Meet the Team

Hi, I'm Fred Massie, and I started Fred's Pony Express in 2007 to offer horses and their owners a more personalized door-to-door long-distance shipping alternative by focusing on providing high quality horse care tailored to each horse's health condition and owner requests. By limiting our service to five horses or less, horses benefit from decreased travel and more of our time on each stop, which can really make the difference in creating stress-free travel.

As a long-time professional horseman, I understand the nuances of each horse's personality type and am able to quickly assess how I can best make the horse comfortable in the trailer. I treat all the critters in my care with the same love and attention I provide my own, and while it may seem that shipping horses is about driving a truck and trailer from point A to point B, it really isn't. It's about keeping horses happy, safe, and sound while in our care, and making good decisions when things aren't going as planned, whether that's a bad loader, weather or traffic issues, mechanical troubles, or a sick horse.

When not transporting other people's horses, I like spending time with my own! I breed quarter horses and paint horses with great minds and conformation for barrel racing and working cows, and really love those horses with lots of color - the louder the better, in my opinion! I like the challenge of teaching horses to enjoy their jobs, whether it's working cows or running barrels. There's nothing more rewarding than developing a horse to its fullest potential while keeping it motivated and interested in its job.

Since I love horses so much, it only makes sense that I'm a Mustang man, the fast, motor-driven kind! Actually, I'm a true motor-head with a passion for all fast cars, but I'm partial to FORD products. On those rare occasions when not working or playing with horses, I enjoy rebuilding engines, customizing cars, and racing them. I really like that 5.0 Mustang engine, and even put it in my FORD Ranger for racing, which makes it one mean machine!

I consider myself lucky because my dad shares my passion for fast cars and animals, so he often accompanies me on the road. When we're not traveling we can often be found in the shop working on the truck and trailer, rebuilding an engine, or completely re-doing a car. Spending this kind of quality time with my dad really means a great deal to me since he's been an over-the-road driver from the time I was little and was gone much of the time during my childhood. My dad and I share the same sense of humor, so we really enjoy our time together.

Our traveling companion

Cell phones, txt messages, and the Internet go a long way to helping make the time on the road tolerable, but there's nothing like having a dog along for the ride. It's true what they say about "a dog being man's best friend"! In the spring of 2008 I was befriended by a little Australian Terrier, the smallest dog I've ever had. From the moment I laid eyes on him, it was love at first sight. This little guy, who goes by many names, but "Squid" seems to have stuck, found his way into mine and my dad's hearts. He travels everywhere with me, and takes his job as "truck dog" seriously, not letting strangers near the truck.

In addition, Squid oversees the shop, making sure we are doing everything right. We're pretty sure he was a mechanic in his past life!

Our shipping partner

Transporting horses nation-wide provides the unique opportunity to have adventures and meet fascinating people along the way. In 2008, I met my shipping partner, Athena Haresign of the Horse Jitney llc (www.horsejitney.com), when her truck stranded her in an ice storm with horses on-board. Not only did we become fast friends, we realized our shipping philosophy was uniquely aligned, so it made sense for us to work together to provide our clients with better communication, even more timely service, and redundancy in case of an errant break-down. Together we work hard to make sure your horses are well taken care of during the trip, and you can feel confident speaking with either of us during your horse's journey - one of us is always available keep you updated on your horse's whereabouts and travel condition.

Meet my new friends

Peppy's Little Vixen

This is "Peppy's Little Vixen", my pride and joy! Isn't she cute? Her mom is a star barrel racer, currently competing in Florida. This little girl is every bit as precocious as she looks, and so sweet! She loves to be scratched and loved on. No doubt she'll be a fine barrell horse when she grows up!

Doc

Meet Doc, my four year old TB by Damascus. He's just the coolest horse! He knows my truck and comes running every the moment I turn down the road. If I'm out in the field, he's got to be right there checking out whatever I'm doing, doing his best to help. He's got a fabulous mind, and always a gentleman whether he's ridden once a week or once a month. He's really enjoying his new life away from the track.