roomummy Posted May 23, 2019 Author Share Posted May 23, 2019 Update: The ponies are all set to fly out in September after a stay in quarantine in the UK first. I have had several conflicting pieces of advise regarding the tack, saddles ect from various shippers but the general consensus is that it will be fine to go with our household items if cleaned and packed correctly. Australia Quarantine have been helpful in answering my questions about cleaning and labelling the items. I have now agreed with our shipper that I will clean the items with a broad spectrum disinfectant (VirkonS) and document the items with a spreadsheet which will accompany the shipping documentation. I must keep evidence of the product I have used (bar/batch code and receipt) and the items must be packed into clearly labelled boxes which will be packed into the container last, so they can be identified and separated from our household items on inspection. So at the moment it is all fairly straight forward. We are not taking any garden items, wood furniture, cane baskets or other items likely to get picked up for fumigating. Tack travelling with horses rarely gets fumigated so I'm hoping we can avoid that. So for now things are moving in the right direction. Will report back once the ponies are in flight! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 Wood is actually fine. I have imported wood from tiny African villages with zero issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ODIN20123 Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 Hi Roomummy, great to hear that everything is going ahead. As we moved our 2 horses in 2012, I can give you some first hand advice. The whole equipment quarantine is a bit overcooked... In reality it's rather simple: There are 3 aspects - I would not send along anything expensive with the horses. Based on our local contact here + experience, things can get lost. Our horses were handed back to us with totally raggedy halters which weren't ours ) I would only hand the horses over in the UK with basic / simple equipment which you can afford to lose (essentially a halter + lead). As they won't put on any horse leg protection or bandages during flight they don't really need anything else. (These are dangerous as they can't remove them on the aircraft when they become loose, and they also tend to get puffy legs if they are left on too long) - Send all your remaining horse equipment with your personal effects (container). If you need equipment before your container arrives, I would recommend bringing some brand-NEW (with tags) basic good quality gear in your flight baggage (good quality gear is hard to come by in Oz and/or very expensive. If it's new, local airport quarantine are happy.) (We did it this way) - All equipment needs to be perfectly clean (no fur, no grease, sweat etc.) before it's packed into the container (label boxes as horse gear). Essentially make it look brand-new. It will be inspected and might be sprayed / wiped down at the local removalist when AQIS comes in for the inspection (they have a look at the manifest and then decide which boxes they want to pull for inspection). Once it's inspected they will release your consignment and you will get an appointment for delivery. Generally this part is treated as a bit of a money grab as AQIS and the removalist sort of work together and decide what needs treatment (Goods are treated by the removalist, so you are at their mercy and they charge fantasy prices). I would not treat it upfront, as they might treat it again anyway. In our case they sprayed our 2 saddles with a pink solution (does not stain) which set us back AUD 100 (negotiated). I would also highly recommend that you insist on being onsite, as that gives you some bargaining power and you can also have a chat to the AQIS officer. The removalists hate if you do that (reduces their bottom line) and will try to find excuses, but this procedure actually saved us a lot of money Wishing you all the best! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roomummy Posted May 23, 2019 Author Share Posted May 23, 2019 Thank you so much for the message. I actually work for a international horse transporter so have all the inside information. Considered sending tack with horses as it essentially skips quarintine this way but the problem is it takes up physical space in the plane stalls and I want my horses to have the best journey without grooms tripping over saddle bags. Agree, clean everything to as new condition is best. I have very good tack so won't be difficult to clean property. I've swapped out all my horse rugs with 'new' and will box these without packaging to avoid customs but they are clearly unused. I'm so excited now!!! Can't wait to see my ponies at 'HOME' after all this time! Interested to hear how you witnessed the treatment of your goods...was this done in Sydney? O Hi Roomummy, great to hear that everything is going ahead. As we moved our 2 horses in 2012, I can give you some first hand advice. The whole equipment quarantine is a bit overcooked... In reality it's rather simple: There are 3 aspects - I would not send along anything expensive with the horses. Based on our local contact here + experience, things can get lost. Our horses were handed back to us with totally raggedy halters which weren't ours [emoji846] ) I would only hand the horses over in the UK with basic / simple equipment which you can afford to lose (essentially a halter + lead). As they won't put on any horse leg protection or bandages during flight they don't really need anything else. (These are dangerous as they can't remove them on the aircraft when they become loose, and they also tend to get puffy legs if they are left on too long) - Send all your remaining horse equipment with your personal effects (container). If you need equipment before your container arrives, I would recommend bringing some brand-NEW (with tags) basic good quality gear in your flight baggage (good quality gear is hard to come by in Oz and/or very expensive. If it's new, local airport quarantine are happy.) (We did it this way) - All equipment needs to be perfectly clean (no fur, no grease, sweat etc.) before it's packed into the container (label boxes as horse gear). Essentially make it look brand-new. It will be inspected and might be sprayed / wiped down at the local removalist when AQIS comes in for the inspection (they have a look at the manifest and then decide which boxes they want to pull for inspection). Once it's inspected they will release your consignment and you will get an appointment for delivery. Generally this part is treated as a bit of a money grab as AQIS and the removalist sort of work together and decide what needs treatment (Goods are treated by the removalist, so you are at their mercy and they charge fantasy prices). I would not treat it upfront, as they might treat it again anyway. In our case they sprayed our 2 saddles with a pink solution (does not stain) which set us back AUD 100 (negotiated). I would also highly recommend that you insist on being onsite, as that gives you some bargaining power and you can also have a chat to the AQIS officer. The removalists hate if you do that (reduces their bottom line) and will try to find excuses, but this procedure actually saved us a lot of money [emoji846] Wishing you all the best! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouDYorkie Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 Wood is actually fine. I have imported wood from tiny African villages with zero issue. Our shipping company made a huge deal about wooden items but we too had African carvings etc that we did not want to leave behind. We declared them and they were all fine.[emoji4] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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