Relocation to Germany with 3 horses - help please!

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NinaLupina

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I will soon be relocating to Germany with the other half, 2 cats, an entire household, and - obviously - my 3 horses. This logistical nightmare is only about to commence, and I'd appreciate any thoughts/experience/recommendations that you could share, even better if you have done such a move yourself?

Questions and help specifically required in the following areas:

1) Transport... I have got quotes and information from ETA/Parkers/Pedens/LOC etc, but with one of mine being a really bad and sensitive loader (although alright traveller) and a proper mummy's girl I have decided to take them myself with an (experienced) equestrian friend, planning to do 2-3 overnight stops on the way (Dorset to Munich area). I will get the professionals to sort health and import papers though. I've got a Cheval Optimax, will do plenty of practice trips before, planning to stop every 2 hours for water/carrots and neckstretch, will soak hay, and if we do 2 overnight stops, each day should not require more than 4-5 hours of driving anyway. None of mine is particularly big (15.2 and 2x 13.0) so they should have plenty of space. Has anyone got experience with ferry (Dover-Calais) versus Eurotunnel? This worries me most - I know there are special requirements on trailers for the tunnel (motorised fans and temperature sensors etc) and the cost is obviously higher, but I'd be happy to fork out if safer and less scary/noisy? What are your general experiences and recommendations for long distance travel? Shavings v no shavings? Recommendations for overnight stables on route? Other do's and don'ts?

2) Insurance... Mine are currently covered by NFU, and with the bigger girl being 19, I am not holding much hope that anyone else would start covering her fully now. Has anyone experience whether NFU would be prepared to cover a horse that is living abroad? (I will obviously also call them myself, would just be good to have some confirmation from others whether this is possible). Failing that - any recommendations for good insurers in Germany?

3) Breakdown cover... Has anyone got any experience with European Breakdown cover that specifically offers Equine Rescue as well?

4) Yards in Germany... Whilst I am originally from Germany and used to know the equestrian setup then, I never actually owned a horse when I was over there, and I can imagine that quite a bit has changed in the last 13 years. Any advice on this? Whilst mine currently have a stable, they live out nearly 24/7/365 depending on weather and do really well on it (especially the older girl being both arthritic and a bit of a stress-head). I am conscious that this is unlikely to be possible in Germany due to the weather ("proper" summers and "proper" winters). Any experience on this and yard setups I should look out for/avoid? I'm specifically keen on feeding mine myself, having daily turnout and keeping my 3 together but not with any others - does anyone know of yards where this is possible?

5) Vets/farriers/physios/dentists... I have a fab team here of people looking after my little herd and I'm absolutely gutted to have to leave their experience and knowledge behind. Is someone able to reassure me that there are decent vets/farriers/physios/dentists etc over there!? This may sound stupid (I mean... Michael Jung... Isabel Werth... you'd think they have those kind of people there!), but I can yet pull out of this move and I'm really panicking about those kind of things - and I'd rather give the move a miss than compromise on the well-being of my 4-legged friends!

6) Feed and supplements... should I worry about not getting anything over there that is standard here?

7) Anything else... Any other thoughts?

Many thanks for any help and thoughts, it is much appreciated! :)
 
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I'm in Luxembourg so 15min from Germany, we use German physios, dentists and vets for a lot of the horses on my yard and they are good (this is why we use them over our locals) it may take lots of asking but you'll find a good team.
I would look for a place with an
Offen stabil, this is full time out, gernerally they have a field that is open in the summer but closed in the winter and a hard standing lot for use then. Often hay is the only food provided, you supply any extra.
For supplements, if you can't find what you want in Germany it's not expensive to ship them over from the U.K., I and friends have done it in the past.
 
I used Parkers both times to ship my horse back and forth to Germany. They use the tunnel rather than the ferry which shortens the journey time considerably plus it's more comfortable for the horses. One way per horse was £450, they dealt with all the paperwork and (please don't take this the wrong way) are far more experienced than you or your friend are because they do it day in day out. They are so professional I would use them again in a heartbeat and you have to remember you are moving your whole life back, it's stressful and using a shipping agent is one thing less to worry about.

Insurance. DP was covered by NFU and they will cover you for up to 60 days on your current policy within 12 months whilst abroad which means your travel is fully covered. As I was staying longer than that I took out a local policy once I arrived which was so much cheaper but didn't cover vets bills like ours do here.

I found the Farrier's to be archaic compared to ours. They still cold shoe and it made me cringe to watch them preparing the feet. It may not be the same everywhere but I was shocked at the standard and I never saw a physio or dentist but I'm assuming they have them. I was impressed with the vets though, ours came from Holland because we were right on the border.

Feed isn't a problem, they have good quality forage and you can get anything on the internet if you need supplements etc. Kramer are the largest equestrian store and they have a presence in most areas and online.

Most yards have limited turnout but you might find a small field on the edge of a village which you could rent to keep your herd together or alternatively you could try to buy some land if it became available. As MouseInLux has said they tend to have hardstandng paddocks in the winter and daily turnout in summer.

Inoculations are the same but if you hack out in the forests you might have to have a Tollwut jab if there is an outbreak.
 
That's interesting lindylouanne, we have about 5 different farriers that come to my barn, most of whom are German and I've yet to see a gold shoes go on a horse. My farrier is Canadian and up until a few weeks ago I had a pony who was barefoot upon his recommendation but for 6 months before that he was hot shod by him or before that a different farrier who was German.
 
I used to keep our pony at a German yard when my husband was stationed at Osnabruck. It was about 10 years ago so things may have changed!

The yard had summer turnout but the stables also had individual yards attached to each stable so the horses could go in and out as they wished. Mine was on hard standing but others were on grass. The yard had automatic feeders and water. Hardly anyone hacked out!

At that time it was very difficult to insure for vets fees but I found the vets were a lot cheaper than the UK.

Pony wasn't shod so can't comment on farriers.

I used transport to take the pony over there and back. When you're stressing about moving anyway it's one less thing to panic about. More recently our pony went to a competition in Italy and Gillies was used. I would highly recommend them.
 
Let the professionals take them out. They are very experienced and can load anything that wont be a problem.
 
If I were in your position I think the worry of breaking down (trailer or car could fail) and also finding somewhere overnight to unload would put me off doing it myself. Also a lorry which the transporter would use will be much more sound insulated and no doubt give a smoother ride.
 
OP, having done international transport in the 80's & 90's, I can honestly say that not one equine has been an issue with loading. Time needed perhaps, but transporters all have a wealth of experience.
I've listened to owners regarding the 'best techniques' for a quirky individual etc, and its suprising how many will go with the herd. We didn't have issues - just solutions.

All the transporters you list are so well versed that they overcome loading problems.
Better to go from A to B with professionals IMHO.

Hope you find the best solution - and the migration goes well for you all x
 
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popsdosh said:
Let the professionals take them out. They are very experienced and can load anything that wont be a problem.
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That's what I'd do. Echo the lorries are much more comfortable, air conditioned and soundproofed and the whole journey will be much less stressful as it will be over quicker. My friend imported a Freisian and despite never leaving his farm before, looked like he'd just gone round the block when he came off the lorry. It was beautiful, safe and comfortable and the driver was amazing. This fire breathing dragon was handled beautifully by him.
 
popsdosh said:
Let the professionals take them out. They are very experienced and can load anything that wont be a problem.
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This absolutely. You're letting yourself in for a world of stress by trying to do this alone and perhaps through lack of experience will run into problems that the professionals won't. I regularly use transporters abroad and they are brilliant.

You just don't have the experience to do as good a job. We sent a horse to Sweden recently and the operator is 40 years making the journey, he only stops for one overnight the logic being that after years he realised the horses don't settle in strange stables and he's better off cracking on with them. When that horse came off the transporter near Stockholm, he sauntered over to a grass verge and threw himself down for a roll. That's how relaxed he was. I seriously doubt he would have been in that condition if I had drove him! Seriously, I would rethink that part of your plan.
 
I'd echo the others in recommending you use a professional transporter. Transporting horses is their job, there is nothing they haven't seen or had to deal with before. You might think your horse is difficult to load but trust me they will have dealt with much, much worse! They will also have other drivers, vehicles, and alternative stabling arrangements at their disposal should something go wrong - what happens if you run into difficulties doing it yourself and have no back-up? It will be far less stressful for your horse, and take an enormous amount of pressure off you!

My mare came up from southern Portugal to northern France with John Parkers. It was a 5 day journey including overnights and detours (to pick up / drop off other horses), she was young and had never travelled before, she turned up in a big lorry with 5 stallions and was so relaxed she was only interested in rolling and eating.
 
Should have put in the previous post that the pony who went to Italy can be a pain normally to load but according to the support team who followed the ponies to Italy, he loaded fine as he was keen to join his fellow horses onto the lorry. All horses came off the lorry at the end of both trips totally unstressed.
 
asmp said:
Should have put in the previous post that the pony who went to Italy can be a pain normally to load but according to the support team who followed the ponies to Italy, he loaded fine as he was keen to join his fellow horses onto the lorry. All horses came off the lorry at the end of both trips totally unstressed.
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We knew mine was ok when the driver phoned and said he couldn't believe how much one 14hh pony could eat in hay! We probably should have warned him to take extra supplies :)
 
Two points from limited experience:

FORGET self-drive. Period. Simply getting the trailer DEFRA'd for Eurotunnel will stressy. Good established transporters are in business because they are good. They really are. It will be FINE. If you are still worried you could always convoy the wagon in your car so you're on hand if anything goes wrong.

Risk of cock-up DIY is FAR higher.

Turn-out. Much less common in Germany. I suggest serious forward planning. Whereabouts will you be? Can't remember any names, but the various horsey associations are very big in Germany, and Germans take associations seriously. Go and pour your heart out to a local branch and networking should kick in!
 
Sorry, I am going to go against others saying use a pro, by all means do so if you want, but don't be afraid to DIY. 5 years ago we moved our from Dorset to Spain and then back to France. Our horses are our pets so we all travelled together; we could check on them whenever we wanted and they were happy to know we were about.

We bought a lorry specially for this purpose, a Winterbourne, good and solid but oldish. We used Damory Vets in Blandford for all the paperwork. Only the ferry company wanted to see papers whilst in transit.
We intended crossing from Poole to Cherbourg and Brittany ferries insisted we book through Peden Bloodstock. Peden not only took on the ferry booking but found us overnight lairage both in France (2 nights) and Spain (1 night); Peden were really thorough and kept in touch throughout our journey. They made no charge for this.

The 3 horses knew their transport already by the time we were ready to go so were happy to load etc; our hosts were expecting us and provided additional electric leads, showers etc for us and even an evening meal at a very nominal price. Hay and feed were available if we'd needed it.

Our only major problem was solved by Peden before we knew it existed, Cherbourg HGV route out of town was closed the day before due to snow so they changed the booking for us to Portsmouth to Le Havre and then they gave us 16 hours notice of the change of plan.

Once our use for the box had expired we returned it to Dorset and Winterbourne resold it on commission. The whole adventure cost perhaps a 1000 pounds.

If you can use the tunnel then obviously you remove one anxiety, is the weather suitable for them to go on a sea journey? But if you can't it's not insurmountable.

I believe Loc will also help individual travellers find lairage.

Best of luck whatever you decide to do.
 
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