Moving to the UK (Lakenheath) from the US (with my horse?)

[teapot]

Good luck with the move op - some great pubs in the area.

Just in case you aren't aware travel in Europe has suddenly got a bit limited horse wise due to an outbreak of EHV-1 - the UK at the moment hasn't stopped movement, but something to be aware of, even coming from the US.

 

[SibeliusMB]

Hi again ☺
Wow Thetford is very near my yard. Hope to meet you once you're settled ? good luck!
Ps. So happy you're bringing your loved horse. So often people forget horses feelings and their connections to their human especially if its a good one like yours.

Absolutely! Hopefully by the summer life will be looking more normal and I would love to meet up! Thank you!
Since I decided to bring him I've felt so much more settled and happy. He and I have really connected so much in the last year and he seems so happy; I'm hoping I can continue to do that for him in the UK!

Good luck with the move op - some great pubs in the area.

Just in case you aren't aware travel in Europe has suddenly got a bit limited horse wise due to an outbreak of EHV-1 - the UK at the moment hasn't stopped movement, but something to be aware of, even coming from the US.

Thank you for the mention, I saw the news on that yesterday and I'll be watching the updates. Hopefully by July when he's scheduled to fly it'll be safe, but who knows. I was just notified that there is a horse in Florida that tested positive for EHV-1 in Ocala. Doesn't sound like it's at one of the showgrounds but we'll be keeping an eye on that too, as there are plenty of barns in this area that have horses showing down south right now.

I’m soft. If I had the money I would bring over with me and then take home again.

That's the current plan!

 

[spookypony]

Spookypony, I'm not sure under what framework US military can drive here -- it sounds like they get some kind of special dispensation not available to punters -- but generally speaking, it does not matter when you got your US license. The DVLA don't care, so you're operating under the post-1997 rules, sadly.

Outwith military stuff, Americans have to sit both the written and practical test, just like new UK drivers. I think Canada might be a on a list of countries where you can avoid this pain and just swap your license. Don't ask me how many times I failed the practical.

One of the things I miss most about the US is the freedom to drive a massive rig; no further testing needed. Mine was a Ford F-250 and a huge (7'6 ft high) steel two-horse herring bone trailer with a wee tack room. I loved it. I still think towing a small tin can trailer with a small SUV is terrifyng. Borrowed a friend's one-horse trailer and towed it with my old Subaru Forester once, and I was sh1tting myself. It was for a clinic, and the YO of the clinic barn said the easiest route there involved the M74. The fkuc was I taking that rig on the M74.

Ah, OK! Sort of makes sense, in the doesn't-really-make-sense-at-all way of UK rules about Commonwealth countries, that Canadians can swap but Americans can't. But not all US states let Canadians swap either: I think I could have swapped in Massachusetts, but didn't because I was only there for a year, and then when I moved to Cali, I couldn't swap, so had to sit the test again, which was fortunately very simple.

I didn't actually tow before I moved to the UK, and here, I had the Spookyponymobile (3.5t) for a good while. When that was getting to be too expensive to repair, I bought a LWB 2.8L Pajero and an Ifor 505. The Pajero didn't even notice the trailer was there, with 2 horses in it. I loved that car! Unfortunately, being named the Brontosaurus on account of its size and antiquity, it soon went extinct. I still have the trailer, but borrow a jeep when I need to tow at the moment. Would I take it on the M74? Yeah. The A1 is too annoying!

 

[Caol Ila]

Ah, OK! Sort of makes sense, in the doesn't-really-make-sense-at-all way of UK rules about Commonwealth countries, that Canadians can swap but Americans can't. But not all US states let Canadians swap either: I think I could have swapped in Massachusetts, but didn't because I was only there for a year, and then when I moved to Cali, I couldn't swap, so had to sit the test again, which was fortunately very simple.

I didn't actually tow before I moved to the UK, and here, I had the Spookyponymobile (3.5t) for a good while. When that was getting to be too expensive to repair, I bought a LWB 2.8L Pajero and an Ifor 505. The Pajero didn't even notice the trailer was there, with 2 horses in it. I loved that car! Unfortunately, being named the Brontosaurus on account of its size and antiquity, it soon went extinct. I still have the trailer, but borrow a jeep when I need to tow at the moment. Would I take it on the M74? Yeah. The A1 is too annoying!

Yeah, it makes very little sense. Zimbabwe is on the list. My brother lives there and recently got his Zimbo license. All he had to do was pay off the right person, engage with some arcane African bureaucracy, and voila! It's a metal plate, which is kind of funny. If he moved here, it would be easier for him to get a UK license than it was for me! And African driving is...creative, shall we say, and not too hung up on rules.

US driving tests tend to be very easy, so sitting one generally won't make you hate your life. When I did mine CO in 1999, the examiner took me around the block for about fifteen minutes. You can imagine my culture shock when I got tested here. A now-ex boyfriend had been pushing me to take driving lessons before the test, and I blew him off, thinking I've been driving for eight or nine years, almost two years in the UK by this point, and he was just being an ass. He was in many respects, but not about that. Oops.

Perhaps some day I will revisit the towing-with-SUVs thing. The Forester had a petrol engine, and it was rated to tow 1600kgs. I was probably at its limit with that one horse trailer. Currently I have a diesel 4x4 Yeti, and OH has a VW Passat Alltrack. I'm aware that people on here tow with both of those.

 

[SibeliusMB]

Well...counting down everyone! I fly over on 1 June. Sig is still scheduled to fly over early or mid-July. Some updates:

- Everything about this move has been one giant mess. I want to use less polite words, but ... *breathes*
- Paperwork has been frustrating, my household goods took an extra 16 hours to pack/load because the first day's packing crew messed it all up.
- Currently sitting in a hotel and good news is, they finally got their wifi back after four days. Bad news: I'm tripping over all my hockey gear and unaccompanied baggage that the government forgot to have picked up. So hopefully that will get shipped out before I leave. Whee.
- Found some excellent housing options in Thetford at an estate, but the letting agency of course doesn't want to talk to me until I'm in country (after telling me they would). So I'm hoping that any of these houses are available when I arrive, because we're now in the height of the military moving season and they are likely to be snatched up quickly.
- I think Sig's plans are finally coming together, but only after some pretty frustrating/confusing moments. The shipper I hired has been pushing a Houston, TX to Scotland flight....neat, except for Houston is the better part of an 18 hour drive (in the wrong direction) from where he currently lives. So...nope. Current shipper is now helping me with the NY--Belgium route, but a second company just submitted a bid that might be even easier on Sig, so we'll see what they have to say. I'm a bit annoyed that I leave in just over a week, and somehow the horse's flight plans aren't more concrete. I only started this back in March...

Oh, and Sig colicked back in March. He had a four-day hospital stay, thankfully we avoided surgery. He's fine now and back to normal. Keeping that in mind, I'm trying to look for the smoothest, least stressful itinerary for him. Cost savings are more or less out the window at this point, I'm most concerned now with what will make him the most comfortable. He will quarantine (30 days) at another farm here in Kentucky (sadly, the current farm owner does not want to do it at home), or at a farm closer to the airport he flies out of. I do not love that idea, but I have to accept it as part of the process. The farms we have to choose from all seem really lovely.

What else....I'm exhausted and frustrated, and just hoping that once I get on the plane things will go smoother.

 

[neddy man]

Thanks for the update and we hope to hear more soon. Safe journey wishes to both of you.

 

[fredflop]

Are you shipping his saddle and tack over here, or just going to get a saddler out to him when he arrives

 

[SibeliusMB]

Mailing his stuff over separately. Just bought him a custom saddle last year which he loves, so absolutely not going to leave that behind.

 

[fredflop]

Just had a thought, and probably a stupid statement you already know. In the U.K. only registered farriers are allowed to shoe a horse.

 

[Caol Ila]

Good luck. Moving countries is the pits. One of the reasons why after moving out here, I did everything (and I mean everything) I could to stay put. But you (and the horse) will get there in the end.

And where do they fly horses into Scotland? Prestwick? That's a damned sight easier than Amsterdam. If I ever need to go back....Prestwick to Denver (if there is such a thing... there isn't even a direct Scotland-Denver flight for humans) would be living the dream indeed.

 

[SibeliusMB]

Just had a thought, and probably a stupid statement you already know. In the U.K. only registered farriers are allowed to shoe a horse.

I'm aware, thank you!

Good luck. Moving countries is the pits. One of the reasons why after moving out here, I did everything (and I mean everything) I could to stay put. But you (and the horse) will get there in the end.

And where do they fly horses into Scotland? Prestwick? That's a damned sight easier than Amsterdam. If I ever need to go back....Prestwick to Denver would be living the dream indeed.

My move to Japan was actually very smooth, despite it being last minute. This has been a frustrating nightmare from day one back in January and it's usual US government red tape BS. Usually moves have one, maybe two frustrating bureaucratic hassles, but I've had them at every. single. turn. Done.

They are going into Prestwick, yes. But I turned that down as I'm not shipping him 18+ hours on a rig just to get to the airport. And the ride down from Prestwick would have been comparable to the Liege trip (albeit without the Channel) so I didn't feel like I was saving him much wear/tear on the landing side either. Options now are the usual JFK to Liège or possibly Atlanta to Liège with another shipper (Atlanta is significantly shorter trailer ride).

 

[Caol Ila]

Out of curiosity, which shipping companies use Prestwick? I live like an hour from that airport, so if I ever had to move the baby PRE to the US (not in the cards but you never know), that would be very good to know.

For southeast England, the European flights aren't stupid. You're right -- it's kind of six-of-one. The horse will probably spend two or three days in transit regardless of whether you're coming from Belgium, Holland, or Kilmarnock. Stanstead would be amazing for you, but I'm guessing it's not available or costs a lot more?

My horse went Boulder-New York and then Amsterdam-Durham. That sucked on all counts. In hindsight, I probably should have shopped around with different shipping companies. I couldn't have done much about the US side, as Miami, Houston, JFK, and LAX seem to be the options, and they're all a mission from CO, but coming into Scotland (to get to northeast England) would have been far less sh1t.

COVID faff probably does not help with smooth international travel.

 

[Trouper]

Well you do remember the old military maxim, don't you - "No plan survives contact with the enemy"!!

I am sure it will all work out in the end but I was sorry to hear the boy had had colic - such a worry. Did you ever establish a reason for it?

Fingers crossed for the final stages of the adventure.

 

[Ali27]

We moved to the States (Georgia) a few years ago as my husband was military. We did 18 months there and I put my mare and my daughter’s pony on loan here in the UK. I looked at taking them but couldn’t justify 10k for that short time! Haha! I shipped my truck and cat over though. I had a few lessons while we were living in Georgia and rode a friend’s horse a bit but basically had a break from horses for that time! I was so glad that I didn’t take them as they would never have coped with the heat!

 

[ycbm]

Well...counting down everyone! I fly over on 1 June. Sig is still scheduled to fly over early or mid-July. Some updates:

- Everything about this move has been one giant mess. I want to use less polite words, but ... *breathes*
- Paperwork has been frustrating, my household goods took an extra 16 hours to pack/load because the first day's packing crew messed it all up.
- Currently sitting in a hotel and good news is, they finally got their wifi back after four days. Bad news: I'm tripping over all my hockey gear and unaccompanied baggage that the government forgot to have picked up. So hopefully that will get shipped out before I leave. Whee.
- Found some excellent housing options in Thetford at an estate, but the letting agency of course doesn't want to talk to me until I'm in country (after telling me they would). So I'm hoping that any of these houses are available when I arrive, because we're now in the height of the military moving season and they are likely to be snatched up quickly.
- I think Sig's plans are finally coming together, but only after some pretty frustrating/confusing moments. The shipper I hired has been pushing a Houston, TX to Scotland flight....neat, except for Houston is the better part of an 18 hour drive (in the wrong direction) from where he currently lives. So...nope. Current shipper is now helping me with the NY--Belgium route, but a second company just submitted a bid that might be even easier on Sig, so we'll see what they have to say. I'm a bit annoyed that I leave in just over a week, and somehow the horse's flight plans aren't more concrete. I only started this back in March...

Oh, and Sig colicked back in March. He had a four-day hospital stay, thankfully we avoided surgery. He's fine now and back to normal. Keeping that in mind, I'm trying to look for the smoothest, least stressful itinerary for him. Cost savings are more or less out the window at this point, I'm most concerned now with what will make him the most comfortable. He will quarantine (30 days) at another farm here in Kentucky (sadly, the current farm owner does not want to do it at home), or at a farm closer to the airport he flies out of. I do not love that idea, but I have to accept it as part of the process. The farms we have to choose from all seem really lovely.

What else....I'm exhausted and frustrated, and just hoping that once I get on the plane things will go smoother.

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I'm exhausted reading that. I hope the actual move goes smoothly. Two weeks is going to fly by. I hope you enjoy the UK, we're pretty horse affiliative over here.

 

[SibeliusMB]

Out of curiosity, which shipping companies use Prestwick? I live like an hour from that airport, so if I ever had to move the baby PRE to the US (not in the cards but you never know), that would be very good to know.

Equijet is the current agent I'm working with. I was surprised when they offered the PIK option. Unfortunately it just doesn't save much on the landing side being so far north from where we'll end up. I didn't realize how many options there are for shipping on both ends. We hoped for a Stansted option, but the FedEx flight that carried that (Indy to Standstead) was only temporary and probably revolved around things like the Kentucky 5*. Just missed that window.

I'm waiting on the details and quote from the Brook Ledge/Horse America folks with the ATL--LGG route. If that's comparable, I'm going to go with that as it would be the smoothest for him. I'm finally starting to feel excited about this!

We moved to the States (Georgia) a few years ago as my husband was military. We did 18 months there and I put my mare and my daughter’s pony on loan here in the UK. I looked at taking them but couldn’t justify 10k for that short time! Haha! I shipped my truck and cat over though. I had a few lessons while we were living in Georgia and rode a friend’s horse a bit but basically had a break from horses for that time! I was so glad that I didn’t take them as they would never have coped with the heat!

Everyone has to make the right decisions for their circumstances. I wouldn't bother with an 18 month assignment, multiple horses, and to a very different climate either. One horse, for 2-4 years, and to a very similar climate are all worth it to me. He's my only family member. I left him behind while I was in Okinawa for an entire year so I'm sick of being away.

Well you do remember the old military maxim, don't you - "No plan survives contact with the enemy"!!

I am sure it will all work out in the end but I was sorry to hear the boy had had colic - such a worry. Did you ever establish a reason for it?

Fingers crossed for the final stages of the adventure.

Thank you! He had a nephrosplenic entrapment, thankfully they were able to correct it medically, but it was still four days in hospital and almost two full days of fasting (he didn't get to eat much day one, improved, they refed, he relapsed, they had to fast 24 hours). My mare went to surgery for the same issue (twice) 20 years ago, so I'm pretty familiar with it. We think it might have been a combination of the spring grasses and high sugars, combined with his (then) usual flake of morning alfalfa. We've had him on night turnout and he's off the alfalfa, fingers crossed that keeps it in check.

He did lose a bit of weight as a result, and came home looking like a racehorse (but not racefit!). That said, he's recovered nicely and feeling great. Photo from today:

 

[Errin Paddywack]

He's looking great, what a shine he has.

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

What ever you do it will be hard.

One livery came here from Bermuda and stopping in Chicago for quarantine. Then over to Belgium and trucked over to UK, she was moving back permanently. For the horse Coco everything went without a hitch I seem to remember.

 

[SibeliusMB]

Looks like we finally have it sorted...Sig will quarantine locally where my friend can stop in and check on him, possibly even keep him in light work. He'll truck down to Atlanta (~ 5 hr ride) and then fly into Liège. Had to switch agents here on the US side, but this arrangement has me feeling so, so much better.

 

[Caol Ila]

That's great you have it sorted. Hopefully the flights will go smoothly. These transporters are pretty slick at what they do. I had a miserable flight over with delayed flights and lost luggage and faff, but it all went smoothly for the horse, who got exactly where she needed to be when she needed to be there.

Still happy we dodged quarantine.

 

[Trouper]

Looks like we finally have it sorted...Sig will quarantine locally where my friend can stop in and check on him, possibly even keep him in light work. He'll truck down to Atlanta (~ 5 hr ride) and then fly into Liège. Had to switch agents here on the US side, but this arrangement has me feeling so, so much better.

That's such good news. Try and relax now and enjoy the farewell parties!!

 

[SibeliusMB]

I'm here!! ?? You know my story already, but I'm writing again for The Chronicle of the Horse if anyone wants to read:
https://www.chronofhorse.com/article/air-horse-one-an-amateurs-move-to-the-united-kingdom-part-1

Just arrived and got settled in the hotel. The flight over was smooth. I even managed to get all my tack on the plane, so that is all here, safe and sound. I am very, very happy to be here and I so enjoyed the drive up from Heathrow. You all have a beautiful country and I can't wait to explore more of it!

Sig enters quarantine today and is flying over ahead of schedule in early July. Once I clear quarantine I'll be looking at houses and hacking with a USAF friend of mine who has her horses just down the road.

Life is good! ?

 

[ycbm]

Welcome to Blighty!

I hope you have a wonderful time living in the UK.
.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Welcome to the UK.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Welcome to our mad part of the world! Hope quarantine goes easily and you settle in soon x

Edit. Just read your blog, well written ? looking forward to reading about need for dictionary to explain more English terms into stateside ones ?

 

[Widgeon]

Welcome! But I feel I should point out that the weather isn't always like this, we'll get a week of it if we're lucky Very best wishes to your horse for his quarantine and flight.

 

[Surbie]

Welcome to the UK - and I hope you get to enjoy the warm, dry weather while we still have some.

 

[pixie]

Welcome! The weather is gorgeous, you're lucky!

 

[Equi]

Welcome! It’s lovely when plans actually happen. Can’t wait for sig to come now.

 

[Slightlyconfused]

Welcome! But I feel I should point out that the weather isn't always like this, we'll get a week of it if we're lucky Very best wishes to your horse for his quarantine and flight.

? This, we are actually excited as may was mainly rain with a bit more rain added in.

Welcome to the UK, we are a sarcastic bunch but generally mean well, complain about the weather a lot and are not afraid to laugh at ourselves.

Of and we also have a dark sense of humour.

Hope you enjoy your time here.