Moving to australia - do I take my horse?

Your mare will also have to go into quarantine for 14 days before leaving the country and then 3 weeks at least when arriving (maybe longer because she is a mare)
 
I was under the impression that Australia requires a six month quarantine for animals coming into the country. I most certainly read somewhere that for the Sydney Olympics, they made the whole equestrian facility into a quarantine area, as it obviously wasn't practical to put all those horses through the six months of quarantine.

I moved my horse from the US to the UK, but would not have moved her to Australia, as I would not put her through a six month quarantine and it costs far more to fly a horse to Australia than to fly one across the Atlantic. Horse adapted to different climate, time zone, whatever fine (well, kind of), but that isn't the issue with going to Oz.

You also have to think, it might not be so easy for you to stay after your dad's two year work visa is up. I don't know how difficult it is for UK citizens to get long term visas for staying in Oz, but if the Aussues are anything like everyone else on the planet, they will make it a bloody nightmare.

I think that if you have an employer who can sponsor you after the two years expires it is not too difficult to get another VISA. I would have thought that an employer who is moving somebody into the country specially would be in a position to offer that. Of course there is the performance element which is not quantifiable at this stage.
 
It went from bad to worse for us. My beloved lad Sydney died in Sydney quarantine, despite every test going under the immigration rules. A double whammy in my case, but you know what ? I wish to God I could have stuck the pace and stayed out there.

I have mental health issues too, but perhaps if things had gone our way, we would have been able to stay. If I had the chance again, I'd jump at it !!! BUT Shyboy would be part of the deal, no question.

My advice now is - GO FOR IT, but take your horse !!!! i still miss my old lad terribly.
 
Last edited:
Sydney is not terribly horse orientated, most places seem to be about a hour at least. Added to the extremes of climate and the flies, Oh the flies! On top of the cost which is far more than you think and the quaranteen period there is always the possibility that your family won't like it there and then what? So many people emigrate to OZ and NZ and then realise how expensive it is and how very rural it is and how far away anything is to do, to compete you can expect to be away from home at least a day or two even just at a local level and as such can be a very lonely place unless you like water sport, your own company or city life! Personally I wouldn't take my horse there, it's just too different.
 
I should have done more research in the exact area we were moving to (Townsville). I really would try and contact the horse community where you are going.
 
I think your price is unrealistic I looked into taking two horses over 12 years again and it was £15,000 plus back then for two

I think you need to loan or sell the horse. I personally doubt you will return to this country

OZ is amazing.
 
Most people I've known that went to Oz all came back within five years, despite being certain they were going for good.

I think that you are putting yourself before your horse, and using her as a security blanket after all you're going through (quite understandable really) I think that you don't know where your life will take you in the next few years. I would seriously think of selling her to a good home (if you loan you'd have to have a good backup plan to cover checking her and livery if need be..) At the very least I would loan her for at least six months while you get settled and sort out where you would live/she would be kept.
 
Hello, i sold my horses and moved to Oz on my own in 2009, best thing i ever did! i have worked on numerous event yards in the Sydney area if you want to pm for location/contact details for livery (agistment over here)! i am now in Melbourne but have a lot of contacts if you need help. p.s 43 degrees here today..... EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK.
 
if you are thinking of putting her on laon then really you may as well sell.
Being across the other side of the world what conrol would you have?


Id want to take my horse with me.

But do alot of research first, mainly the area, the management, costs etc.
Horse can adapt to different climate.

it just depneds on the age and health of the horse.

It will cost a lot though, and you want to get a good reputable trabsporter, so look at the full costs envolved.

Good luck.
 
I had a quick look on the Australian Dept of Agriculture website and have found a link which might be of use to you as it answers most questions you may have http://apps.daff.gov.au/icon32/asp/...ry=Go+to+full+text&intSearch=1&LogSessionID=0

It tells of the length of quarantine needed at both ends and what happens when the horse has to stopover in the other country/ies en route. Hope this helps a little.

It's difficult to make this decision. I chose to not bring two of my horses even though the extra cost was minimal as I would have had the whole 3-horse container with my guys, however I had my reasons for not bringing either of them (one of them I bred myself and had owned for 13 years) and reasons for why I just brought the pony. I, personally would never take a horse to Australia from the UK, I might do it from here as I'm almost half way there lol but I'd still have to think about it long and hard and figure out how the individual horse would cope with everything.
 
Could you leave pony in the UK for a few months and test the waters out here? See how your family likes it, check out the agistment possibilities, try out the pony clubs etc.
Cost wise - it might be cheaper to fly pony to Perth, then truck over East (costs about AU$2000 for the trucking, I think).
 
Sydney is a big place - the climate here is good, the facilities & prices vary a bit between place to place - some areas are horsey and others are not. Do you know if it would be North/South/West/East Sydney.

Roughly though you would be looking at $120-180 a week for board, here is a place local to me (a very horsey area), with their facilities and rates, fyi.

http://www.robricklodge.com.au/agistment.html

also here is a more expensive place right in the middle of the city, they charge a lot more but it may suit you

http://www.cpequestrian.com.au/about_us/cpec_history

I would question also how much time you would get to ride, and whether the costs are worth it. Because I presume you would want to take your horse back to the UK in two years. So you should consider the full costs of the exercise and how it would be funded.

Having said that if you can afford it, it could be fun.
 
Could you leave pony in the UK for a few months and test the waters out here? See how your family likes it, check out the agistment possibilities, try out the pony clubs etc.
Cost wise - it might be cheaper to fly pony to Perth, then truck over East (costs about AU$2000 for the trucking, I think).

Might be cheaper - but a very long truck ride - I would avoid it personally just because of the distance (a 44 hour road trip).
 
I'm in Sydney, so feel free to pm me if you want to ask any questions.
I guess you need to find out quarentine requirements, and costs and then sit down with your dad and find out what he wants to do?
If you know where you are staying I might be able to help with agistment options.
I also wouldn't truck over from Perth, far too far in my opinion to transport by road.
Kx
 
As an Australian hopefully I am qualified to comment ;)

It costs around $16k AUD to import a horse from Holland so I imagine it would be similar from the UK.

Quarantine is not 6 months! Whoever said that has their facts veeeeeeeery wrong!!

Townsville you say? That's North Queensland, tropics :) my parents have a holiday house on Magnetic Island, just off the coast of Townsville.

Most of the competitions up there are western/stock type. But there is a big dressage queen culture push up there too.

Over here we don't have liveries, you can expect to keep your horse out 24/7 and won't have to worry about snow!! But up there it is very humid and hot and a lot of horses who suffer from itch either have to be sold down to the southern states or are agisted on an itch free area for the humid months.

Happy to answer any questions you may have :)
 
I was going to say, it cost me around 4k to bring my dog back, I think you are waaaaayyyyyyy underestimating the cost of shipping your horse.
 
Hiya right I'm back, I appreciate what everyone's told me but really I don't even know what's happening for sure yet. I asked on here because it would be best having all the info I could get before making long term decisions and I know deep down that it probably won't be the best decision and needed a right kick up the bum and not whine about how much I 'want' here there. Also yes I got the price wrong, what was I reading about?!:D Thanks everyone for being honest and not going easy on it, everyone could of very well went 'oooo bring your horse!!!' but really wouldn't have helped. No idea obviously of whats going to happen, I might go out there for 3 months and decide its hell and move back or the opposite:)

Ps his works shipping the shih tzu out...could I not say she's a very big dog?:cool: (jokes)
 
I'm from Sydney orginally, and a few points:

I know its over $20k AUD to bring a horse here, so £4 - 5k seems a bit light.

The quarantine on the other side is lengthy, and quite expensive ($70 a day, I think, hay only)

Do not transport a horse via truck from Perth to Sydney, if you can avoid it. Its a 2 day trip (sometimes via Melbourne), and a lot of horses get travel sickness etc, its just not worth it.

If you are living at Homebush, its very urban (not that nice at all, actually, if you want my opinion) and not horsey at all, you are a good hour in normal traffic to agistment facilities. I'd go Dural myself, but you could consider Windsor way. I have always had my own property so no idea what it costs.

CP has been recommended here, but I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. Its miles form Homebush (in the Eastern suburbs) and there is no turn out. At all. I would never put a horse through that.

Any other questions, happy to help, but its a lengthy, costly and stressful experience. I sold up when I moved here rather than bring mine over, it would have to be a very, very special and valuable horse for me to contemplate even thinking about it.
 
Last edited:
Hiya right I'm back, I appreciate what everyone's told me but really I don't even know what's happening for sure yet. I asked on here because it would be best having all the info I could get before making long term decisions and I know deep down that it probably won't be the best decision and needed a right kick up the bum and not whine about how much I 'want' here there. Also yes I got the price wrong, what was I reading about?!:D Thanks everyone for being honest and not going easy on it, everyone could of very well went 'oooo bring your horse!!!' but really wouldn't have helped. No idea obviously of whats going to happen, I might go out there for 3 months and decide its hell and move back or the opposite:)

Ps his works shipping the shih tzu out...could I not say she's a very big dog?:cool: (jokes)

You are being really sensible about this! As you know, the horse comes first - personally I'd find her a long-term loan home, perhaps your mum or a close friend could visit her for you while you are over there. For the sake of two years, it would be a huge upheaval for her especially when you might end up hating it and wanting to return to the UK. If after two years, you can see yourself staying for college/uni/work, then you could look into it.
 
Personally I would not advise it. A british horse would eventually adapt to the climate and flies but she wont have any immunity to many of the varients of virus's and bugs over there. Regional variations can cause some serious issues for pets. Air travel is also very stressful for horses and its not uncommon for them to become ill post travel, plus theres no gaurantee you will be there for life.

You are 16.what will happen to her if you go to collage? What happens if you cannot afford to ship her home in 2 years? If you are seriously thinking of shipping her I would wait til you are there around 6 months and settled into a routine before bringing her over.

Long term loan would be my advise.If you come back to the UK she will be here.Also if your mum is still in the UK she could keep an eye on her for you?
 
Hi F

I hope you are OK :)

Very exciting news - I hope it comes off for you and your dad (and possibly brother). I can't advise on moving a horse to the other side of the world as it's not really something I've ever looked into. If you do decide to take her then I'm sure she will settle in given a little time but I think you need to look at things realistically - I think you would have a lot of stuff going on, leaving family and friends, starting new school or college etc, totally new lifestyle to get used to.

You've been given some good advice - I would agree with whoever said about loaning out for a while, short term would give you the opportunity to see how you felt about the move, time to adjust, to find a yard, to decide what was best for Juno and whether you could put her through the move or whether it would be better to sell on and find another horse in australia.

You could also loan her out longer term just in case you did return earlier than planned.

Good luck with whatever you decide - keep me updated :D
 
I think you need to consider a few things.

1. Find out if it's theoretically possible. Will your dad or his work pay? If the answer to that is no, there's no point going further.
2. If the answer's no are you 100% set on going with him or would you consider staying back with your mum to keep the horse? (I assume not as you sound very excited about going)
3. If the answer's yes, would it be worth putting her on loan for a while and seeing how things go before committing to such a cost and upheaval. If you have family staying here they could keep an eye on her. You might find that your life there is so different, you won't have as much time for your horse as you imagined. Not quite the same but when I went to uni, I was so grateful I had found a loan home for him and I could really enjoy the experience without all the ties I had in my schooldays.
4. If you do still want a horse out there, are you prepared to put her through quarantine and the change to climate etc not to mention the journey.

Good luck with whatever you decide...and enjoy Australia.
 
Personally I would not advise it. A british horse would eventually adapt to the climate and flies but she wont have any immunity to many of the varients of virus's and bugs over there. Regional variations can cause some serious issues for pets. Air travel is also very stressful for horses and its not uncommon for them to become ill post travel, plus theres no gaurantee you will be there for life.

You are 16.what will happen to her if you go to collage? What happens if you cannot afford to ship her home in 2 years? If you are seriously thinking of shipping her I would wait til you are there around 6 months and settled into a routine before bringing her over.

Long term loan would be my advise.If you come back to the UK she will be here.Also if your mum is still in the UK she could keep an eye on her for you?

Hi! Thanks for the info, personally I was worried about her immunity and you've backed that up for me. Right now I'm not in full time education so I have no idea what I'm really doing in that part of my life right now, doubt I would even get into collage as I'm technically two years behind. The two years thing isn't set, the visa we are getting covers longer but I'm not exactly sure what, I said that because in two years I would be 18 and old enough to live on my own if I decide Australia's not for me. Long term loan is doable, but the type of person I would want for her might be difficult to find? She would stay at the yard she's at currently, YO loves her like her own lol so would have no problem looking out for her for me. Haven't spoken to mum in two years so thats not an option, so that seems like the best option I have. Suppose I'm just being very close minded about this, long term loan is the most obvious answer so I assume thats what will happen in the end:)
 
Hi F

I hope you are OK :)

Very exciting news - I hope it comes off for you and your dad (and possibly brother). I can't advise on moving a horse to the other side of the world as it's not really something I've ever looked into. If you do decide to take her then I'm sure she will settle in given a little time but I think you need to look at things realistically - I think you would have a lot of stuff going on, leaving family and friends, starting new school or college etc, totally new lifestyle to get used to.

You've been given some good advice - I would agree with whoever said about loaning out for a while, short term would give you the opportunity to see how you felt about the move, time to adjust, to find a yard, to decide what was best for Juno and whether you could put her through the move or whether it would be better to sell on and find another horse in australia.

You could also loan her out longer term just in case you did return earlier than planned.

Good luck with whatever you decide - keep me updated :D

Now you know why I was so busy!:D I think I said earlier on that I was going to go out, test the waters a bit and if its doable then it probably will happen even if its a year down the line. I don't expect her to come out ASAP, and I'm fine with that. Just wanted everyones views and opinions before I make any rash decisions and probably come out of it all disappointed, thanks again!:)
 
I oddly worried about my horse getting bitten by snakes and having ridden over there and helped with some horses for me the flues were unbearable and the ticks irritating. This was rural Western Australia though!

I also wondered if my horse would be terrified of kangaroos :D
 
Just throwing in my two cents worth, because i stopped something i wanted to do because of my horse. I wanted to go to uni in england but my horse was my top priority, and after looking about and costing it (and looking at time) i decided to stay here and do uni. A year later i sold the horse anyway.

What i am trying to say is that you will have a loooot going on going to aus (lucky duck!!) and although it would be nice to have something from home, i think that you are better going and settling down first then seeing if you want to get another horse. You may start mainstream school again, or you may go to uni or you may end up coming home after a month. You will not know.

I would find a buyer for the horse, that way you are free to decide later what way you want to go. The stress of the move for the horse and the cost is not really what i would want to have on my plate when i was moving. Possibly if you were older and knew that you were moving for a specific reason (i.e. a job) then i would say take your horse. But you just can't know what the future brings at your age - and thats exciting in itself.

Good luck and i hope you update us as you go along this journey.
 
I don't know if anyone else has pointed this out, so sorry if so, but you could pay over ten grand to ship your horse out, and horses being horses she could break her leg or colic fatally a week after you've got her home. It's something to be considered in a decision that big.
 
Top