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Totally bonkers but exporting my horses! How to move the kit?


roomummy

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Hello Pet Lovers, 

A few questions to those of you who may have moved your horses to Australia. I have 4 horses who have made the cut to be relocated to Australia with us in 2018. I have my quote from IRT...I've got over the shock, my husband's talking to me again and now my search for information about relocating my equine kit is required. :)

Can I ship my Equine equipment with our household furniture, clothing and personal items? If so where can I find detailed information about preparing it for shipping and should I prepare myself for any additional taxes or fees to ship my equine equipment and paraphernalia? Anyone who owns a horse knows how expensive all the kit is so I dont really want to sell and buy it again, plus much of my leather goods, saddles and bridles etc are custom made and fitted for each horse.  

A guide to the types of items are: 4 saddles, 4 bridles, grooming kits, boots, wraps and headcollars, Buckets, feed bins and saddle racks, lunge lines, saddlecloths and numnahs, fly rugs and turnout sheets etc...etc!

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I own/share 3 horses and yes saddles/bridles/rugs etc are expensive.  I'd definitely bring all your saddlery over especially if they were custom made and fitted for each horse.  You'd be able to get all the other bits and pieces here e.g. buckets, lunge lines etc but if you've got the space you might as well bring all that stuff too.  How much does it cost to ship over 4 horses??!!

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Gosh, its been years since I recall anyone posting about bringing their horse (only one) with them. It happens so rarely. I can't remember the outcome but I would expect you could ship some of the equipment. You may need to clean it and then clean it again so not a hair or speck of dirt remains on any of it though. You may also be better posting and asking this on an equestrian site where its probably more commonplace for people to export horses and move them round the world. I certainly would be making those a point to research. I have a friend who shipped her horse from the US to NZ a decade ago and it was a big process but it all went fine and he arrived safely. No clue if she shipped anything else with him or sucked up the costs the other end. 

Can the company you are using for shipping your horses not help you or point you in the right direction. I'd expect people must ship tack and so on. You may not be able to ship used feed bins and buckets and it is perhaps worth investigating it it would be better to simply buy new headcollars, bins etc and ship those or buy that sort of thing new here as cleaning those could be an issue. 

If your company can't help you with info, then contact the shipping companies you are considering using for your household stuff and enquire as to what their policy is. Each one may be different. If you can ship it in a container then you need to be prepared that its had the best cleaning of its life. And also that at the other end they may well insist it is cleaned again and that this could be damaging to the leather etc. I don't know what process they would use to clean it all. You would hope one that doesn't cause damage but I honestly have no clue. 

I'd say you would have issues with anything like the grooming kits that will hold dirt, hair and so on. You may simply need to replace these with new or buy new in Aus. I don't think you can honestly get them clean as in removing everything and for such small items cost wise and size, it seems to be to not be worth it in that respect if that is the case. Yes the bigger stuff but even some of the rugs, how clean is clean where Aus customs are concerned? I know we would get our rugs cleaned once a year after the winter and even then you could see some stains on them that simply would not come out and hair usually remained lurking somewhere on the straps or material or some such. Its a bit like when the dog jumps onto a blanket and lies on it, his hair works into the fibres and its a pain to get every single last one out. Washing and drying doesn't remove them all and repeated use will see hairs work into fabric etc. Equipment used around animals is always going to get dirty and hairy. 

Hopefully you can find a good shipping company or two to guide you. 

 

 

 

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The OP already has a quote from IRT :)

I did suggest also she ask them if they can help shed any light. It may be they can't help further but you would hope they could. 

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Just found this on a site.

"We brought a used saddle in from the States just prior to the EI outbreak, and we've got three sitting at quarantine in Sydney at the moment, all of which have come from Germany, and the quarantine regulations for importing second hand saddles are the same now as they were before the outbreak. Basically, if you can get a declaration from the saddle manufacturer stating that the saddle isn't made from or stuffed with any prohibited substances, such as untreated wool or straw then the saddle is just checked at quarantine for any bits of foreign matter (straw, dirt, etc) and then it's allowed to leave quarantine pretty much right away. But, if you can't arrange a manufacturer's declaration, then the saddle needs to be treated with Gamma Radiation before it can be released from quarantine".

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Guest The Pom Queen
On 29/06/2017 at 23:52, roomummy said:

Hello Pet Lovers, 

A few questions to those of you who may have moved your horses to Australia. I have 4 horses who have made the cut to be relocated to Australia with us in 2018. I have my quote from IRT...I've got over the shock, my husband's talking to me again and now my search for information about relocating my equine kit is required. :)

Can I ship my Equine equipment with our household furniture, clothing and personal items? If so where can I find detailed information about preparing it for shipping and should I prepare myself for any additional taxes or fees to ship my equine equipment and paraphernalia? Anyone who owns a horse knows how expensive all the kit is so I dont really want to sell and buy it again, plus much of my leather goods, saddles and bridles etc are custom made and fitted for each horse.  

A guide to the types of items are: 4 saddles, 4 bridles, grooming kits, boots, wraps and headcollars, Buckets, feed bins and saddle racks, lunge lines, saddlecloths and numnahs, fly rugs and turnout sheets etc...etc!

I can't help but please could I ask that you keep us upto date with the process, costs etc as like Snifter mentioned we don't get many horses coming over. 

Have you somewhere to put them when you arrive? 

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Thank for the replies... really helpful suggestions. I've done some additional digging on the customs & quarantine website. Seems all the equipment can be professionally washed with products, (IE: virocon S.), dried, and packed with labels stating the companies name and contact details,  the products used and it's bar codes, receipts for product purchase, the date of the treatment and any other relating information. The equipment can travel with our personal belongings but must be clearly labeled in its own boxes and not mixed with our house stuff, so it's easily identifiable by customs. 

I will of cause check with IRT and our shipping company but it's nice to hear from others and I would like to hook up with anyone who's done this before so I can be as informed as possible. Of cause sports horses travel daily in race industry and international competition so I don't think it's a big deal in essence but I would like to avoid any unnecessary dramas or costs if I can help it. 

The cost for moving the horses is a mind blowing £15k each plus local transport door to door. Hence the low numbers of horses being moved from the UK to Australia. The cost is justified in my horses breed type and rarity. A passion I have spent much of my life working with and I simply can not return home without. The herd consists of a small breeding trio that has many more values to me than money. 

Yes we will have our own property to move the horses into after quarantine.

I will be very pleased to share my experiences as they unfold for anyone who's is interested. :)

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Hi Toots, I have Dales Ponies. They will be the first of their kind to be exported to Australia. They are category 1 endangered and only 330 registered breeding mares remain. The hope is that making them available in other parts of the world will increase there popularity and help boost numbers. They are currently doing well in the UK, Germany and France. I compete my Dales in endurance to a high national and international level and I'm hoping they that I can continue in my passion to breed some Dales for the future. The Dales is highly regarded as a alrounder horse that can perform in many disciplines. My daughter is also a very successful endurance rider and we plan to continue challenging the Arabians in this amazing sport. ;)

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Wow how wonderful have had horses all my life so would be very interested as to where you are moving to in Aus, Im heading to the Gold Coast area. Good luck and hope the dales get there safe and sound.


Sent from my iPad using PomsinOz

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Guest The Pom Queen
1 hour ago, chrishay said:

Wow how wonderful have had horses all my life so would be very interested as to where you are moving to in Aus, Im heading to the Gold Coast area. Good luck and hope the dales get there safe and sound.


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Lol I'd like to know where she is moving to as well then I can stalk her for hugs of her ponies lol.

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Perthbum, Im an aussie returning home after 18 years in the UK... so I am returning in the right direction :) My children are all dual nationals. I have absolutely NO intention of living in the UK again and have made the decision to move back home now that I am in my 40s and feel that being nearer to family is the priority at this stage in my life. I have listed some ball park figures above for moving the horses and Im sure that the investment in their relocation will more than pay for itself in the future breeding program and conservation of the species. Its a very exciting project...if not a little daunting at times. Like moving internationally isn't hard enough lol 

Edited by roomummy
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It was a very long time ago but my daughter in law could not bring her saddles so try to make as many enquries as possible 

I know quarantine can disinfect items so to speak but i also know they charge like a wounded bull -our car was $ 800 and they wanted $50 for a 6 inch santa clause because of his wand -poor Santa got left behind 

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Hi Roomummy,

we migrated to Australia in 2012 and took our 2 horses with us, so we got some first hand experience. At that time I wrote / updated an article (see below link) about the whole experience. I hope that this might be helpful for you.  In summary it was a very smooth process and our horses have adapted really well.

You can easily import all the gear and tack but it has to be extremely clean (see below as well). Fell free to contact me if you have any questions etc.

You are in good hands with IRT!

Just had a look at your horse on the picture, what a lovely and unique breed! Our 2 horses are a Spanish Criollo and an Arab. The Criollo originally came from Argentina, so he is a real world traveler now :)

 

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  • 1 year later...

A little update on the ponies going to Australia...we have a provisional date!!! The ponies have taken president over the relocation and have their flights booked before ours 😆 If all goes well they will be through quarantine by the first week of October! I'm so excited I just need to share with you all!!! 🐎🐎

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 22/02/2019 at 21:52, roomummy said:

A little update on the ponies going to Australia...we have a provisional date!!! The ponies have taken president over the relocation and have their flights booked before ours 😆 If all goes well they will be through quarantine by the first week of October! I'm so excited I just need to share with you all!!! 🐎🐎

Please keep us updated.  

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I shipped all my horse gear over from New Zealand when we came here, and it was in quarantine for some time (a few months), while it was fumigated and stored before being reinspected. It may have been a shorter time if we had not shipped wooden patio furniture as well, I don't know.  But it took months for us to get everything back, though it is all here safely now.

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