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Courtesy: Women In Trucking<br />
Su Schmerheim of Michigan loves her job.<br />
She has had a love for horses since she<br />
was a teenager and now makes her living<br />
running the U.S. division of Ecclestone Horse<br />
Transport.<br />
“If you’re a ‘horse person,’ you learn how to tell<br />
when they’re stressed or they aren’t feeling well.”<br />
For many trips, the horses don’t require any<br />
special care other than smooth driving. “When we<br />
do mixed (multistop) loads, we give them hay and<br />
water and make sure they are traveling well,” said<br />
Schmerheim. For longer trips, horses can be put in<br />
“box stalls” that allow them room to walk around<br />
and even lay down. Hay can be placed on the floor,<br />
where horses can graze “naturally” by reaching<br />
down to eat. This helps prevent a condition known<br />
as “shipping fever.” Each shipment is different.<br />
Still, Schmerheim prides herself on service and<br />
attention to detail. “All horses on my truck get the<br />
same treatment,” she said, “whether it’s a $200<br />
‘mutt’ or a ‘bazillion-dollar’ thoroughbred.”<br />
Since livestock haulers are exempt from ELD<br />
requirements, drivers at EHT still use paper logs.<br />
That’s fine with Schmerheim. “How can a box tell<br />
you when to sleep?” she asked.<br />
Schmerheim has participated in a few truck<br />
shows, including the Trucker’s Jamboree in<br />
Walcott, Iowa, the Shiawassee County (Fair)<br />
Truck Show in Corunna, Michigan, and the<br />
Richard Crane Memorial Truck Show in St. Ignace,<br />
Michigan, where she was presented with Women<br />
In Trucking’s Member of the Month award by<br />
association President and CEO Ellen Voie. While<br />
the shows are fun and rewarding, Schmerheim<br />
doesn’t plan to enter many. “It takes a lot of work to<br />
clean everything to show standards,” she explained,<br />
“and it means shutting down for a while to do the<br />
work.”<br />
Her care for animals goes beyond the livestock<br />
in the trailer. It extends to her “co-driver” Jake<br />
as well. Formerly a “wild barn cat,” Jake is now<br />
a constant companion and EHT ambassador.<br />
The 6-year-old gray and white tabby has its<br />
own Facebook page (Jake Schmerheim) and<br />
is a registered service animal. The sound of an<br />
air brake being applied sends him rushing to the<br />
nearest window. “He loves to go trucking and has<br />
traveled more miles than most people have,” said<br />
Schmerheim. “He knows his own truck and will go<br />
to it and hop up on the step.”<br />
He also responds to the terms “cookies,”<br />
“kitty-crack” and “big truck.” Always on a leash<br />
when outside of the truck, Jake accompanies<br />
Schmerheim into truck stops and restaurants and is<br />
well known among her clients, who often inquire<br />
about him. The names “Su” and “Jake,” along with<br />
a paw print, are stenciled on the driver’s door of<br />
Schmerheim’s tractor.<br />
With Jake at her side, Schmerheim said she<br />
plans to continue pursuing the career she loves<br />
for some time. “My goal is to get there safely, no<br />
wreckers and no veterinarians,” she said. Horses in<br />
Schmerheim’s trailer, along with one lucky cat, can<br />
rest easy knowing they’re in for a smooth ride.<br />
9 Independent Contractor 2020 Hundreds of Jobs www.TheTrucker.com/jobs