Moving horse from UK to US - would you?

BillyBob-Sleigh

BillyBob-Sleigh

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Hi all :)

My hubby is in the process of applying for jobs in the US, so far it's between Boston, MA and Grand Rapids, MI; although he has also been approached for a role in Virginia so as it stands we don't know where we'll end up! :rolleyes:. It's very exciting if some what scary!

Now the issue is my beloved Billy. I just don't know what to do with him? This move may be for 3 years or longer there's just no way of knowing what is happening just yet. The most logical thing to do would be to sell, I really don't like this idea but it's something I may have to come to terms with. I could loan him to a competition home BUT I won't be here to check on him plus what would happen if we stayed there longer or the loanee had to give him back? it's just not a risk I think I could take. The third option is to take him with us. I'm not overly keen on this idea, it's very costly and he's a very sensitive sole and I'm worried about how he might cope?

Please can I have opinions form people who have moved horses abroad, how they coped, if it was better for the horse or the owner and any other bit of information you could give me would be massively appreciated.

Thank you
 
I know of someone who flew their horse to the US a few years back. Had to sign a form authorising the euthanasia of the horse if he became too distressed and injured himself in flight.
He apparently did become very stressy in the flight so much that it was becoming an option to the vets, i'm actually very sure he managed to rip his face open or something.

Anyway he made it to the other side and is now (i believe) happily living in new jersey. Albeit not stress free ..

It's a big decision and depending on how your horse is would make the decision for me of whether he could handle the flight and all of the possible traumas associated with flying a horse. Not to mention the price!!

Best of luck to you :)
 
My personal thought is that If it were me, I would sell before I go. You will have enough to worry about getting your own paperwork, visa etc sorted, finding a house, selling a house here, organising removals and shipping etc, if you have children then finding them schools too.

I just think the added stress of flying a horse out, finding livery etc, would be too much. As I say, this is my opinion.

If you have a real connection to the horse and can't imagine life without him, then look into it. But don't forget they have horses in the USA too, so you could buy another when you get there and are settled.

I wouldn't go down the loan option if you are away as you cannot check up and what if the loanee wanted to return him? Impossible situation.

Good luck with whatever you decide. By the way, my sister emigrated to the USA 14 years ago and took her dog. He flew free as he went on as 'excess baggage' :)
 
Thanks everyone :). If he wasn't such a stresshead it wouldn't even be an option, but he loses so much weight just going to a show so the thought of what he would look like after an 8+hour flight leaves me a bit cold.

The dog is coming with us :D I wonder if I could get away with taking him as excess baggage? Bless him.

Terri - where is America did you relocate from and how much was it to ship your horses over?

Thanks
 
I brought one of ours with me almost 10 years ago. She flew from Stansted to New York, was shipped to the quarantine station at Cornell University and then shipped on to me after serving her time. We brought her solely for emotional reasons and she's retired now living happily in our fields. I thought long and hard about all our horses and in the end chose not to bring the other horses for various reasons. Cost wasn't a big deal as when you rent a container of 3 stalls the price decreases a lot.

I don't know anything about your horse sorry, but if he is a registered and decent competition horse which you would be looking to replace if you moved here then bank on spending between $25,000 to $60,000 on a comparable horse over here. Good horses are nowhere near as cheap here as they are in the UK. Once in a while you might find a diamond in the rough, but competition people here are pretty clued up as to what prices they can get for a horse doing okay in competitions.

Flying them isn't a big deal. Most fly just fine. They are in containers, normall with 3 stalls in each container. If you are overly worried you can choose to groom for your own horse and although you pay the airfare it isn't any more than travelling on a commercial airline.
 
No, I said I would! I'm in Ireland. Direct quote for 5 going over and clearing just the regular QT was €7200 per horse. I have 5. (Why I'm still here)! Then transport to where I'm going in the US and CEM QT for mares.

Terri
 
Thanks SF. He is registered with the AES, and he is bred for eventing but is still only rising 6 so not proven yet.

My horror is that when he goes into "stress mode" nothing else matters to him, he cannot focus on anything else and panics (yes this happens when a bird hops out of a hedge or another horse trots across a field....). What would happen if he started to panic mid-flight? I couldn't live with myself if they had to put him down for my selfish needs of wanting him with me :(. At the same time because of the way he is the thought of selling him and someone losing patience with him because of his temperament is heartbreaking *sigh*.
 
All grooms carry a euthanasia kit and if the horse got out of control it would be put down I'm afraid. With a little more info, if I were you, I would take your time in finding him the perfect home in the UK and leave him behind. Which is what I did. I sold my other horses a year before I moved, with a first refusal contract in case it didn't work out. That gave me plenty of time to make sure they were in the right places and when I did finally leave I was at peace with myself and with where they were. Incidentally I keep in touch with their owners and they're still at the same homes :) So it worked out well for me, no reason it shouldn't for you too.
 
If eventing is your thing and you're happy to rehab or train a horse yourself then you could look at some of the OTTBs here. Some really are quite decent horses and they are cheap as chips! For a registered WB dressage/sjing young horse of about the same age as yours with just a couple of rated shows under it's belt, you are looking at the prices I mentioned above. By far and away the cheapest way to buy is to buy young and produce yourself. Or contact me once you move and I can put you in touch with some reputable sellers.
 
i would also take both of mine without a doubt - but i know them pretty well and am 99.9% sure they could cope with the flight - but i would understand if they didnt make it
i guess it depends if your horse could cope with the change - cos its not just the flight, it would be totally different surroundings - and also if you could cope with moving to a new country and also having to settle in a horse.
 
It's such a difficult decision! I have to think of his welfare first and foremost. Could anyone point me in the direction of a good horse transporter? Half of me is saying to leave him behind and find him the best home that I can and the second half is saying that because I'll be lucky enough to not have to work I can spend as much time as needed with him to help him settle...
 
I used Peden Bloodstock who double up with Mersant International once in the States. They both gave excellent service! Absolutely top notch IMO.
 
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Don't worry about the horse getting used to the different temperatures. They do get used to it. The first year with the horrendously hot summers take it out of them a bit, the cold winters don't bother them at all. The second year they are totally acclimatised (that's my experience of my own and other imported horses from Europe). Both of the places you are looking to move to keep horses in a similar way to how they're kept in the UK so that shouldn't be an issue for them.

Unless your horse is a REAL stresshead, I honestly don't think there will be a problem. They are put in their containers some time before it's loaded onto the plane. The plane engines are running the whole time so if the horse is going to flip, it would most likely be at that point in time. Once on the plane nothing changes. The horse gets used to the surroundings, there isn't any coming or going or horses wandering about lol, just the grooms sitting there chatting to them or giving them the odd pat. It's a quiet environment for them to travel in so if you really do want to take him, then you should :)
 
Spring Feather said:
Don't worry about the horse getting used to the different temperatures. They do get used to it. The first year with the horrendously hot summers take it out of them a bit, the cold winters don't bother them at all. The second year they are totally acclimatised (that's my experience of my own and other imported horses from Europe). Both of the places you are looking to move to keep horses in a similar way to how they're kept in the UK so that shouldn't be an issue for them.

Unless your horse is a REAL stresshead, I honestly don't think there will be a problem. They are put in their containers some time before it's loaded onto the plane. The plane engines are running the whole time so if the horse is going to flip, it would most likely be at that point in time. Once on the plane nothing changes. The horse gets used to the surroundings, there isn't any coming or going or horses wandering about lol, just the grooms sitting there chatting to them or giving them the odd pat. It's a quiet environment for them to travel in so if you really do want to take him, then you should :)
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I think I would struggle to get him onto the container in the first place and then with the noise from the plane I know he wouldn't cope :(.

Thanks so much for your help and all the info but thinking about it, for him it would be cruel to put him through it. In terms of how stressy he is, I have yet to come across another horse as bad as him and I've had 2 x YO's say the same. He is a beautiful horse and so so kind but he zones out when he starts getting stressed and his level of stress is prohibiting him from reaching his full potential, he may grow out of it eventually but now is not a good time in his life to put him through it :(.
 
We`ve been thinking about this too ..... we`d rehome 2 of our animals here (the laid back happy 2) and take al; the others with us. Whilst i absolutely idolize both my horses, my youngster would be very easy to rehome as he is a proper chilled out character, how ever, my other boy would 100% have to go with me.

Tough decision for you there :(
 
I think you know in your heart that it would be one stress too far for him. My friend emigrated to Oz with her three. One of them was very stressy, but managed to hoild it together simply because his stable mates of 5 years were on each side of him. She also had to have them in quarantine in England and Australia, so there is a lot of chopping and changing involved for them.
 
My mum's friend flies her 4 horses between america and england twice a year with no problems. It is very expensive though.. £10,000 per horse i think?
 
I flew on horse planes a lot when at the track. I'm a horrific flyer and yet on a horse plane I'm calm as are the horses. I never in all my time saw any of them reacting badly including turbulence. They keep munching. These were very young TB's. Lots of them fly everywhere.

And on a side note I love hearing stories from some rather dubious Irish people talking about how there wasn't a bother on the horse they just sent. Would make your hair stand on end and yet no problems with the plane.

What is your horse like traveling in a trailer? Seriously he should be fine.

Terri
 
There was a thread earlier in the year about moving horses to the USA. Remember that the distances are vast and there are really lovely horse areas and not so lovely ones. The boarding/livery yards probably have their own hacking out, but if you had house and land you would need to check out exactly where you will be riding your horse! A lot of surrounding land might be private and you may or may not be allowed to ride there. Although the livery yards would have their own competitions, going to other competitions could mean an overnight stay.

Competition horses are expensive, but equally there are a lot of pretty cheap horses around too. Family member had horses in the USA a few years ago and it seemed that equipment and costs were the same in $ as in £, so a bit cheaper than UK, but vets are a lot more expensive.

Taking your horse to the USA is not impossible, but it is expensive, and you might be better putting that money towards a horse when you get over there - but that is for you to decide. Find out where you are going to be living first, check out the local horse facilities and then decide whether or not to take your horse.
 
Another thought I'd had was to move over there, settle down and suss out the local livery yards (or whatever they're called over in the US??). I'll keep him on full livery with exercise whilst I'm over there and make a decision. The only issue is that if I decide that it's a definite no, I can't take him then I'll have the issue of re-homing him which I would have to rely on family members and YO to help out with - not ideal!!
 
Sorry to hi jack- and no useful advice about taking ur horse- in assuming u cudnt partially sedate him for travelling or anything? But do horses/dogs get popped ears on flights like we do? Or does nature make them yawn to prevent burst ear drums?
 
I'd suggest you do lots of research about the exact area you're planning to live in, look at yards, weather and facilities etc. before you decide.

A friend of mine went to Boston, winters were something else and the care of the horses is different - hay all year round as limited grazing etc.
She came back after a few years as she didn't get on with living there.

She took her dogs with her but left them there when she came back as she didn't want to put them through the travel/ quarantine again.

How long will your OH's job be for?
 
In the first instance it will be 2/3 years but likely to be longer. The dog is coming with us but there's no way I could leave him there :(. Animals do make moves like this a lot more stressful lol!
 
I moved my horse from the US to the UK. It was kind of an epic. The flight was fine for her. Not so much for me; flight from New York got delayed, I missed a connecting flight in Frankfurt and was stranded there for about six hours waiting for another one, and when I arrived in Amsterdam, the airline lost my luggage. We spent our first night at a place called the "Horse Hotel" a few miles away from Schiphol Airport, which had stables for new equine arrivals and above them, wee hotel rooms for their human traveling companions. If you want entertainment, try explaining to the lost luggage people in the Schiphol Airport that you're staying at a place called the Horse Hotel. And then try pronouncing its actual name in Dutch. Funny enough, it's not on their list of hotels. And if you explain that you're traveling with a horse, so you are staying at the hotel where horses are kept, they think you're quite mad. Thus I traveled with the horse via lorry from Amsterdam to Durham, which took about five days, with the clothes I was wearing and, well, a horse, and nothing else to my name. Myself and another American girl who had flown over with her horse in the same shipment stayed in a B&B in Hythe, with the horses stabled a few miles away, awaiting lifts to our respective UK destinations. My hope of having the companionship of my fellow countryman (or woman) in the hotel, all alone in this foreign country, was dashed when this lassie went off with one of the drivers and didn't appear again till morning, doing the walk of shame. Then we were brought to the barn and a lorry arrived that day to take her to Gloucester. I ended up waiting another two days. I met a nice lad who worked at the pub and who lent me a shirt. I think he was intrigued. "I just came over in the Calais ferry with my horse after flying from New York to Amsterdam, we're waiting for a lift to Durham, and all my luggage is in somewhere in Germany" is just not a story you hear every day if you work at a pub in Hythe.

It took two days to get to Durham, as we had another layover in Newmarket, which I learned doesn't have youth hostels so I camped out in the cab of the lorry. The horse, however, had a stable. Lucky her. We had a long, circuitous tour of England, picking up horses en route to Scotland, which was the lorry's final destination. These included a horse who had to be lead to the local pub since the lorry couldn't fit up the drive to his barn, a mare and an unhandled foal who the driver and three blokes had to manhandle into the lorry, and a horse from the queen's stables. It was a long trip.

My horse settled in rather quickly, although to this day, she thinks UK weather is pants.
 
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Just something to consider: if you end up moving to Virginia you'll be in the horse-mecca of the US. N. Va is home to the best collection of horses, instructors, farms, etc. that the country has to offer. So don't worry about finding a suitable horse arrangement if you end up living anywhere near Va.
 
My friend took her girl from the UK to Ohio in 2008. She didn't intend to take her, but couldn't bear the thought of not. She'd previously took a horse to Texas and bought him home. Both horses, though arriving tired made the trip well. Check into the quarantine issues, there are also different innocculations they have to have over there too. She sent her tack in the container along with most of her rugs - that were all cleaned prior to shipping...so bear in mind how long it will take for your stuff to arrive in the US too.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do :D
 
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