Anyone bought a horse in Ireland and shipped it to England?

ponymum

ponymum

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Just wondering as friends bought a connemara from a dealer last year in England for £4000ish and when they contacted the breeders in Ireland they discovered that the breeder had sold him 6 months previously for 2000 euros. So what I'd like to know is how you would go about buying a pony in Ireland with vetting and shipping over etc? Is it worth the hassle - 14.2s just seem so expensive over here.
 
If you find a good dealer, they should be able to arrange shipping over as it's pretty common. I think that is what happened with my horse, he came form Ireland but my mum organised all the arrangements so I'm not 100% sure.
It's definitely worth it IMO.
 
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thanks for that its worth a thought!
Just wondering more about finding out whether the pnoy is healthy ie getting it vetted
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Err not too sure about how to get them vetted, but mine must have been vetted over there. Definitely get the 5* vetting as that is the most detailed (and most expensive unfortunately!) way to make sure the horse is sound.
 
Hi I just had our horse brought back from Ireland. Just last month. I did quite a bit of investigation as it's not quite as easy as I'd thought and hadn't considered all the options. Everyone told me if would be £300 but I couldn't find a single quote this little. The cheapest was £600 but it was a shared load and he would have gone up and down the country before he got to me. I'd also heard a few stories so decided against this option. The boats are cancelled quite a bit during the bad winter to bad weather and the fast boat won't sail if isn't totally calm which means the slower (4hr) boat so it's a long trip. Which means they could end up sitting on the dock for hours.

I used someone recommended on here and my horse came back in luxury, they went out on the day they said, picked him up and started back the next day. They left Dublin at 9 and were in the UK at 1am. Then the trip to kent to arrive at 7am. He'd left his yard at 3pm the day before.

I was thrilled at the service we got but it's expensive! I got loads of quotes and one as high at £2400????? which I didn't use. If you want more details please pm and I'd be happy to give you more details.
 
I just wanted to add that going to view a horse in Ireland is so so easy. I went out on a 10 am flight landed before 11am picked up outside airport at 11:30 and was on horse by 12:30. Back home on the 5:55. All for £34.99 return! lol It was such an easy day. Went to Birmingham the next day and took 9 hours to get home due to terrible weather and roadworks. I nearly pulled my hair out so I'd highly recommend a visit and not be put off because it sounds so far away, dead easy. Good luck.
 
I bought a horse from Ireland in 2004. We flew over on a saturday morning, rode the horse in a school and then took him xc schooling locally, and then flew back again in the evening. He came recommended by a trainer and we saw videos and photos of him competing so he wasn;t too much of a gamble. We had him vetted in ireland and then John Parker Ltd transported him to surrey for £200.
 
I've never shipped a horse over but just to let you know that connemaras aren't that cheap over here either, at least not the good ones. The prices have gone well up in the last few years, especially for older ponies who are doing well and proving themselves and also for well bred mares. You even have to pay a fair amount for a well bred foal (about 1500-2000). Ironically it's the english buyers coming over here who are pushing up the prices. They had connemara sales in Goresbridge recently and I know someone who went and said that the average price was 4000-5000 euros and the standard wasn't even that high, not like the quality you'd see in Clifden. You might get a bargain at some of the sales but then you are taking a risk, especially with a youngster. Privately I know of a few geldings who have done ok in the showring and at pony club level and the owners are looking for 15,000-20,000 euros. Whether they'll get or not I don't know, but thats the sort of price tag that the good show ponies have. I'm not trying to put you off but just make sure you do your research before you come over and know what sort of pony (size, breeding, age) you're looking for.
 
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Hi I just had our horse brought back from Ireland. Just last month. I did quite a bit of investigation as it's not quite as easy as I'd thought and hadn't considered all the options. Everyone told me if would be £300 but I couldn't find a single quote this little. The cheapest was £600 but it was a shared load and he would have gone up and down the country before he got to me. I'd also heard a few stories so decided against this option. The boats are cancelled quite a bit during the bad winter to bad weather and the fast boat won't sail if isn't totally calm which means the slower (4hr) boat so it's a long trip. Which means they could end up sitting on the dock for hours.


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I had a WONDERFUL experience. Bought two mares, arranged for them to be picked up and then heard the weather had turned bad and they couldn't sail. Got an e-mail from my transporter, with pictures of my mares enyoying the facilities of his luxurious yard. As it turned out it was a WEEK before they could sail. I got an e-mail EVERY night with new pics. They came to me straight from Anglesey (the rest of the load was going straight to Dover), he helped me unload and get them settled and refused to take ANYTHING for the week's full livery (and they were BIG girls with BIG appetites!) It cost me £200 per mare! They arrived looking fantastic, in an enormous lorry with built in water bowls, air cond., the lot!
 
Have been to england from ireland to pick up a horse (and do some competing but that's by the by!) . Took our lorry adn was straightforward. No they won't sail if its rough (as would shoot livestock onboard I believe if it became rough) but that's safety concious. HAd a bad transport experience, games ponies toured up and down the country for 24hrs wihtout hay or water, we were NOT told he was picking up several others and they tried to get them off before we saw them. Some very old and precious ponies were all fine once they got seen to but put me off ever doing a shared load.
 
Totally agree. The only person who we had good experience with is the one that I'd recommend.

He doesn't do big loads anymore though!! Changed to running 2 and 4 horse ones. Not cheap - but no vets bills afterwards!!!! They dont travel all over the country as i know the others do. There might be someone else who is good (JG has obviously found one - unless its the same one!!! )

It isnt cheap to bring lorry across and back for one horse. Take TripleSandH's advice and dont do shared load.
 
As a FYI, Cavan has a Connemara sale coming up in Feb(http://www.cavanequestrian.com/sales-events.asp) - entries are closed so you should be able to request a catalogue. Everything that goes to Cavan has to be vetted. Trade is reportedly quiet in Ireland at the moment so if you had the facility to break and train a 3/4 year old colt, you might get some real value. But Connemaras are very expensive - fillies and mares especially.

RE: transport, I'm researching it at the moment and the cost I'm averaging is 380 euros excluding VAT for a group load. Feel free to PM me.
 
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No they won't sail if its rough (as would shoot livestock onboard I believe if it became rough) but that's safety concious.

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Just too correctly answer this one! They don't shoot horses if the weather becomes rough. Ferry companies are regulated by the Department of Agriculture particularly in Ireland and are not allowed to carry horses of the sea state (wave height) exceeds a certain limit or if there is a prospect of the weather deteriorating during the passage. Horseboxes are parked on the vehicle deck in certain areas that are known to have the least movement usually in the middle of the ship and are lashed down with more chains than a normal wagon to prevent any movement.

If you were to go over with your own wagon it would cost around £1000 ish for a return crossing. Don't quote me on that as it depends on the length of your vehicle.
 
Thanks for all this info, it's been so useful. It certainly seems to be worth doing your homework. Not really bothered if a pony is pure bred or not, showing isn't really our thing, just want a decent pony that can do, or can be brought on to do, PC and a bit of BSJA. Everything over here just seems silly money and as most of the dealers seem to source their stock in Ireland, thought it might be better buying direct. Thanks guys!
 
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