Keeping horses in Sweden?

[PaulnasherryRocky]

Due to my partners job change, I have just a small life change that may be coming about soon, and i'm wondering if anyone has any advice or knowledge about moving and keeping horses in Sweden!? (Around Stockholm)

I understand it's a very horse friendly country, no "bridleways" as such and you just have a right of way across parks and land etc - which all sounds fantastic. (Correct me if i'm wrong though)

My questions are:
-Where do you look for DIY or grazing in Sweden? I've always found yards via word of mouth or facebook - no idea how to look in another country, it's difficult enough finding estate agents!
-Does the cost work out more, or less/the same for feed/hay/trimming/lessons etc?
-Can anyone recommend any companys that would transport horses to Sweden from the UK?
-Are there any major differences in horse care between the UK and Sweden? My ideal place would be grazing only with access to shelter, but I'm currently on DIY with daytime turnout so that would be OK too.

I'd say my budget is good but wouldn't really stretch to the superduper fancy dressage yards that come up on google (not for two horses anyway) - looking for your average stable yard with half decent lighting and facilities for winter.

There's no question that they would be coming with us, it's just a case of when. My old boy (only 15) would be coming more or less straight away, as soon as I find somewhere to keep him. He's a hardy cob type so to cope with the colder weather can just have a thicker rug on. My yearling could potentially benefit from being turned out in a herd for a year or so before being transported over - hes a TB x Criollo so the TB side of him might need a little more pampering when it's chilly!

Any advice on moving country with horses appreciated, even if not to Sweden!

 

[Steerpike]

The only thing I can help with is transport, D J Plumb International Transport is very good, good luck with your move!

 

[TPO]

@FinnishLapphund lives in Sweden I think (geography is not a strong point of mine!) so might be able to help

 

[Esyllt]

No help sorry, but watching with interest as this is something we have been contemplating doing in the near future, although further north (Charlottenberg/Torsby/Likenäs areas). Best wishes for your move!

 

[mariew]

I used to live there a long time ago but still have family there so I don't know costs but here are some general thoughts.

You tend to get big yards with indoor arenas, especially in the cities. But I would say you need to be prepared that decent turnout is harder to come by. Swedes tend to work their horses during winter and then chill out for the summer. Stockholm doesn't get as much snow over winter but do keep ice and frozen ground into account if you are working your horses.

DIY is the norm, or at least used to be. Full
or part livery didn't used to exist.

I don't know Stockholm but I suspect if you live centrally you would be looking at some way to travel.

Try hippson as an internet forum. I'll have a think and post more later.

And yes you are legally allowed to wander around any nature really (allemansratten) but do so with respect to nature of course.

 

[PaulnasherryRocky]

I used to live there a long time ago but still have family there so I don't know costs but here are some general thoughts.

You tend to get big yards with indoor arenas, especially in the cities. But I would say you need to be prepared that decent turnout is harder to come by. Swedes tend to work their horses during winter and then chill out for the summer. Stockholm doesn't get as much snow over winter but do keep ice and frozen ground into account if you are working your horses.

DIY is the norm, or at least used to be. Full
or part livery didn't used to exist.

I don't know Stockholm but I suspect if you live centrally you would be looking at some way to travel.

Try hippson as an internet forum. I'll have a think and post more later.

And yes you are legally allowed to wander around any nature really (allemansratten) but do so with respect to nature of course.

Thanks Mariew that's really useful, I will take a look, my partner is happy to travel around 40 minutes in to Stockholm, and i'm happy to travel about 40 minutes the other direction, so luckily we wont be right in the centre of everything which hopefully gives us some more options!

 

[AUB]

Danish here. Pretty much the same in Denmark as in Sweden though.

DIY is a little different from in the UK. You won’t have to go in the morning to feed horses, turn out and so on. YO does that. Also you don’t have to keep the fields and fencing yourself. Typically DIY means you buy and make the feed ready, make hay ready, muck out yourself and typically there will be a rota for turning out and bringing in during weekends. Sometimes also for bringing in during the week, but normally YO will do that.Sometimes you must poo pick fields.
Depending on facilities prices start around 2000 kr./month. Bit more expensive around Stockholm, and you will have to deal with traffic. Yards with decent turnout can be found. Typically there is also the possibility of summer grass meaning 24/7 turnout from may to september/october.

“Full” livery typically means that you will groom and ride your horse yourself and you’re there for the farrier and vet visits, but mucking, turning out/bringing in and feeding is done for you.

There are sites like hastnet.se and bukefalos.se for finding yards, but they’re in Swedish...

 

[PaulnasherryRocky]

Danish here. Pretty much the same in Denmark as in Sweden though.

DIY is a little different from in the UK. You won’t have to go in the morning to feed horses, turn out and so on. YO does that. Also you don’t have to keep the fields and fencing yourself. Typically DIY means you buy and make the feed ready, make hay ready, muck out yourself and typically there will be a rota for turning out and bringing in during weekends. Sometimes also for bringing in during the week, but normally YO will do that.Sometimes you must poo pick fields.
Depending on facilities prices start around 2000 kr./month. Bit more expensive around Stockholm, and you will have to deal with traffic. Yards with decent turnout can be found. Typically there is also the possibility of summer grass meaning 24/7 turnout from may to september/october.

“Full” livery typically means that you will groom and ride your horse yourself and you’re there for the farrier and vet visits, but mucking, turning out/bringing in and feeding is done for you.

There are sites like hastnet.se and bukefalos.se for finding yards, but they’re in Swedish...

Thanks AUB!

 

[mariew]

I have a perspective from someone who lived up north so all year turnout would mean standing to their knees to in snow for a few months lol. I have included some current ads that seem to have turnout that would give you an idea. Google translate should help I couldn't find much centrally, 35 to 40 minutes plus seem to work though. Makes me want to move home lol.

In fact an awful lot of Swedes are horsey so why don't you get your oh to find out if anyone is horsey and can help?

https://www.blocket.se/annons/stockholm/stallplatser_i_vacker_miljo__norrort_sthlm/92201367
https://www.blocket.se/annons/stockholm/stallplats/92209755
Bit far but grazing with shelter https://www.blocket.se/annons/stockholm/stallplats_eller_losdrift/92226176
https://hastnet.se/sv/annons/centra...liteter-pa-fin-anlaggning-sodra-sthlm-1491202

 

[PaulnasherryRocky]

I have a perspective from someone who lived up north so all year turnout would mean standing to their knees to in snow for a few months lol. I have included some current ads that seem to have turnout that would give you an idea. Google translate should help I couldn't find much centrally, 35 to 40 minutes plus seem to work though. Makes me want to move home lol.

In fact an awful lot of Swedes are horsey so why don't you get your oh to find out if anyone is horsey and can help?

https://www.blocket.se/annons/stockholm/stallplatser_i_vacker_miljo__norrort_sthlm/92201367
https://www.blocket.se/annons/stockholm/stallplats/92209755
Bit far but grazing with shelter https://www.blocket.se/annons/stockholm/stallplats_eller_losdrift/92226176
https://hastnet.se/sv/annons/centra...liteter-pa-fin-anlaggning-sodra-sthlm-1491202

Ohh thanks for the links, those prices seem reasonable and handy to see which websites to look at too

 

[PaulnasherryRocky]

To add to my earlier list of questions, brownie points for anybody that knows how to find a track livery or paddock paradise set up type yard...

 

[Surbie]

Norwegian links here - cousin keeps hers on DIY in Oslo at a lovely place with regular community open days. (Other family way up north and horses are indoors for most of winter). There's no indoor school - winter is mostly hacking in the forest if/when the school freezes or box out to a place with a heated indoor. In at night out, in the day (by 7am) in winter, during holiday season the liveries are on a rota to turn out/bring in their section of the barn so people have time off. Oslo can have pretty low temperatures - I haven't heard of 24/7 turnout in winter. All the horses at her place go off for a month's holiday to summer fields in herds.

 

[Violet]

I used to live and ride in Stockholm a long time ago. There were some lovely tracks to ride on in the northern part such as on Djurgården and around Kaknäs Tower. These are some current maps of bridle ways there.
https://www.kungahuset.se/download/18.124d504108b48b219780003079/KDF+Karta+ridvägarna+1,8Mb.pdf
https://www.kungligaslotten.se/vara...arken/infor-besoket/kartor-att-ladda-ned.html

I mainly rode the cavalry horses based next to Ryttarstadion, Stockholm and I have found this link to the Riding School next to it.
https://www.swartlingsridskola.se/

I also used to ride a lot around Järvafältet just north of Stockholm when I rode at the riding school there.
https://www.jarfallaryttarforening.se/

Ekerö is another nice place to ride on and I used to ride at a private stable which took liveries then. It's the island to the northwest in Stockholm City.
It all depends whereabouts you are going to live in/around Stockholm, the further out you go the more choice you will have.

This is a Swedish horse forum where you might find out costs etc for keeping a horse in Sweden.
https://www.bukefalos.se/forums/haestfolk.64/

I never came across any stables offering 24/7 turn out places. I don't think it would be feasible due to the long and sometimes very cold (-30˚C) winters but I might be wrong.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

I'm in Gothenburg, Sweden, but don't have a horse, I'm just interested in them. Will try to answer what I can:

Sweden is a somewhat expensive country to live in, and almost everything have it's own tax which adds to the amount you have to pay. In general I like it because we get benefits back from it, but the one tax I really dislike is the 25% (!) tax added to veterinary bills. I really wish that tax was lower, but it isn't, so my first advice would be to make sure your horses is either well insured, or that you have a really good savings account with money ear-marked for potential veterinary care.

We do have some bridleways, but riding is also covered by allemansrätten, so in general you can ride in forests etc. However, the law have more restrictions for someone riding, than walking, and if you're unlucky, a grumpy land owner can try to restrict riders from riding on their land. But then there is usually other areas you can ride in.

A few years ago came a law that said that all horses in Sweden must be allowed to spend at least some time out in a paddock every day (unless they're in a veterinary hospital, your land have been flooded or similar exceptions) ((the law probably came after Violet moved from Sweden)).
So if you come across a yard that doesn't provide daily turn out even for a short amount of time all the year around, they're breaking the law, and if they're breaking that law, what other things can they be doing wrong?

Track or paradise type set up paddock systems haven't really become a big thing here in Sweden, as far as I know, so you might need a bit of luck to find a yard with that.

 

[Violet]

It is not allowed to use barbed wire for fencing horses in Sweden since 2010.
If the horse is to be kept outside for more than 16 hours when average temperature is +5˚C or less the horse must have availability of a dry, clean and wind proof surface to lay on under cover at all times (24/7).
There are a lot more rules on keeping animals in Sweden than in the UK.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

It is not allowed to use barbed wire for fencing horses in Sweden since 2010.
If the horse is to be kept outside for more than 16 hours when average temperature is +5˚C or less the horse must have availability of a dry, clean and wind proof surface to lay on under cover at all times (24/7).
There are a lot more rules on keeping animals in Sweden than in the UK.

Yes, we certainly do have several laws involving animal owning. It was probably the law you're mentioning about that horses in Sweden must be provided with shelters, which caused a bit of a hoo-ha in 2006 or 2007, due to the semi-feral herd of Gotlands Russ ponies which have lived on Lojsta Moor, on the island of Gotland, for several hundreds of years. Without shelters...

Until some law makers in Stockholm became convinced that no horse, or pony, could survive living outdoors all the year around in Sweden without shelters. As said, it took a bit of a hoo-ha before the owners of the Gotlands Russ ponies in the herd on Lojsta Moor got an exemption from the law.

 

[PaulnasherryRocky]

Ah thank you all so much for the info. After some discussion I think the plan will be to turn my youngster away in the UK in a herd to mature for a while and to just take my old boy with me.

Luckily this means a bigger budget for him!

We are planning to do a few months in a flat share before taking any of the animals out (we have cats too) so we can explore and find where we want to actually live. I've got loads of helpful links from this thread so I will definitely be spending this weekend doing my research!

Partners job could potentially also involve alot of travel (as it does now) so being in Stockholm may not be as essential as we originally thought. Heads a mess at the moment, but will figure it out slowly!

 

[QueenT]

Try the Facebook page “Hästfolk i Stockholms län” (=horse people in county of Stockholm) They’ll definitely be able to point you on, everybody understands English

 

[paddy555]

To add to my earlier list of questions, brownie points for anybody that knows how to find a track livery or paddock paradise set up type yard...

I guess the horse is BF. Try FB and the barefoot sites on there. I have seen people from Sweden posting and their English has been good.. No doubt there will be some into track systems who can help. Possibly they could answer some of your other questions as well.

 

[PaulnasherryRocky]

Lovely, thanks everyone!

 

[MrsMozart]

My niece, not even vaguely horsey, moved to Sweden a few months ago. Shout if you'd like me to ask her what she wished she'd known!

 

[PaulnasherryRocky]

My niece, not even vaguely horsey, moved to Sweden a few months ago. Shout if you'd like me to ask her what she wished she'd known!

If it's not too much trouble that would be very useful!

I'm after anything dog related too (that's my main clause, if I'm moving country for his job then I need a dog for company as I work from home!)

 

[FinnishLapphund]

If it's not too much trouble that would be very useful!

I'm after anything dog related too (that's my main clause, if I'm moving country for his job then I need a dog for company as I work from home!)

A big difference between dog owning in Sweden, compared to Britain, is that it is still not that common to castrate/sterilize a young dog/bitch in Sweden. Even though it is getting more common, many still waits until there is a problem, especially with bitches.

Because it is cheaper to castrate a dog, than to spay a bitch, and Swedish insurance companies only helps with the cost if there is a problem. Spaying a bitch usually costs from around 6.000 SEK = around 522 GBP, and upwards. The last two bitches I spayed costed between around 12.000 to 15.000 SEK = around 1.045 to 1.300 GBP.

Just like with riding, allemansrätten does provide us with more areas available to walk our dogs in. However, lots of areas also have leash laws, and especially during the Summer you must keep your dog on a leash, or under such control that it doesn't disturb the wildlife.

 

[MrsMozart]

If it's not too much trouble that would be very useful!

I'm after anything dog related too (that's my main clause, if I'm moving country for his job then I need a dog for company as I work from home!)

Will send her a message. She's a cat person so not much use on the dog front, though the cat does tend to go for walks with them ?

 

[PaulnasherryRocky]

Will send her a message. She's a cat person so not much use on the dog front, though the cat does tend to go for walks with them ?

We have two cats that will be coming! Both indoor cats but one does get walked on a lead aswell Haha

 

[sharni]

It is not allowed to use barbed wire for fencing horses in Sweden since 2010.
If the horse is to be kept outside for more than 16 hours when average temperature is +5˚C or less the horse must have availability of a dry, clean and wind proof surface to lay on under cover at all times (24/7).
There are a lot more rules on keeping animals in Sweden than in the UK.

Excellent, wish we had those rules here.

 

[Ownedby4horses]

Im also in Denmark. We moved here in July with 4 horses and a cat. We used Parkers International to move the horses and I absolutely could not fault them (I'm very fussy about my horse's care etc). Michelle in the office very patientily answered my multiple emails over the past 12 months asking some numpty questions and when we finally got wind of my moving and the animals (hubby moved first), then they organised the transportation with just a few days notice.

It was absolutely faultless from start to finish, the driver (Beth - an angel sent from heaven!), called me the day before to discuss the horses (she had the booking documents and additional paperwork about their needs etc), she called again on the morning they were due to be picked up, so that she could give me her ETA and asked if I would like to load and travel them in a particular order, as the wagon was configured in a way that I could have any set up I wanted (and she would stop en-route to arrange the partitions, so that the wagon was ready to load on her arrival).

Talk about wagon envy! The most gorgeous enormous wagon arrived and all were loaded using the side ramp which fitted onto our driveway perfectly so we didnt have to load from the road (narrow country lane).

They spent the weekend at Parker's yard (southern UK) just because we needed them to be gone so we could clear the yard before we left the following morning, they set off on Monday, arrived in Germany Monday night and then arrived with us in Denmark Tuesday (we are southern denmark, not far from central denmark). All 4 of mine are like litmus paper, it is so easy to tell if someone has been rough with them, as they can be timid with strangers, however, they strolled off that beautiful wagon without a care in the world, it was obvious they had been very well looked after by Beth.

We chose a dedicated wagon, which cost a bit more but we have transported a horse from France a few years back on a shared load and felt the route (wasnt with Parkers) wasnt great for the horse, as it went everywhere and they kept unloading the horses to get one at the front off for example and then they all got reloaded, it was just a bit too much messing sbout for him we thought.

One thing you need to think about (and get organised!), your horse's vaccinations need to be up to date and you need to check that your transporter will organise the ministry vet and export certificates (Parkers did all this for us at their yard), my own vet in the UK was the vet who dealt with exporting and he said we needed to be very mindful about the changes after Brexit with exporting.

Our cat needed a rabies vaccination and a pet passport, obviously after Brexit, your pet passport for your cats won't be valid, so do your research online about the changes for export.

With regards to furniture removals, the cost for moving a 4 bed property (with garage) via a removals company averaged £12,000. You need to be aware that some countries (Denmark is one of them) charge fees for haulage coming in and out of the country, dependant on the wagon size, so this gets added ontop.

We ended up hiring a wagon in the UK and hubby did two trips with all the furniture (23hr journey each way and its costly to get a wagon across the chunnel or on the ferry). We did the final run towing our Ifor 505 full of the final bits and drove straight for 23hrs (would not recommend it!), total cost to move ourselves = £5,000.

If you go down the hiring a wagon, be aware that pets cant be taken on crossings in a wagon on the chunnel, they're only allowed on the passenger routes.

Buy your rugs and anything you need for your horses in the UK, everything is much more expensive over here as an example. Feed was £14 a bag D&H in UK and over here its equivilent to £33.

I'm lucky as I have visited Denmark many timeyears, so the weather isnt a shock in the winter. Human clothes are very expensive here compared to the UK, however, they are much better quality and if a coat or footwear says its waterproof and warm, it certainly is!

Its a big move but it will be worth it, the quality of life far exceeds life in the UK, on every level. We've just bought a beautiful property with enormous brick barns and 32 acres for the price of a large 4 bed executive home on an estate in the UK. Taxes are very high though but its the pay off for the lifestyle and the lovely country to live in.

 

[canteron]

I now think that, on balance, I want to move to Sweden as well!

 

[Keith_Beef]

After not taking the advice I was given in another thread (what happens if you say to somebody "I have to leave you on your own here for five minutes; whatever you do, don't look inside that box on the table") I stumbled upon an article that might interest you: 20 things to know before moving to Sweden.

The best bit of advice, to my mind, is: learn Swedish.

It's similar enough to English and German that if you are competent in one and have some knowledge of the other, then at least simple written Swedish is easy.

 

[Violet]

My husband learnt Swedish by Linguaphone very well but is always very disappointed each time we go over there. He walks in to the shop starts speaking Swedish and people will reply to him in English.
1. Fika is very important and so are the buns.
2. Queueing similar to UK.
3. Immigrants used to have to learn Swedish but it might have changed now.
4. Correct, don't use Lingonberry jam on your bread. It's a savoury jam like Cranberry.
5. Caviar on egg or knäckebröd is lovely.
6. Paternal leave is good and so it should be.
7. -30°C is no problem for a Swede.
8. Industrial holiday.
9. "Lagom" is almost always ok.
10. Never been a fan of it. Ice hockey far more exciting.
11. All people are equal.
12. Definitely, I still have this rule here in the UK.
13. Not always dark as the snow on the ground makes it lighter than UK in the night. Snow glittering in the moonshine on a cold winter's night, beautiful. Northern lights a bonus.
14. Yes, I am always punctual.
15. Make sure you are stocked up before the weekend as there is nowhere to stock up otherwise. Don't offer to buy a round of drinks when out, it'll bankrupt you.
16. So it should be. You can usually take your used cans/bottles back to the shop for a refund.
17. Fettisdagen very important. I now have to make my own Semlas over here.
18. Yes, don't waste money on bottled water.
19. You don't see many ties worn in Sweden.
20. Nor free but subsidised charges for healthcare and prescriptions.

Allemansrätten, freedom to roam is very missed in the UK.