ECS Livestock BV knows a thing or two about transporting horses by air safely and humanely. Its team of specialists has been providing all aspects of equine global transport for the last 15 years, from pickup and delivery to medical inspections and customs clearing.
Its reputation is so good, in fact, that it’s the preferred stable supplier for several airlines, including airlines KLM Cargo and Etihad Cargo. It has even taken part in huge events like the Olympics and Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT), helping to transport the four-legged athletes in comfort to their sporting destination.
"Etihad Cargo alone already shipped over 1200 horses in 2016"
Contributing to the safe and humane transport of horses
The safety and well-being of the horses (and their grooms) at all times is the number one priority of ECS Livestock BV. As a member of the Animal Transportation Association (ATA), it’s active in promoting the safe and humane handling and transport of all animals worldwide. Horse transport currently upholds the highest standards in livestock transportation anywhere in the world.
It’s no surprise that ECS is extremely fussy about the stables it uses to transport the horses in its care. Working with the right supplier is, therefore, paramount. Since the day it was founded, the cargo specialist has come to VRR for its horse stables. As a first-class manufacturer of certified ULD containers for safe and humane livestock transportation, we can offer ECS quality stalls that have a maximum level of animal welfare and groom safety.
Collaboration between VRR and ECS results in enterprising stable designs
We’ve been the main supplier of horse stables to the cargo industry for many years now, and we have a steady customer base. The market is still growing, and it’s expected to keep growing in the coming years. Certainly, we see carriers and airlines continuing to invest in new facilities associated with horse transportation.
Our own collaboration with ECS has led to some great developments in horse stable design. In fact, ECS was recently nominated as a finalist in the 'Best Entrepreneur of North-Holland 2016-2017' for developing lightweight, collapsible horse stables. We feel immensely proud to have contributed in some way to the transporter's success and growth.
That growth has led to another impressive milestone: the delivery of the 400th stable that VRR has produced for ECS. Our latest batch of horse stables (which brings the production total for our partner to 432 stables) includes 12 x HMLs, 12 x HMRs and 24 x conversion sets.
HML/HMR horse stables: collapsible, convenient and convertible
The HML/HMR stables are popular with livestock transporters because they provide exceptional safety standards and incomparable convenience. When collapsed and stacked for return journeys, they take up little space on trucks and planes (they occupy only one lower deck position on a freighter or even more convenient, passenger aircraft). That reduces shipping costs but also offers additional flexibility for return transport. Once in storage, they can be easily repositioned, making life easier for warehouse managers.
Other distinctive features of the HML/HMR include:
- Ample space for three horses during transport
- A safe working area for the grooms
- Sturdy design and robust material to endure horse kicks
- Loading ramps, rubber flooring, and hay/water area
- Watertight base to deal with urine and droppings
- Weatherproof exterior to withstand wet conditions
- Full EASA and FAA certification (so no net required during transport)
The 24 conversion sets that ECS also ordered enable the HMR/HML stables to be transformed into HMC stables. The extra space and same level of comfort to all three horses that the HMC provides is much appreciated by ECS because it gives it the edge in offering its customers the ultimate transport solution.
Needless to say, we value greatly our long-standing association with ECS and look forward to partnering them in many more development projects in the future.
