Buying from Abroad - anyone done it?

digitalangel

digitalangel

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I am going to view a youngster (5) in holland this weekend - he sounds perfect - exact breeding i want, size, age, etc. He is at a dressage producers/dealers yard in holland.

I would not want to use their preferred vet obviously, but no idea how to find a good, recommended one. My vet cannot recommend anyone from there.

I have transport sorted, as i have imported before but not bought ( did a swap last time )

help!!!
 
i could ask my dad and get back to you if you want - he bought a 10yo kwpn from a dealer in holland last year but i have no clue as to who vetted it
 
Hi is it a dressage breeding/dealing yard? If so can you let me have the details (pm if you prefer) as I might be looking in a few months if my youngster doesn't pull thru his injury :-(
 
Hi there

I bought a two-year old from Germany last year. The breeders were happy to recommend a local vet (not their vet), who also had the appropriate accreditation to complete the export papers - which is something else you might have to consider.

At the end of the day I think there has to be a degree of trust unless you want to fly your own UK vet out... which some people do. Obviously, in my case with a young horse the vetting was less rigorous than it would be for an older competition horse. But I was very pleased with how it went (included Xrays) and at the end of the day I think you have to put a degree of trust in the people you are dealing with - who are hopefully reputable anyway.
 
Completely agree with boxcarhorse. I bought both of mine in Germany and in both cases I chose local vets -- Rauti had just been through the auction process so he had a full vet check from the auction, for Frodo I chose a vet recommended by their breeders. I wasn't even present at the vetting, I just trusted them. To be honest even if I had had the money to fly my own vet out, I doubt he'd have agreed because of the time etc.
At the end of the day they were both cheap-ish horses though, it might be different if you are looking at really expensive ones.
 
I've brought 2 horses from abroad. Just be careful with vettings, I'd get x-rays done, and if you have a British equine vet you trust over here get them to look at the x-rays. In December I had a horse vetted and x-rayed in Denmark, they passed the horse with flying colours. A top British vet saw the x-rays and was shocked. He read the x-rays very differently, and found many problems.
The vet I used was part of a large equine hospital and very well known in Denmark. Not sure if it's the same for Germany.
But goodluck and hope this horse turns out to be the one. I loving going horse shopping abroad! :)
 
i checked with my dad and he said he used their vets.
the horse came from switzerland, and not holland as previously thought.
good luck with finding a new horse :)
 
Thanks guys :) this is my problem

Last time i imported, it was a mare who was sent to a (reputable) stud and put in foal. she had a scan at 12 and 14 days, and i drove out there for a 30 day scan when she was taken back to her yard. She had another scan at 120 days, then imported over to the UK. all the vets missed twins, which she aborted in april last year. It was my greys mother, and supposed to be my dream foal. to make matters worse, i was on the other side of the world nursing my terminally ill father. My poor OH and the YO had to deal with the fallout which was unfair on them. To make it even worse, i later found out that the stud/keep fee was never given to the stud - i stupidly trusted it to her old owners.

So. i have trust issues when it comes to dutch vets... I cant afford to fly my own out, but i think he will look at xrays so i might do that instead.
 
boxcarhorse said:
Hi there

I bought a two-year old from Germany last year. The breeders were happy to recommend a local vet (not their vet), who also had the appropriate accreditation to complete the export papers - which is something else you might have to consider.

y.
Click to expand...

Oh OK, normally iirc the transport company does the export? at least the company i used last time did - they pick up the horse and do all the paperwork.
 
Do you know any professionals who import from Holland? Perhaps they could give you a referral. Otherwise, is there a vet school near where the horse is? They might be able to do it in house or have a staff vet who could do it. No guarantee, obviously, but at least it would be a more "known quantity" than a random vet.

Definitely get the x-rays passed on. Buying horses from far away/abroad is a more common practice in North America and it's standard for the vetting results to be passed on to the owner's own vet for consultation.
 
i do know one lady - she couold only tell me that the horses she imported were normally vetted without xrays over there, then passed again over here.

my grey was also vetted when he was imported - worthless because there is no mention of his stonking great heart murmur that theres no way the vets should have missed. So i have a feeling the vets of dealers just fill them out withoout even examining the horse because theres no comeback because the horse is exported!

Or maybe i am just a pessimist...
 
I didn't mean a vet connected to a deal there, I meant one a high level dealer here uses. I agree, they might not be as concerned about a horse leaving the country but if they have a regular "pipeline" with someone reputable they might be loathe to endanger it by passing a horse that then doesn't pass here. I do know some of the problem with getting horses vetted to go to North America is differing standards, at least in terms of what people consider a "full" vetting. (EVERYTHING gets x-rayed in North America - even people from here would be horrified!)
 
ah yes i see! didnt think of it that way.. i just had a fellow HHo'er recommend a vet though so fingers crossed for that. i am nervous about calling up or the vetting though - i hope they speak english as my dutch is awful!
 
could you pm me the details of the dealer? i'm thinking of getting another pony over the summer. Sorry i cant really help re the vetting but hope it all goes smoothly!!
 
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