Moving Horses From Italy to England

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ilariasm1995

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Hello!

I would like to introduce myself: My name is Ila, and I am a show jumper located in Milan. For different reasons, I would like to move to England (I've been there for 3 years for University), and of course I would like to bring my horses with me. However I have zero knowledge on how it works in England. Just to be precise, I have two horses (a mare, who is currently competing, and a stallion, who is not and never will be competing again because of a tendon problem - he just need to live outside in a paddock) and a 22 year old pony who needs to live in a paddock most of the day and is not working (and won't be anymore).

I would like to have some information first of all on some stables around London (I applied to study there) where I can place my horses (I need a facility that can offer me jumps, arena, paddocks for the horses and 24/7 check etc.)- I will have a car, so hopefully the distance won't be that much of a problem. I did a quick search online, but I found mostly stables for tourists... The stallion I have is very quite he causes no problems with other mares and isn't the annoying type of stallion (he is just annoying with me :) ).

Second, I would like to know how it works to go to shows in England - I believe everyone has a license to horse ride (in Italy we need to have it). We have to renew the license every year, and have to pay for both the license and the renewal of the horses' passports (FEI, if they have one, and the Italian one.) - I guess that I would need the FEI passport to enter English shows, am I correct? Also, for the renewal of our license we have to carry out some fitness tests, so to check that we are physically able to ride... is it the same in England?
Is there a website or PDF (or something) that would help me understand how to prepare to move my horses to England (and perhaps how to compete as well?)

I will wait for some answers, if anyone would like to help me!
Thank you and have a nice day ! :DDDDD
 
I can't help with livery although you may find it difficult to find anywhere willing to take a stallion however quiet he is, we just don't keep many entires over here so livery yards are not used to having them around.

You will not require a license to compete, you register with BS and can jump in classes that you are eligible for, the horse will need it's passport to be registered, link to the BS website for you to look through.

http://www.britishshowjumping.co.uk/
 
Hey!
Thank you!
But sorry there are stallions in England for showjumping (like in everywhere else in world)... where do they keep them if not in a normal stable? I also have my private groom (24/7), so the stallion wouldn't need to be cared by others.
If anyone can help me with livery it would be fantastic.

Thanks for the quick reply!
 
Hey!
thanks for the quick reply! The problem is, I do not know where to look... in Italy we have "Scuderie", where you take any horse you have there, grooms of the stable will take care of the basic needs of the horses and thats it- we do not have small yards that you can rent.. thats why I am a bit lost. Is there a way I can look? Do I just research online?

Thanks a lot for your answers- they are really helpful!!!
 
stallions are normally kept at the yard that the rider owns or rents. it is rare that a livery yard will taks a stallion in the uk although you may possibly find a stud somewhere that would have the facilities but it will not be easy. It is not so much a case of people handling the stallion and more a case that there are some complete idiots that own horses and who are very capable of tying a mare in season outside a stallions stable and wandering off for a cupp of tea (yes I have personally seen that) where you stable will depend on where you are living and studying as the area around london is huge so if you could give an idea of north south east or west or what university it would help a lot :)
 
No requirement for licenses. You are best to contact British Showjumping directly to find out what they require from you to register (and for the horses).

They are the UK governing body for show jumping (each discipline in the UK has a different governing body, no overall like FISE, so British Showjumping for show jumping, British Dressage for dressage, British Eventing for eventing and so forth). Each organisation has a different structure and different requirements.

There are also unaffiliated shows (though often run under the same rules as the official organisation but no requirements for membership), and riding club competitions (a different organisation for amateur riders).

Livery yards, there is a mixture, and no easy way to find them (local knowledge is key). Many yards are DIY which means you rent the stable and some turnout (usually with some other horses), you provide the horse bedding, feed, and do all the chores yourself. Part Livery usually means that the yard will provide the bedding, feed and will do the basic chores (mucking out, catching in from field, turning out, changing rugs) but will not groom or exercise or anything else (like organise vet or farrier). Full livery will do everything, feed, chores, exercise, groom, organise farrier/vet as required. There are lots of variations on these, most places will have a contract which will detail what services you will get.

Not all yards have a trainer based there, and many yards will be mixed (some dressage, some jumping, some hacking).

If you want to be based on a yard with a trainer, and someone who will understand how to navigate the UK system from a foreigners perspective I suggest you contact Seb Poirier - http://www.sebastienpoirier.co.uk/
He can probably help you find the yard you are after if his isn't in the right location.
 
TBH you need to look at renting or buying a small yard.

Having a stallion at a livery stables is a nightmare, very few will take a stallion at all. Of those that will take a stallion the number that will allow him any turnout at all is even less. 24/7 turnout is pretty much never going to happen.

We do not tend to keep stallions over here, those that are kept tend to be kept on private yards or proffessional stud yards.


You do not need a license to compete over here, however you do need to be aware that when importing a horse to compete in the UK they are often assigned a minimum level which often rules them out for any lower level stuff.
 
ilariasm1995 said:
Hello!

I would like to introduce myself: My name is Ila, and I am a show jumper located in Milan. For different reasons, I would like to move to England (I've been there for 3 years for University), and of course I would like to bring my horses with me. However I have zero knowledge on how it works in England. Just to be precise, I have two horses (a mare, who is currently competing, and a stallion, who is not and never will be competing again because of a tendon problem - he just need to live outside in a paddock) and a 22 year old pony who needs to live in a paddock most of the day and is not working (and won't be anymore).

I would like to have some information first of all on some stables around London (I applied to study there) where I can place my horses (I need a facility that can offer me jumps, arena, paddocks for the horses and 24/7 check etc.)- I will have a car, so hopefully the distance won't be that much of a problem. I did a quick search online, but I found mostly stables for tourists... The stallion I have is very quite he causes no problems with other mares and isn't the annoying type of stallion (he is just annoying with me :) ).

Second, I would like to know how it works to go to shows in England - I believe everyone has a license to horse ride (in Italy we need to have it). We have to renew the license every year, and have to pay for both the license and the renewal of the horses' passports (FEI, if they have one, and the Italian one.) - I guess that I would need the FEI passport to enter English shows, am I correct? Also, for the renewal of our license we have to carry out some fitness tests, so to check that we are physically able to ride... is it the same in England?
Is there a website or PDF (or something) that would help me understand how to prepare to move my horses to England (and perhaps how to compete as well?)

I will wait for some answers, if anyone would like to help me!
Thank you and have a nice day ! :DDDDD
Click to expand...
TBH if you have somewhere in Italy where you are currently keeping your two horse who are not competing, you may find it easier and cheaper to keep those two in Italy and just bring the horse you are competing.

From my experience it is much cheaper keeping a horse in Italy than it is in England.
 
VRIN said:
TBH if you have somewhere in Italy where you are currently keeping your two horse who are not competing, you may find it easier and cheaper to keep those two in Italy and just bring the horse you are competing.

From my experience it is much cheaper keeping a horse in Italy than it is in England.
Click to expand...

I was going to suggest the same. There aren't many yards within driving distance of London that could offer both competition horse livery and 'retirement' livery as turnout is limited. There are quite a few yards around London that are good for show jumping, e.g. Pachesham and there have been others recommended on here in the past.

For the retired pair, if you really have to bring them then have a look at Quainton Stud as they offer retirement livery.
 
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