been on the receiving end of a rescue thoroughbred that made a trip from KY to NJ. I wish I could remember the specifics of how often they stopped so he could get out for a bit, but all I remember was that you would never guess he came that far once he got out. He looked great.

    I'll see if Leeandra knows a dressage trainer in Ohio.

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  5. I Ohio considered part of the Midwest? That's a region I never really understand.

    The beginning and end of my experience with Ohio was Toledo. My boyfriend and I went in high school because there was some art show there he wanted to see. I pretty much decided that Toledo was the armpit of the world, but I was happy to have seen it because that's where Klinger on MASH was from and I am a rabid MASH fan.

    I'm with GHM on the professional hauler. Probably not much in it cost-wise if you are going to have to return a borrowed trailer. Are the people of Ohio going to look at your gaited horses funny?

    And Lemonade-wise you will be closer to Canada and Canada is awesome. Just don't bring your gun.

    morgo: less whoa

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  6. If Ohio is anything like Delaware, they won't look at the gaited horses funny, they'll just assume they're quarter horses.

    Until they start moving, that is, and then they'll tell you they're lame.

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  7. Oh, and you can tell that this is thoroughbred land, when people would confuse a gaited horse for a quarter horse! Well, it's not tall, leggy, and bay. Must be a quarter horse!

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  8. Best of luck with your "horse move". It's a difficult process but I'm sure the end result will be worth it. Nothing like being a new place with the familiar comfort of your horsey-home!

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  9. Fresh Coggins and a thirty day helath Certificate, and all papers (registration etc,) that can prove who the horse is, and prove ownership. Have them in the truck with you, if you do the haul. We would stop every two to four hours, for at LEAST 20 min to water the horses, and let them stand and pee. Kept hay in front of them all the time, and always offered up fresh water from their home. (New plastic gas cans work great for hauling "home" water)

    Other than that, Dear Husband and I decided a while ago that if it stays in storage for a year and we don't miss what is in there, then we can sell it and move on! ;) In your case, I'd salvage the antiques though!

    Happy Moving Funder! Oh- and since I know you are a shooter too, check and see if OH has reciprocity with your current state, so you are not moving a firearm illegally. ;) (Assuming you have a carry permit that is... LOL)

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  10. Still no official confirmation yet! Thanks for the suggestions, yall.

    I'm probably going to move our stuff up first and visit a shortlist of barns that fit my needs. Graham really wants to live in the same suburb as before, for a number of fairly sound reasons.

    DP - I think Ohio is "midwest"?

    Sara - I think gaited horses are just uncommon there, not entirely rare. People are still going to think she's a halter-bred paint or something. :rolleyes:

    Still not sure on ship versus haul. I should get some quotes; hauling might be entirely out of my price range.

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  11. Okay...moving time for you huh.
    Sounds as if you have some things mapped out and I like the professional movers suggestion, since you don't have a trailer now.
    I hate unknow BIG things like that...but It will be tough then over hopefully!

    I have Got something for YOU at my place...only if you want to as you may be consumed at present!
    Kacy

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  12. Hauling can be absurd but sometimes it is worth it so as not to have to screw with it. One way you MIGHT go to move is through here, and if you want to give them a break, you are more than welcome to stop here and air them out.

    I have hauled 2500 miles at the most, and they did just fine for the time it took to get there, resting over nite while we slept once and eating hay all the way, and water offered every time we stopped.

    Not a problem one with them

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