I have researched and researched about all the DOT rules and regulations but I have not found anything about hauling livestock. Does livestock still fall under all of the same regulations of standard freight. Is there any horse shippers on here that could give me insight on this business. I make regular trips from MD to TN. for personal reasons and figured I could make a living doing the same.
If your getting paid then your subject to the dot. Basically you would be looked at no differently than the semi hauling hogs down the road. There some guy over on the tdr hauling horses and he seems to be very proud and open about running on the sly, but in my opinion he's crazy to do it in our sue happy world. Plus get caught by the dot and the fines and legal issues would burry you.
Hauling any livestock across state (or county in some states) requires additional paperwork. Generally you need some kind of brand inspection, and health certificate.
When I haul for my personal farm, I am required to have a cogens (sp) and documentation of ownership on the horses. I assume I would have to have most of the same paperwork for other peoples horses. Heck, I wouldn't haul a horse without a cogens. (sp) I just assumed that I may not need dot numbers and what not because of the farm purpose. I know that this sounds stupid, but I have used shippers before and the ones I see never have dot numbers. My father drove semi trucks my entire child hood so I am familiar with that aspect and regualtions, but as I said there are no specifics on equestrian transportation. I called my local dot office and they are extremely unhelpful and rude to say the least. I am serious about doing this and I have people who want me to haul already but I don't want to do it illegally.
I'm not familar with the laws in MD but in MT there is a division of law enforcement for brand inspections. If possible I would contact the MD "brand inspection" office and see what the regs are. I know they vary from state to state so it's tough to get straight answers. Some states do not even require brands on livestock, if this is the case I guess I would stop at a DOT scale and try to get the answers from the officer on duty.
