Importing Horses from Overseas

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Emshad

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Hi guys,

Has anyone ever done this? If you didnt speak the language did it prove to be difficult? Would you reccomend doing this?

From looking at things it seems like I can get a better horse overseas for cheaper, as horses seem to be going for silly money atm- any opinions on this would be much appriciated.

xx
 
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From looking at things it seems like I can get a better horse overseas for cheaper

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Can you??? I have never seen any evidence of that I'm afraid.
 
Hi, i purchased a horse from holland...you need to find a good agent over their, who can send videos and information to you in the UK so you can look at breeding ect as their are so many horses over their and so much rubbish you have to be carefull.

To be honest, i wouldnt do it again., as transfering money into euros from sterling can be expensive and so can wire transferes. My horse that i got from holand was so dehydrated and so shocked by the whole experience of coming to England that he needed urgent vet tratment when he arrived in the UK costing a lot of money.

I wouldnt do it again, the horses in the UK are expensive but so are the ones in Holland as they have got onto the fact that us brits will pay top money for them. Id just say if you see something you like in the UK just haggle with the seller. And remember if you buy abroad the legal system is totally diffrent from the Uk so at least if you buy here you have some consumer protection.
 
Ditto AmyMay. My friend almost bought a dressage horse from Germany recently and dealt with an English couple who were agents. The horses all seemed very "educated" for youngster but the prices were hefty, although transport did not appear to be too bad. You dont say what sort of horse you are looking for.

It is possible that equivalent of above horses in UK, i.e. that educated, would be more expensive here but I do honestly wonder whether they bring their horses on too young and whether that puts a bit question mark over long term soundness. Don't want to open a can of worms with all you dressage guys, though!
 
Oh, I was thinking more eastern europe rather than Germany and Holland
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Thanks guys- I was just putting the feelers out really as its something i have thought about for a while and it seems like the 'middle men' over here just import from overseas, chuck the price up and then make a profit. I the key is contacts really which overseas/horsewise i sadly dont have
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you can definitely find a better bred and trained horse for less abroad in my opinion. however i did live in the country when i bought mine. importing him really wasnt expensive at all. i think it was £20 for the certificate and then the cost of transport which can be as little as £250... this was from belgium.

i would always go abroad if i was looking to buy a horse. always.
 
What kind of horse are you looking for, as I am sure there are many on HHO who could recommend people/breeders in the Uk for you?

The euro to the pound just now is poor, so its putting the prices up. The costs on transporting horses has gone up quite a bit as well, we noticed this the last time we took a mare over for our breeding programme.

The reason horses are cheaper abroad are because of the amount being bred, there are thousands of them, which takes the price down on the average or below average horses. Also the training, livery and feed is much cheaper than the UK as well, so they dont have to ask so much to cover costs. Although the top horses are still commanding huge prices. Really a bit like the TB industry in the UK and Ireland.

I guess it all depends on what you are wanting at the end of the day.
 
Thanks Anastasia,

I would preferably want a 'been there done it' horse, an allrounder that could give me confidence over the bigger tracks but also take me into different spheres. I dont have the time i need to do a youngster justice so at the moment thats not an option. German/Dutch WB would be my ideal breed choice....(ive probably just described the perfect horse
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As Anastasia said, if anyone knows of anyone who could help with the above I would be very grateful if they could let me know.
 
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